Who owns Reading’s blighted homes? The answer is often unclear.

This article was originally published by Spotlight PA. READING — One week into 2026, a 125-year-old Poplar Street rowhome collapsed, temporarily displacing four people in a house next door. The result in the months since: a hole where the home once stood and around $100,000 in emergency demolition costs the city is unlikely to recover anytime soon. The building’s owner has a Staten Island mailing address and owns multiple buildings in the county, including two on the city’s certified list of bl...