Insights and observations on the redevelopment and revitalization of post-industrial towns on the Route 422 Corridor in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Pottstown’s Mosaic Community Land Trust — Revitalizing Pottstown from the Ground Up

Where you live becomes a part of who you are. In most cases, goods and services provided locally are your window on the consumer world. The location of goods and services is only part of the story associated with the quality of life of a place. The entire living experience relates to the quality of life you enjoy in your localities. In many cases the older neighborhoods, since the 1960s, have experienced disinvestment, outward migration and job loss.

Business/Employer Recruitment and the Amazon Example

The recent Amazon relocation to New York has been aborted and one of the all-time business recruitments ended with suddenness. The criteria included considering the “sense of place” and “amenity package” of the locations as part of the selection process. Many cities applied, and I believe that both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were contenders. It was a highly sought-after economic development goal for many of cities and states.

Stop Turning Railbeds to Trails

Not every barn needs a group of kids saying, “Hey, here’s a vacant barn! Let’s put on a show.” Similarly, not every railbed needs a trail. I am sure that many people use the trail system in the Philadelphia area and support the conversion of railbeds to trails passionately. I admit that the trails are used quite often by people.

Institutional Resistance When Initiating Change

People think that when change happens, it happens quickly and swiftly. That is not the case in most situations. Being an agent of change, I have gotten used to it and try not to take it personally when I am attacked for “not knowing what I am doing.”

Practical Application of Amenity as an Enhancement of Value

The revitalization of Phoenixville has led to the increase in value of the commercial properties, as well as some of the surrounding residential properties. When the streetscape amenities were installed, people looked differently at the town and the price of real estate. Between the years of 2003 and 2010, assessed property value in Phoenixville increased by approximately $150,000,000 and grew at a rate of 25 percent. Now Phoenixville is about to take another giant leap in value.

Ramps to Nowhere

Last Saturday morning my wife and I were going out to breakfast and she pointed at the Wendy’s on Route 30 in Thorndale and remarked about the fact that they used such big stones that people waiting for the bus had to stand on the road to wait for the bus. There was not a lot of room between the cart way and the curb, making it a dangerous bus stop.

Phoenixville Rail Service? — Localized Finance Models and a Changing Paradigm

We have passed my first initiative challenge in attempting to bring train service to Phoenixville. On September 11, 2018 Borough Council approved without comment or question that we should proceed with the investigation to determine if we are able to create passenger rail service to Phoenixville.

Change in Economic Policy

I was reading that in order to get a minister held in Turkey back there were economic sanctions (steel tariffs) imposed upon Turkey. Drastic change for the country of Turkey, and their currency took a tumble losing 14 percent of its value. People are panicking, and we are only talking about steel tariffs.

As the previous scenario is unfolding in the news, you have to start to wonder just how fragile are some of these economies in some of these countries?

Changes in Phoenixville

I had left Phoenixville in 2012 after working for two years for Manny DeMutis and returned this past February and found that there had been a lot of changes that had taken place in my absence. I had been in Pittsburgh for a couple of years, working on a Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project, and coming home on weekends did not afford me a whole lot of time to do anything. Plus, I have been spending a lot of time in Europe, as I expanded my practice, which further restricted my availability.

Change in Transportation along the 422 Corridor

Recently I returned to Philadelphia after being in Pittsburgh the better part of the last three years looking after my father. Any of you that have elderly parents will soon find out choices in your life will sometimes take a back seat to what you have to do as a responsible family member. Although Pittsburgh, to me, is like being in social Siberia, I would not change a moment of sharing my father’s last days.

Another Road Trip

On May 15, I will begin my annual economic development survey of 70 cities. This is the fourth year, and I plan to make one more trip in 2027. I first took the trip in May 2021, when the Lockdown was winding down.

Housing Affordability and Demand

I have been closely examining the issues surrounding housing affordability. It seems that conflicting interests and a lack of understanding dominate many of these issues. As with everything today, people become passionate about issues that intersect with others, creating a whirlwind of conflict.

New Commonwealth Housing Plan

The commonwealth has released a new plan for housing and housing affordability. The Housing Action Plan is comprehensive and offers scenarios under several headings.

It creates a system to manage tangled titled properties. Clarifying ownership of inherited properties has always been difficult in neighborhood development. Houses sometimes remain vacant for long periods, systems break down, squatters move in — you name it. It’s hard to predict what will happen to a housing unit that could otherwise be rented. The three main points to address this issue are:

Interpretive: Shakeup in Government Funding

While administering programs in the City of Philadelphia, I had access to many potential funding sources and did my best to secure all available funds so we were not reliant on a single source, and program delivery could proceed without interruption. A few months ago, I wrote about cost allocation and its effect on staffing.

Relax, the Semiquincentennial is Here

Semiquincentennial: A combination of “semi” (half), “quin” (five), and “centennial” (hundred), meaning half of 500 years, or 250 years. This plateau reminds me that 50 years ago, I produced one of the largest Bicentennial celebrations on the East Coast — the “ill-fated” Baltimore County Fair.

In my early 20s, I continued to have my pick of good jobs and began my career as one of the first “Job Hoppers.” While others worked for the same company for 30 years, I was on my third job in less than five years.

Housing Affordability and Downtown Development

When developing downtown areas, the uses of the second floor vary from town to town. I remember when I arrived in DuBois, the second floors downtown were historically used as offices. In that case, minimal interior fit-out was replaced by a facilities strategy. Art studios and exercise spaces became popular and replaced the large offices that had previously occupied the space. Much of the space was left vacant if there were a series of rooms.

Not Every Town is Quaint

As an active participant in downtown revitalization, I often read downtown plans and sometimes wonder if they are just part of a mass-produced document where the town name is changed. The word “quaint” appears often in many of these plans.

Like many of you, I have used Artificial Intelligence and thought I would ask it what 'quaint' actually means, because I thought I might be missing something. It told me the following:

Death by Cost Allocation

Much of the federal tax revenue for services is managed by the mission-driven nonprofit sector. In Europe, they are called Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). In the United States, they are referred to as Nonprofits or Not-for-profit hospitals and colleges.

Typically, community-based organizations, often branches of larger groups, handle much of the work involved in supporting the less privileged. These organizations receive funding from foundations, but most of their income usually comes from government contracts targeted at completing specific projects.

Get Up, Stand Up

We are living through turbulent times. The past decade has brought a virus, widespread illegal immigration, and social issues in cities caused by these events. It has impacted both rural areas and downtowns across America.

As I have mentioned several times, the current period the US is experiencing closely resembles Mao’s Cultural Revolution years. This was a decade-long sociopolitical movement that began in 1966 to strengthen Mao's authority and support communism by removing traditional and capitalist influences from Chinese society.

Fourth and Elm in Cincinnati

I spent some time in Cincinnati as part of my economic development survey of 70 cities across the country. I was a little surprised by the recent fight at 4th and Elm, as I was at that location the week before, although not at 3 AM.