GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 6

a message from GRCA CEO & President
Time to hop aboard
The train is coming down the tracks, so
what can you do to show your support?
By Jim Gerlach, President & CEO, GRCA
he last passenger rail train left Reading in 1981, and the
community has been working to reestablish this line ever
since. This current effort builds on the lessons learned from
the past and has communities all along the Schuylkill River Corridor
working in sync to restart this economic development engine. This is
a once in a generation chance to reconnect Reading to Philadelphia
and beyond, bringing with it the opportunity for 28,000 personyears
of work, $1.4 billion in
generated income, over $1 billion
in increased property values, and
nearly $1 billion in new local and
federal tax revenues.
So, what is different this time?
T
To start, recent Berks Alliance
studies have cited updated
service data that indicates that
the overall project and operating
costs are manageable with proper
public sector and ridership
support. The other is that Berks,
Chester, and Montgomery
County Commissioners, Planning Commissions, and community
leaders are now all working cooperatively together through the
Regional Tri-County Rail Committee. These three counties are on
the cusp of forming a formal passenger rail authority and putting
together a formal plan to engage with Norfolk Southern, the owner
of the lines, select an operator and plan out improvements necessary
for the line to operate.
This will be a game changer for downtown Reading that builds
on the recent successes such as Alvernia's Collegetowne. This will
open up opportunity for Berks' residents to travel to Philadelphia
and beyond for work or personal pursuits. It will also be a conduit to
bring visitors from surrounding communities to the Santander Arena,
6 COMMERCE QUARTERLY FALL 2021
take in the symphony at RACC's Miller Center for the Arts, or hop
an Uber to visit FirstEnergy Stadium. While they are here, these new
visitors will have a chance to patronize the many fantastic restaurants,
breweries, shops and hotels that line our downtowns. This strategic
investment in our future will pay dividends for generations.
The business community understands just how important
reestablishing passenger rail will be to revitalizing Reading, so it is
the responsibility of the business
community to galvanize
support for this effort. As this
process unfolds, there will be an
educational awareness campaign
where businesses will be asked to
show their support. Community
forums and public meetings
will be held on passenger rail
and business leaders need to
participate in these meetings to
vocalize their support. They will
also be asked to express support
for the project with local, state
and federal elected officials. We will also encourage business leaders
to share the importance of this project with your employees and the
many benefits that could come to Berks County.
This whole process will succeed if there is substantial community
support and funding opportunities such as the federal bipartisan
infrastructure proposal currently before Congress. The Berks County
business community has been at the forefront of advocating for these
important issues and we can't take our foot off the gas just yet. Take
a moment to visit the GRCA Advocacy Action Center and send a
letter to our Congressional Delegation that supports infrastructure
investment and gets Reading back on the tracks.

GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021

GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 1
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 2
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 3
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 4
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 5
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 6
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 7
GRCA Commerce Quarterly Fall 2021 - 8
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https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GRCA_CommerceQuarterly_Winter2018
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Fall2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Summer2017
https://www.nxtbook.com/hoffmann/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly/GreaterReadingChamber_CommerceQuarterly_Spring2017
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