READING, Vt. (WCAX) – A push to reopen a closed general store in Reading is getting a big financial boost. A $300,000 grant from the Preservation Trust of Vermont will help make needed renovations. But what those plans will look like is still being developed.
The old general store in Reading has been closed for about a year and a half. But a new trust has formed to bring it back to life.
Residents say Reading is a tight-knit community. But with a population of less than 700 people, when the town’s one general store closes, everyone feels the pain.
“Having a space would be critical to revitalizing that spirit,” said Jack Kartsch of the Reading Community Trust.
Jack and Jane Kartsch are relatively new members of the community but they are hoping to make a big impact. The couple helped form the Reading Community Trust which aims to buy and renovate the building.
“A mixed-use space that has food but also has arts displayed and classes,” Jane Kartsch said.
The $300,000 grant from the Village Trust Initiative will be used to do the work if and when the deal goes through.
“A lot of it will depend on septic and water,” Jack Katsch said.
“It’s definitely a void,” said Scott Harkins, who has owned the Reading Greenhouse across the road since the 1980s.
It is currently the only retail operation in town. And while the business has stepped up offerings since the store across the road closed, a place to get food is not the town’s only need.
“You know, art classes or yoga. A meeting place,” Harkins said.
A space out back is being used as a temporary gathering spot for residents. But the Reading Community Trust says this building would be an even better place, adding to what the town already has.
“We just feel so happy living here because we feel we are an important part of a very vital community,” Jane Kartsch said.
The trust is currently waiting for an appraisal before they move forward with an offer on the building. The grant can not be used in that process.