Let’s meet Alan Shuman from Shuman Development Group. Shuman Development Group has redeveloped, sold, or leased over 2,000,000 square feet of commercial property in downtown Reading since 1994. It is the full intent of Shuman Development Group to assist clients in finding the right solutions for their needs while simultaneously leading the revitalization of the City of Reading. Restoring and developing some of the finest historical properties in the Greater Reading area for the past 25 years.
In 1989 Alan Shuman uses his U.S. Army enlistment bonus to purchase his first property, a 3-bedroom, 2-bath townhouse in State College, Pennsylvania. He is a 19-year-old college sophomore. In 1994 Alan and Marina Shuman, now married three years, purchase a historic mansion at 1327 Perkiomen Avenue in Reading, Pennsylvania that had been converted into four units in the 1940s. They live in one of the units and call their newly founded business Shuman Development Group (SDG).
Shuman Development Group purchases its first commercial property in 1997, the eight-story historic Baer Building on Court Street. SDG’s purchase saves this landmark building from a planned demolition to become a parking lot for Berks County Bank.
Then in 1998 Alan and Marina Shuman found the Reading Construction Company to renovate single-family homes within the City of Reading. Over the next several years, this company grows to 22 construction employees averaging 50 homes being renovated per year.
About 2001 Shuman Development Group purchases the General Battery Building, their first large-scale commercial building. The building is Exide Battery’s world headquarters, and this NYSE-listed company leases back 80,000 square feet of this 140,000 square foot building. And in 2003 Exide Battery Corporation files for bankruptcy and uses the filing to break its lease with Shuman Development Group on December 23, 2003. Instantly over half of SDG’s monthly revenue vanishes, forcing SDG to file for a debt restructuring bankruptcy. The plan is approved so long as Alan and Marina Shuman turn over their home to the bank to sell.
Then in 2006 Shuman Development Group has released the General Battery Building and successfully executed the debt restructuring. The restructuring required the sale of several SDG properties, and those funds are used to purchase the 640,000 square foot Reading Outlet Center complex consisting of ten buildings sized from 8,000 square feet to 320,000 square feet.
In 2009 SDG develops a neighborhood revitalization plan to restore the commercial heart of Northeast Reading. With the Reading Outlet Center (ROC) development underway, SDG develops its first neighborhood shopping center at the abandoned and environmentally contaminated Burlington Coat Factory building at 1920 Kutztown Road. In 2011 The Shops at the ROC opens at 8th and Oley Streets, this is the commercial heart of Northeast Reading and the centerpiece of the Reading Outlet Center development.
So, you may ask; what has Shuman done since 2011? But it’s more like what hasn’t he done since. He continues to do bigger and better things, he mentors and continues to do big projects, he is not scared of change but rather embraces it. Does the name The Abraham Lincoln ring a bell? It should as it’s a 240,000 sq feet building with 18 floors completed in 2014 consisting of 97 residential apartments and commercial space. The Corbit Building finished in 2020 with 12,000 sq feet. The M&T Bank Building was completed in 2009 with 58,000 sq feet and a project budget of $3,400,000 & The General Battery Building 105,000 square feet with a project budget of 7,000,000 and completed in 2016 and with tenants such as Dunkin Donuts, BCAP, Salsa Burrito, Berks Counseling Center, Café de Colombia & many more. And the Medical Arts building is projected to be completed in 2022. And this year he purchased the Trexler Mansion and Elks Club on South Fifth and Franklin Street in Reading. This building sat vacant for years and will possibly be turned into an event Center to operate with the Abraham Lincoln. And way too many other projects to mention. I just want to say go Shuman!!!! Developing and making our city better. Congratulations! To see pictures of his project visit investinreading.com & click on development.
