BOYERTOWN PA – As 2026 gets under way, Building a Better Boyertown (BaBB) – the borough’s non-profit downtown promotional organization – will start work on a project expected to connect the municipality to the extensive Schuylkill River Trail network.
The first item on an lengthy list of future needs to make that dream a reality is already in hand. BaBB this month secured $150,000 in funding to buy 7.39 acres of land in Colebrookdale Township. It will be used to create a nature preserve that can later serve as a trail head.
The money is being provided from the Statewide Local Share Account, administered by the Commonwealth Financing Authority. The account holds revenues paid to Pennsylvania by casinos and other gambling enterprises, as authorized by the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act of 2004.
Boyertown was among dozens of local municipalities that received authority distributions announced on Dec. 18 (2025; Thursday).
Obtaining the grant required the work of many partners outside Boyertown, borough Main Street Manager Ellen Martignetti explains. BaBB’s application was advocated by the Greater Berks Development Fund, an affiliate of the Greater Reading Chamber Alliance. Lending additional assistance, she adds, were state Sen. Tracy Pennycuick, state Rep. David Maloney, and the Berks County Planning Commission.
All “have been instrumental in advancing this project,” Martignetti adds. “We are grateful for the support.”
To Be Known as ‘The Iron Valley Trail’
Although the name “Secret Valley Trail” was used during the application process, Boyertown’s future system of connected pathways and parks likely will be known as “The Iron Valley Trail,” according to BaBB.
For now, the organization’s focus is the Colebrookdale property located at South Reading Avenue and Mill Street. BaBB’s coming investments will allow it to start the first phase of an overall trail plan. That includes a land survey, and design and engineering of the land, according to the organization’s website.
Over time, the parcel is anticipated to “be transformed into an ADA-compliant nature preserve.” It would offer parking, a picnic area, and restrooms, and serves as a spur to the rest of the trail network.
BaBB acknowledges those features and others down the road will require community donations and “more grant applications to fund this work.”
Other Projects Continue
The preserve-and-trail effort is the latest of several projects undertaken by BaBB.
- In 2024, it won a $30,000 grant from the Boyertown Area Charitable Program of the Berks County Community Foundation for the redesign of the downtown’s Community Walkway. That project is intended to enhance safety, lighting, landscaping, and accessibility for residents and visitors;
- The organization continues to work with property owners for building façade improvements, under a 2023 grant from the PA Department of Community and Economic Development; and
- Its events calendar is again filling with annual activities that bring visitors to downtown. A second “Making HERstory” dinner, celebrating women of the Boyertown community, is scheduled for March 7; and spring officially arrives in Boyertown with BaBB’s “Coming Out of Hibernation” event on April 18.
Photo provided by Building a Better Boyertown
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