Shuman Development Group

What Shuman Development Group does

Shuman Development Group (SDG) is a private commercial real estate development company founded in 1994 by Alan and Marina Shuman and headquartered in Reading, Pennsylvania. The company specializes in historic property restoration, brownfield remediation, and urban revitalization, having redeveloped, sold, or leased over 2,000,000 square feet of commercial property in downtown Reading since its founding. SDG's core products include Class A office space leasing in restored historic buildings, luxury residential apartments (notably the 69-unit Big Mill Apartments and 97-unit Abraham Lincoln conversion), neighborhood retail and commercial shopping centers, medical and healthcare facilities (most recently the 242,000 sq ft Community General Hospital in partnership with Penn State Health), and event venue space (Trexler Mansion). Supporting services include property management, construction management, and real estate development consulting, with the wholly-owned Reading Construction Company subsidiary handling renovation work.

The company operates exclusively in a direct sales model with no third-party brokers, channel partners, or online marketplaces. Tenants are acquired through the company's website, direct outreach, and earned media in local publications such as the Reading Eagle. Revenue is generated primarily through recurring commercial and residential lease income, supplemented by one-time property sales and professional service fees. SDG's customer base spans 40+ named tenants across industries including law, banking, healthcare, nonprofit, retail, and food & beverage. The company has weathered significant disruptions including a 2003 bankruptcy restructuring triggered by the Exide Battery lease break, and has continued to expand its portfolio with recent large-scale capital projects ranging from $12.5M to $24.6M in budget. SDG is entirely founder-owned with no institutional investment, public listing, or parent company structure identified.

Name

Shuman Development Group

Legal name

Shuman Development Group

Website

http://www.investinreading.com/

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Shuman Development Group is a private Reading, PA-based commercial real estate developer founded in 1994, specializing in historic property restoration, brownfield remediation, and urban revitalization across office, residential, retail, medical, and event venue properties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Commercial Real Estate Development

NAICS

Real Estate Property Managers (53131), Lessors of Nonresidential Buildings (except Miniwarehouses) (531120), Residential Remodelers (236118)

SIC

Operative Builders (1531), Lessors Of Real Property, Nec (6519), Real Estate (6500)

akta.pro primary industry

Renovation, Remodeling & Tenant Improvements (General Contracting) (IMAFAAAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

New Construction & Builder Sales (BPAJAAAB)

Keywords

• Commercial real estate development
• Historic property restoration
• Residential apartment leasing
• Office space leasing
• Urban revitalization

Headquarters

HQ city

Reading

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Commercial Property Leasing: SDG leases office, retail, and commercial spaces across its portfolio of managed properties. Tenants include businesses, healthcare providers, financial institutions, and nonprofits that sign long-term commercial leases, generating recurring rental income.
2. Residential Property Leasing: SDG leases residential apartment units (e.g., Big Mill Apartments with 69 loft units, The Abraham Lincoln with 97 apartments) to individuals and families, generating recurring residential rental revenue.
3. Property Sales: SDG redevelops, sells, or leases over 2,000,000 square feet of commercial property. Property sales are a one-time transactional revenue stream.
4. Property Management Services: SDG provides property management, construction management, and real estate development consulting services to clients, generating professional services fees.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Shuman Development Group is a Reading, PA-based commercial real estate developer that acquires, restores, owns, and leases a portfolio of historic and newly developed commercial, residential, retail, and medical properties. The firm leases Class A office space in restored downtown buildings, luxury loft apartments, neighborhood retail centers, and medical/healthcare facilities, and provides on-site property management, construction management, and real estate development consulting services directly to tenants and clients.

