Exeter zoners OK church use of part of former Fox East
The Exeter Township Zoning Hearing Board unanimously granted a variance for NorthStar United Methodist Church to use the former Fox East Theater in the Reading Mall on Perkiomen Avenue as its new home.
NorthStar would share space with the Reading Civic Theatre, which has not objected to the church moving in, according to Jill Nagy, the attorney representing NorthStar.
Nagy said the former theater would continue to be a taxable property despite its partial use as a church.
Nagy said Boscov’s, which purchased the theater from Donald Fox and is leasing the property to the church for 10 years, would continue to maintain the former theater.
Wendy Orzolek, the pastor at NorthStar, said the 12-yearold church draws an average of 60 to 80 people each Sunday morning.
Orzolek said NorthStar is currently a “church in a box.”
The church had been meeting at Exeter Junior High School.
To prepare for its 10 a.m. services, NorthStar unloads its trailer of equipment at 7 a.m.
Orzolek said 12 years of setting up the church every week “does some wear and tear on the people, as well as on the equipment.”
The energy required to set up could be used to make a difference elsewhere, Orzolek said.
Orzolek also said Boscov’s shares “the same heart we do for the community.”
NorthStar would use two of the Fox’s four theaters, Orzolek said, one for its main worship services and one for children’s services and smaller meetings on weekdays.
Orzolek also said the 200-seat theaters give NorthStar room to grow.
Carrie Lynch, the real estate director for Boscov’s, said that with the sloped floors and auditorium style seats, the potential uses for the former theater are limited.
Any renovation work inside the theater would not be cost effective, Lynch said. Lynch said the terms of Donald Fox’s sale of the property stipulate that Boscov’s is not allowed to operate another movie theater on the property, to prevent competition for his Fox Berkshire Theatres in Wyomissing.
It was unclear if the township supervisors needed to give their OK as well, and what the NorthStar timetable for moving in would be.