Senator Schwank Applauds $13.75 Million in Capital Redevelopment Funding for Berks County Projects

November 1, 2024

Reading, PA — November 1, 2024 — Sen. Judy Schwank (D-Berks) applauded the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant funding announced today by Gov. Josh Shapiro and the Pennsylvania Office of the Budget.

RACP is a state grant program administered by the Office of the Budget to support the design, acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. In total, $13.75 million in funding was awarded to six projects in the 11th Senatorial District.

Schwank thanked Gov. Shapiro for his strong support of these projects, noting that each one will have a lasting positive impact on the greater Reading area.

“This round of grant funding speaks to the tremendous energy and economic potential in Reading and Berks County,” Schwank said. “I’m proud to see these projects receive funding, and I’m especially grateful to have worked alongside Gov. Shapiro to secure a substantial investment for the GoggleWorks II adaptive reuse project. This project will not only provide people in need with hot, ready-to-eat meals through Helping Harvest but will also breathe new life into a historically blighted building.”

The awards are listed below:

Our City Reading, Inc. — $5 million for the GoggleWorks II project, which will support the adaptive reuse of a blighted building on Washington Street in Reading. Once completed, the facility will house three high-impact nonprofits, including Helping Harvest and the GoggleWorks Center for the Arts.

ByHeart, Inc. — $5 million for construction, infrastructure upgrades and land acquisition to expand ByHeart’s infant formula manufacturing facility in Exeter Township, equipping it for advanced production and packaging to enhance capacity, capability and efficiency.

Alvernia University — $2 million for the American House project, which will establish a community-based health center on Penn Street in Reading, in partnership with the Berks Community Health Center.

The Rose Corporation — $1 million to upgrade its large-scale industrial metal fabrication facility in Reading to meet growing demand.

Exeter Township Volunteer Fire Department — $500,000 to establish the Exeter Township Emergency Services Main Facility, a more efficient and centralized location for the township’s emergency services.

East Penn Manufacturing — $250,000 for an addition to East Penn Manufacturing’s wastewater treatment plant. 

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Baby Formula Manufacturer ByHeart Awarded $1.75 Million in Grant Funding

December 6, 2021

Reading- December 6, 2021 − Sen. Judy Schwank (D-11th District) announced today that ByHeart was awarded $1.75 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) grant funding for improvements to a Reading-based facility.

ByHeart’s Project Lexington is expected to establish the company as one of the country’s only fully integrated baby formula manufacturers, upon FDA-registration. The funding will be used to complete the construction of a canning line and dry blend area at the ByHeart facility located at 61 Vanguard Drive in Exeter Township. These improvements will secure the last piece of the supply chain in Pennsylvania at ByHeart’s manufacturing plant, making it the fourth end-to-end infant formula manufacturer in the U.S. The funding will ensure the final canned product is released from Pennsylvania and give Pennsylvania dairy farmers access to a $70 billion global market. The plant improvements are projected to create 50 new jobs and support countless others in the manufacturing and pharmaceutical sector as ByHeart expands production and canning.

“ByHeart’s project will have a positive impact locally by creating high-paying jobs and provide a statewide boost to Pennsylvania dairy sales,” Schwank said. “Members of my staff and I got a chance to visit the facility this past spring and learned about ByHeart’s goals for the facility. This project has a lot of upsides, including creating an ecosystem for high-value dairy inputs like organic grass-fed whole milk, organic grass-fed lactose, and value-added whey proteins. For me, supporting this project’s application was a no-brainer and I’m grateful to ByHeart for seeing value in Berks County and to Gov. Wolf for funding this project.”

“As a next-generation baby nutrition company, ByHeart has chosen the Commonwealth as home to our facility and epicenter of our production,” a statement issued from ByHeart said. “We have since seen extraordinary support from both Senator Schwank and Governor Wolf to evolve our mission. It is with great humility and honor that we accept the RACP grant in order to continue our work to create highly skilled manufacturing jobs and to progress the ecosystem of dairy innovation in Pennsylvania.”

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