An arts community with studios, galleries, performance spaces, and Creative Arts!

I would love to see businesses that would appeal to our kids...
1. A cafeteria restaurant like Brothers Deli in Wakefield...a place our kids can go for breakfast and lunch or dinner with friends.
2. An independent theater like the Screening Room in Newburyport (99 seat storefront theater).
3. A place like Cabot's Ice Cream in Newton..a place our kids can go at night and eat ice cream indoors (in the winter).
4. An independent bookstore like the Andover Bookstore and Book Ends in Winchester with Author events (it's a tough business I know)

I like all the previous ideas. I love Book Ends in Winchester. I'd like to have an antique store there or in one of the other two vacant spaces in the building. I heard that Orange Leaf in Andover, which is very popular with the area teens is opening another store in Reading, maybe on Haven St? That would be good in MF Charles as well.

Orange Leaf in Andover - we just ate there 30 mins ago, very nice and would be a hit in Reading, I think, but the big contrast between Andover and Reading is PARKING. there is a very good sized parking lot right across the street from the Orange Leaf, still another one across the street from that one, and these two large lots serves the many other vibrant Andover businesses. Andover has about as much on street parking in Reading, the difference is the lot. Andover also appears to have about 1/5 the traffic lights as Reading Downtown.
As for that corner spot, everyone can talk about galleries, creative arts, etc, but will that really be a moneymaking proposition in Reading? (again with the lack of parking - I don't count the pint sized lot across the street). What we don't need are more banks, sub shops, or nail salons. An ethnic restaurant that isn't Italian or Chinese food (which we have plenty of) could be interesting...maybe something like a Pho Pasteur-type or Tex Mex (like the one in Melrose Center)?

A combination brew pub / laundromat. We'll call it "SUDZ." Play pool, darts, watch TV, have a few beers while your clothes gets clean. Carry around one of those little buzzers that alerts you when the clothes are done. Or the artsy stuff people mentioned above. Either one. But don't steal my idea.

The downtwn building has been empty even when BAC was there. The space may have been rented, but how many times did you really go in there? Unfortunately when will people wake up in this town and stop saying what should and should not go in and start demanding something fill the empty storefronts. In my opinion, It's embarassing to even consider it a downtown. I've been living here for only nine years and I am so tired of people talking about the downtown storefronts. At least they can do is change the coming soon sign. Get real.

#macmic76 - I agree the empty storefronts are depressing but businesses ARE opening around town...just not in those tiny, depressing little downtown storefronts. Look at Calareso's new locale, Cupcake City, ecars, Sam's Bistro, Grumpy Doyles, the natural food store...all chose locations distinctly NOT downtown (Grumpy's is on the edge). Why? Maybe the rents downtown are too high, maybe the sizes of the stores are not big enough, maybe these businesses feel their customer base needs better accessability (i.e., parking), maybe the owner/landlord of these properties is difficult to deal with. We can't MAKE a business locate in an empty downtown storefront when a more desirable location is available down the street unless we tailor the zoning such that we force it. Perhaps granting storefronts big enough to house a restaurant an automatic liquor license might entice them to the space.

I agree, but when I here downtown. I think of the two largest spots that are not occupied. If the rents are high so be it and perhaps lower commercial tax or zoning change is required. The fact that nothing has been in there for at least nine years is sad in itself. The buildings would in that square wouldn't be bad if they had some rehab down to it. Perhaps another reason why people don't want to rent. If the stores are going to remain empty, then the very least we should have is nice looking newer style buildings to look at. (with new coming new signs). A can of paint goes a long way......... Look at the old registry building. Would you move you company in their?

Ideas are great conceptually speaking. Action leads to results.

I think that the building is a prime location for a Learning Express. Ever since we lost the Wayside Bazaar, the Town has had a need for such a business. There are plenty of parents with children in elementary school, and aside from the Reading Public Library and Plaster Funtime, there aren't many other options in Town. The Learning Express is a growing chain that combines the fun of toy play with learning. Parking might be a concern for a restaurant, and brick-and-mortar bookstores are sadly a thing of the past.

So, my suggestion would be for a Learning Express right in the center of Town.

#macmic - good point about the appearance of buildings...hadn't thought about it quite that way, but the businesses I tend to visit (Walgreen's, Sammy Jo's, the butcherie, do "look" nicer inside and out...that CVS storefront is just about the ugliest thing going & stores on sides of it are no better, the ugly blue auto body place w/broken walls, etc. The town put in nice lighting & sidewalks (& wasted $80K on bollards that aren't being replaced), but the lighting still shines on some very ugly structures. The $80K would have been better spent sprucing up that awful yellow brick. There is nothing historical about that is, there?

if Trader Joe's would put a location in Reading all my problems would be solved ;)

I think something more useful could have gone into the Golf Town building, but I guess any tenant is better than an empty storefront.

#Ron Powell - love the idea of a Learning Express, but I think parking becomes an issue with that, too (speaking as a parent of a 4 & 6 yr old) - the other Learning Express locations I know of (Andover Center, Salem NH, Burlington Mall during holidays, Acton) all are near good sized parking lots or even have their own lot (as in Andover). If a Learning Express was in the Christopher's plaza, could use that lot, but no room there, I think. Maybe further down on Haven? The Orange Leaf (frozen yogurt chain) website says its Reading site is "coming soon", does anyone know where that would go? Someone said Haven st. That would be a good draw for folks w/kids, or even an old-fashioned ice cream shop like Cravings in Wakefield.