Product overview

Shuman Development Group is a commercial real estate development company offering a portfolio of property services and space leasing products. The core offerings include Class A office space leasing in historic downtown buildings, residential loft apartments with luxury finishes, commercial/retail shopping center space, medical/healthcare facilities, and event venue rental. Supporting services include professional property management, construction management, and real estate development consulting. The company specializes in historic building restoration and brownfield remediation projects. Notable completed projects include the Abraham Lincoln (97 luxury apartments), Big Mill Apartments (69 loft units), Berks County Trust Building ($18M restoration), Community General Hospital (242,000 sq ft medical facility), and various retail centers across Reading, PA.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Office Space Leasing Class A office space leasing in historic downtown Reading buildings with modern amenities, on-site management, security, and convenient parking; serving professional services firms, financial institutions, healthcare practices, and nonprofit organizations.
• Residential Apartments Luxury loft apartments in restored historic buildings with modern appliances, on-site management, gym, and laundromat amenities in prime downtown Reading locations; serving individuals, couples, and families.
• Commercial / Retail Space Neighborhood-focused shopping center and retail space leasing, including community revitalization through refurbishment of existing properties; serving national chain retailers, local businesses, restaurants, and service providers.
• Medical Space Medical office and healthcare facility space leasing, anchored by the Community General Hospital renovation in partnership with Penn State Health; serving hospital systems, community health centers, behavioral health providers, and medical practices.
• Event Space Historic event venue rental space at Trexler Mansion (operated by Lincoln Events) for weddings, corporate events, and special occasions.
• Property Management Professional property management services including property managers, janitorial staff, on-site management, and maintenance for SDG-owned and client properties in Reading, PA.
• Construction Management Construction management services for new builds and fit-outs, guiding clients through the permitting and construction process.
• Real Estate Development Consulting Commercial and retail property consulting services to assist clients in finding the right solutions for their real estate needs; delivered by SDG's in-house experts.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 2,000,000 square feet of commercial property redeveloped, sold, or leased since 1994
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers42 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• Penn State HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024In 2024, SDG entered into a partnership with Penn State Health to acquire and renovate the Community General Hospital at 145 North 6th Street, Reading, PA. SDG undertook the renovation of the 242,000 square foot, 6-floor facility, and leased space within the newly refurbished building to Penn State Health for community medical services. Haven Behavioral Health and Berks Community Health Center are also part of the collaborative initiative. Penn State Health continues delivering healthcare services to the local community in the renovated space.
• National Park ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Berks County Trust Building restoration was supervised by the National Park Service as part of its historic preservation oversight. The NPS involvement was a regulatory requirement for the building's inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. The $18M restoration was completed in 2023.
• Ideal Fresh GrocerycoreGTM or Marketing PartnerIdeal Fresh Grocery is the anchor tenant in SDG's Lancaster Avenue Plaza, a neighborhood shopping center developed on a former brownfields site. The grocery store addresses food access needs in a federally designated food desert and has helped generate over 120 jobs at the plaza.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• High Real Estate Group: Lancaster/Reading PA-area commercial real estate developer and manager with a similarly diversified portfolio across office, industrial, retail, and multifamily assets in the Central PA region. Highly comparable in scale, regional focus, and vertically integrated developer/owner/operator model.
• St. John Properties: Mid-Atlantic commercial real estate developer with a multi-million sq ft portfolio across office, retail, and flex/R&D assets. Comparable in owner-developer-operator model, recurring rental revenue emphasis, and focus on regional business-park and mixed-use assets.
• Wohlsen Construction Company: Lancaster, PA-based design-build commercial construction firm with an affiliated real estate development arm. Comparable in regional Central PA focus, historic adaptive-reuse expertise, and integrated construction/development capability that mirrors SDG's Reading Construction Company subsidiary.
• BPG (Buccini/Pollin Group): Wilmington, DE-based real estate investment and development company focused on adaptive reuse and mixed-use projects across the Mid-Atlantic. Comparable in historic-building redevelopment expertise, mixed office/residential/retail strategy, and mid-Atlantic geographic footprint.
• Crescent Communities: Charlotte, NC-based mixed-use real estate developer operating across multifamily, commercial, and master-planned communities. Comparable in vertically integrated developer-owner-operator model with recurring rental income emphasis, though at significantly larger scale.
• Wood Partners: National multifamily real estate developer specializing in Class A apartment communities across the U.S. Comparable in apartment development and operation expertise relevant to SDG's Big Mill and Abraham Lincoln residential portfolios.

Broad incumbents

• Trammell Crow Company: One of the largest commercial real estate developers in the U.S. with a national footprint across office, industrial, retail, and multifamily. Comparable as a full-service developer-owner-operator but operates at vastly greater scale and geographic breadth than SDG.
• Hines: Global real estate investment, development, and management firm with assets across office, residential, retail, industrial, and mixed-use. Comparable as a high-quality developer-owner-operator, but operates globally with institutional capital backing.
• The Related Companies: Major U.S. developer of mixed-use, affordable, and market-rate real estate with a strong historic-preservation and urban-revitalization track record (e.g., Hudson Yards, City Center DC). Comparable in urban-revitalization expertise and mixed asset classes, but operates at institutionally backed scale.
• Greystar Real Estate Partners: Global leader in rental housing investment, development, and management with a portfolio exceeding $300B in AUM. Comparable in multifamily development and operation relevant to SDG's residential portfolio, though vastly larger and institutionally backed.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ShumanDevGrp
• Facebookfacebook.com/InvestinReading

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Shuman Development Group