Wynn Project Could Shake Up Philadelphia Waterfront

Posted on April 8, 2013 by Roy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Where North Beach Street twists and turns into Richmond Avenue in Fishtown, the old William Cramp & Sons shipyard has been the envy of developers and dreamers alike.

It’s 60 open acres of Delaware River waterfront, a vast blank canvas.

And the man with all the paintbrushes is Las Vegas resort-and-casino developer Steve Wynn.

Two weeks ago, Wynn finally released his plan for developing the site. Local reaction has run hot and cold.

Everyone agrees that the Wynn project could be a game-changer for the waterfront, finally giving purpose to land that has been idle since after World War II.

Philadelphia’a Tioga Seection Sees A Turnaround As New Businesses Move Into Old Factory Sites

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Roy

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

VERNA TYNER was 10 when her family moved to Venango Street in Tioga 40 years ago.

“I thought I’d died and gone to heaven,” Tyner said of her new home. “It was just a gorgeous, beautiful neighborhood. The lawns were manicured. The trees were trimmed.”

But as Tyner grew up, the neighborhood fell down.

Dozens of factories that dotted Tioga, Nicetown and Allegheny West began closing, putting thousands of people out of work.

Among them: the Budd Co., which made railcars and later automobile doors; Tasty Baking Co., maker of Tastykakes; and the Stanley Blacker suit factory.

Malvern Apartment Complex Nears Completion After 10 Years In The Works

Posted on February 4, 2013 by Roy

Map of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States with township and municipal boundaries (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The developer calls Malvern “the town that time forgot” – its main street lined with Victorian-style houses, small boutiques, and local watering holes like the Flying Pig Saloon.

But Eli Kahn and his partners are betting that a $45 million apartment and retail complex on East King Street will help satisfy urban appetites in one of the region’s most venerable suburbs – and entice empty nesters and young professionals looking for a citified environment outside the city.

Construction on the East King Street redevelopment project began in June and includes two large apartment buildings with 190 units, plus first-floor retail space that Kahn envisions renting to restaurants, coffee shops, and boutiques. The complex, due for completion in August, also is to house a Whole Foods grocery.

Kahn and his partner, David Della Porta, spent several years buying 11 parcels on the site, and the project has been a decade in the making. A house on one small parcel remains because an elderly resident didn’t want to leave her home and declined to sell, Kahn said.

Businesses On Lansdale, Souderton-Telford Main Streets Poised For Comeback

Posted on March 3, 2012 by Roy

Image via Wikipedia

Malls and big box stores upset the traditional relationship between residents of boroughs and their Main Street businesses.

But thanks to revitalization plans that have unfolded over the last decade, Main Streets are being beautified and making a gradual comeback.

“I believe we can recreate much of the community feel that was alive in the era before the mall, but the new and improved downtown will reflect businesses and activity relevant to the current decade,” said Lansdale Borough Council member Mary Fuller.

“Communities don´t go downhill overnight. They aren´t going to come back overnight,” said Pam Coleman, manager of the Souderton-Telford Main Streets organization. “The reality is the boroughs (of Souderton and Telford) have been working on it 11 years. We´re fortunate that we have a committed council.”

Marriott Hotel Moving Toward April Opening In Coatesville

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Roy

COATESVILLE, PA — The Marriott Hotel along Route 82 is behind schedule for its mid-April opening, according to developers.

To meet their deadline, the developers asked City Council to allow an above-ground stormwater basin planned for the site to go underground instead. Developer Don Pulver said the site has a large amount of dirt that would have to be moved unless it is used to cover the basin.

“We are struggling to get the hotel up and are behind schedule,” Pulver said. “We need to do something with that dirt and try to get the site finished. Time is of the essence.”

The developers are revising the overall plans for the project, which include the hotel, an office building and a restaurant. The revision includes changing the originally proposed parking garage and making all on-site parking surface level.

SAP Adding 500 Jobs In Newtown Square

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Roy

NEWTOWN — It does not seem to matter what the economic forecast is or how rough other employees are having it.

When it comes to the world’s largest business software provider, the “Help Wanted” sign always seems to be front and center.

Coming off what company officials called “the best year in our 40-year history,” SAP will add 500 jobs at its North America headquarters on West Chester Pike.

“The growth of the company as a whole was very strong in 2011 and these jobs in Newtown Square are part of a larger hiring of about 2,800 people across North America,” said company spokesman Atle Erlingsson. “They will be filled by a broad spectrum of people, from those with 10 or 15 years of experience to interns and those looking for their first job out of college.”

McNeil Plant May Re-open In 2013, Executives Say

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Roy

Image via Wikipedia

Johnson & Johnson expects the main manufacturing plant for recall-plagued McNeil Consumer Healthcare will resume production in 2013.

During a Jan. 24 podcast with investors to review the company’s 2011 earnings, Johnson & Johnson CEO William Weldon addressed the company’s ongoing efforts to revamp the Fort Washington plant and return the consumer products previously manufactured there to the market.

McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson based in Fort Washington and the pharmaceutical giant’s largest producer of over-the-counter medications, has issued a string of more than 20 recalls since late 2009. Those include the April 30, 2010, recall of more than 136 million children’s and infants’ products in the largest recall of children’s medication in history.

That large-scale recall led to the immediate closure of McNeil’s manufacturing facility located at 7050 Camp Hill Road in the Fort Washington section of Whitemarsh Township.

Sly Fox Brewing Company’s New Promotional Video About Their New Pottstown Brewery

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Roy

Coatesville RDA Seeking Deal For Train Station

Posted on January 18, 2012 by Roy

COATESVILLE, PA — The city Redevelopment Authority is going to begin negotiations with Amtrak to obtain the current city train station.

Authority Chairman Joseph “Zeke” Disciullo said the railroad company will likely not sell the current station on Fleetwood Avenue until the new station is completed. The new station is proposed for just up the street from the current station.

The move is required because the current station is situated on a segment of track that is not straight, and straight track is required to build larger platforms that comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

“We are going to get an opportunity in the future to buy (the current station) for a buck,” Disciullo said at Monday’s authority meeting.

Philadelphia’s Spring Garden Street Greenway Project

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Roy

Patrick Starr, executive vice president of the Philadelphia region of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, said the organization is working with city and state agencies to transform the 2.2-mile east-west roadway into a linear park or “greenway” connecting the city’s Delaware and Schuylkill riverfronts.

“We think Spring Garden Street can be a real hub of activity,” Starr said. “It has what we call ‘good bones.’ It’s a wider street and some parts already have a median strip with nice trees.”

Read the entire article here: http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20111205_Will_Spring_Garden_get_the_green_light_.html?cmpid=124488489

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
« Apr
		1	2	3	4	5
6	7	8	9	10	11	12
13	14	15	16	17	18	19
20	21	22	23	24	25	26
27	28	29	30	31

Progress Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania revitalization and economic development success stories

Category Archives: Philadelphia Metropolitan Area