Construction is officially complete on a new mixed-use building at the site of the former Benjamin Franklin Inn in Amity Township.
A ribbon cutting for the new structure was held Friday by DESCCO Design & Construction Inc., which spearheaded the project.
Construction on the new building, called The Pointe At Douglassville, started in 2024 and finished in September, according to Tim Heffner, vice president and senior project manager at DESCCO.
The 2.9 acre property housed a two-story stone structure which was dedicated in 1809.
Once a home, it was converted to an inn in 1977, and later housed Nepa’s Trattoria and La Casa Musso, which closed in 2014.
The building sat vacant and neglected for nearly a decade before being inspected and deemed unsafe, Amity Township officials previously told MediaNews Group.
It was demolished in 2023.
The Pointe boasts a modern, minimalist exterior accented with corrugated steel paneling and rows of large windows.
It contains four commercial spaces and 10 luxury apartments, Heffner said.
One of those spaces has become Reading Coffee Co.’s second location.
“This new space is a natural extension of everything our customers love about our flagship café in Birdsboro,” Frank Orman, Reading Coffee president and chief executive officer, said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to bring the same spirited hospitality, premium coffee, and gourmet food offerings to our friends and neighbors in Douglassville.”
The café offers a full selection of Reading Coffee staples, including small batch coffee roasted to order, signature espresso and cold brew, and artisan pastries and gourmet bites.
Orman noted that the company has recently installed a new coffee roasting facility at its headquarters in Birdsboro, which he said means better quality and a larger, more consistent lineup of coffees.
The Pointe at Douglassville, 824 Benjamin Franklin Highway, Amity Township. (BILL UHRICH/MEDIANEWS GROUP)
Other occupants of the site include a financial advisor and nail salon. The fourth commercial space remains vacant.
DESCCO, of Fleetwood, said the project was a collaboration between itself and several other companies, including Barton Plumbing Services, Levan Excavating, Halter Landscaping, and Donny’s HVAC and Electric, the building owner’s company.
The property’s owner, Limekiln Holdings 12 LLC., bought the site in July 2022.