It's too bad we can't make the public lot behind CVS a 2-3 story parking garage

1) there are no restorations or renovation restrictions on any of the downtown buildings. the only process a business would need to go through, for renovation, is possibly the CPDC. the historical commission might attend a meeting and offer opinions, but there is no historical process required and no restrictions. they are not blocking or slowing the process.
2) the "ugly" yellow brick on the CVS is the responsibility of the building's owner, not the town. The town isn't going to spend money to fix private property.

How is the building owner paying his mortgage? I heard the town gives commercial owners a tax break if the building is unoccupied. What's the incentive to fill the spaces? Do home owners get a tax break if they lose a job?

M, you on spot on. The CVS is not so great looking. Kathy, no one is saying we want to the town to fix private propertises. Just the opposite, the commercial building owners should have the decency to at least place a coat of paint or update their building. They pay taxes and they also get incentives to have their building in the residents town. I am willing to bet you that a can of paint from the purple store is around $25. Why does the Walgreens look so nice and CVS so dingy? BTW, The CVS is a New England company. The key is getting the commercial owners to take pride in their propertises and update them. At the very least their are ways the town can work in a collaborative fashion to clean their buildings up. All I am asking is for general maintance. IE new coming new signs. No blue awnings.

I agree, macmic76. One person above ("M") did suggest the town pay for "sprucing up that awful yellow brick". That's the comment I was addressing.

James Mawn VP of Northern Bank and Trust owns the buliding. He passed away last year. From what I hear this was his pet project but the buliding inside needs alot of work.

As a corporate citizen in a neighboring town (Woburn) the Mawn family should be EMBARASSED that they've let the building sit like that for more than 5 years. I expected more from a family that controls a bank and is more than likely to put a Northern Bank & Trust branch in there.

You're wrong, Eileen. The owners could get a permit to demolish the building Monday, wait six months, and tear it down and sell the property or put up a Rite-Aid, or any other building he wants, within zoning regulations. There is no town restriction on tearing the building down because it is historical, only a six month delay. Property owners really do have a lot of rights. If the owner wants to leave that building vacant for ten years with "coming soon" signs in the window, he can do that too.

I've always believed that the traffic scheme in Reading is simply not conducive to a pedestrian-friendly downtown. If I were a merchant, I would chose Wakefield, Melrose or even Stoneham over Reading. I've lived here 20 years and still do little shopping in Reading. I suspect that most people who drive through Reading don't even know that Haven St. exists. I myself have never visited more than one store at a time on Haven. You certainly cannot spend an afternoon shopping/dining there.

#Dave - you are spot on. A street like Haven maybe needs to be two-way all the way, like Woburn & Washington sts, for cars so folks not from Reading will willing to take a drive down and not have a major hassle getting back to 28 via the same road and not getting lost. Is is a very very long walk from one's parking spot downtown in front of, say CVS, to, the area with Sammy Jo's or the pet store, e.g., especially on a cold rainy day with small children. And uphill all the way back! But to make Haven 2-way would mean taking away...some parking, which also is lousy. Stoneham,Wakefield,Melrose, Andover...none of these places have these issues.

Empty storefronts are everywhere, though. Look at Downtown Crossing in Boston or Harvard Sq. In the latter, the famed Bob Slate stationer site has been empty for a couple of years...granted the rent must be vert high, but one couldn't ask for more foot traffic at all times of day & night at that spot, which is near to the MBTA exit stairs. And, yet, remains empty.

Maybe we need some signs at the intersection of Main & Haven, referencing the public parking lot behind the old Atlantic, and the RR depot and shopping area down on Haven St.. A sign for public parking should be posted at the intersection of Woburn St. and Main St. for the parking lot behind CVS as well at the lot across the way behind the Walgreens.

Parking continues to be an issue, though the change to angled parking on the western side of the common has helped. But it would be difficult to get the funding to build a parking garage or buy up some property to repurpose for parking.

I love Reading, and the attitude that our residents have towards commerce/business. We are a bedroom community, but have a flow of consistent traffic due to our location at the crossroads of 93 and 95, and Rt. 28 running right down the pipe. Growing up in a very small town west of Boston, with just a library, gas station, gift shop, and small grocery store in the center, and no aspirations to grow, I look at Reading and see our residents realizing what we have here, and wanting to make it better. There is so much potential, and there have been some positive steps in the right direction the past few years. As someone in my early 30's, and without a family, my demographic is more the exception in this town. I still go into the city often on weekends. I would LOVE to be able to spend one of my weekend nights in Reading, and actually feel like I was able to go out and enjoy myself. A nice dinner, a couple of beers, maybe an ice cream after, or a movie (without having to drive to Jordan's). We're half-way there. I live near the train depot, so this could all be realized if we had a little neighborhood movie theater (see: Lexington, Dedham, Norwood, Beverly) on Haven Street, an ice cream shop, a few more bars and [diverse] restaurants to choose from. Somewhere to play darts or pool, that would be amazing! There is going to be an influx of people moving into the old Atlantic site when those apt/condos are done; now is the perfect time to make this happen.

i think a book store would be nice, especially one that has a good children's section and space for them, but not to ignore adults by any means.

Ditto Emily M, would LOVE to see a Trader Joe's in Reading. I was hoping one would have gone in where the Atlantic was,but...wishful thinking. So tired of driving to Saugus and to Whole Foods in Andover. Seems like Reading could do better than having two supermarkets right next to each other that don't offer anything unique from one another except prices.