Corporate jet hangar planned for Reading Airport

The airport in Bern Township, which serves corporate and charter planes, will get a 20,000-square-foot pre-engineered metal hangar built by York-based Kinsley Construction Inc., the company said.

The enclosure will include a 3,000-square-foot office space with lounge and conference areas.

Construction on the hangar began in July and is expected to be completed in February.

The new hangar could have implications for the proposed Berks Park 183, a 155-acre industrial park next to the airport, and for other real estate development in the township.

“We’re very pleased to see the progress being made by the airport authority with the new hangar,” said Tom McKeon, executive director of the Berks County Industrial Development Authority.

“They are our neighbor and sister agency, and when they succeed, it’s not only a benefit to us because you never know when you’re going to have a prospect who may want proximity to the airport. It is a benefit for the whole community and is an economic development asset,” McKeon said.

The industrial park is being developed for manufacturing and warehousing and is expected to create 500 jobs, according to the BCIDA, which bought the land for the park from the Reading Regional Airport Authority in 2011.

Earlier this year, J.G. Petrucci Co., an Asbury, N.J.-based developer with an office in Hanover Township, Northampton County, bought one of seven parcels at Berks Park 183 for $1.2 million, according to reports.

Construction on infrastructure for the industrial park could begin in the spring.