Category kop

Which part of Greater Philadelphia could see as much as $1B in real estate appreciation?

KOP Rail Project | ConnectKOP.com

 

Yup, I said “B” as in Billion.

If you read the local news like I do, you may have guessed it already; or maybe you didn’t, because you had one too many spiked egg nogs last weekend. No worries, it happens.

If you said King of Prussia, you nailed it!

So to paint a visual for all of you readers out there, the Top 3 areas I am referring to include King of Prussia, Gulph Mills, and Bridgeport. Please bear in mind that these 3 areas are based on my own professional opinion, and not that of the Philadelphia Business Journal. PBJ classified the prime area as “Upper Merion.”

Now, I also believe that areas like Wayne, West Conshohocken, and Norristown will benefit from the rail line as well, but let’s call them my Bottom 3 areas. Out of those 3, Norristown has the most to gain as it is currently in comeback mode.

The reason I specified those areas in particular, is because their combined location is solid (right in between KOP & Philadelphia). Add a rail line, and you’ve got a real estate investor/developer’s dream.

If you take a few minutes to look at one of my past blog posts that discussed this same topic, and then compare a present-day Google Map with the proposed train route options, you will see the pattern I am seeing. Any area close enough to the new rail line will eventually see an increase in value (both residential and commercial), as this is the first time in history that King of Prussia will be connected directly to Center City Philadelphia by regional rail (Greater Philadelphia’s 2 largest areas for employment and entertainment).

Remember, the #1 rule in real estate is “Location, Location, Location.”

Even without a current rail line in place, there is a ton of development going in and around the King of Prussia area as we speak: 1) KOP mall expansion, 2) KOP Town Center, and 3) CHOP’s outpatient facility. There are other small projects being built, as well as additional ones being discussed. If interested, you can read through a more in-depth report here.

The KOP rail project would not only provide a better quality of life for those who commute by car in between Philadelphia & King of Prussia everyday (I-76 East/West is basically a parking lot at rush hour), but it would also promote additional investment/development along its planned route.

Connecting KOP to PHL by rail, could create an additional $1B in real estate value when fully realized. Let’s all watch to see if it gets approved sooner than later.

The “King of Prussia Line” will change Philadelphia forever

 

As PBJ quotes, “All aboard the KOP Express!”

For those who are unfamiliar, KOP is a local acronym for King of Prussia, which is considered to be the largest mall in the US (when measured by total retail space). It’s a slippery slope, as Mall of America has more “stores.”

No matter which way you slice it, KOP is a big and awesome place.

Now, to address the article that inspired this post. There has been lots of talk as well as various plans presented (remember the Schuylkill Valley Metro) for a new rail line out to KOP … for years. For the most part, the plans were always too big and the cost was too extreme.

Enter, the “King of Prussia Line.”

Since SVM is basically dead, and the need for convenient rail out to KOP is more alive than ever, the simplest and most doable approach seems to be an extension of the Manayunk/Norristown Line. Over the last 2 years, there were 30 different options being explored based on location, number of stops, cost, etc. Those 30 options were then whittled down to 16 different options, and today there are only 4 options being considered.

In other words, progress is being made.

With over 30,000 jobs (just within KOP Mall and its surrounding office parks alone), and 25M visitors each year, $500M to get something like this done kind of sounds like a small investment to make for such a large and significant improvement. Not only will it make 76 East/West (in between Manayunk/Roxborough and KOP) more bearable to drive, but it will create a more efficient business/residential/tourist environment for everyone in the Greater Philadelphia area.

As for real estate, you only have to look at the Main Line for an example of transit oriented suburbia. This large part of suburban Philadelphia has thrived since the 1830s, when rail was constructed in areas like Malvern, and it continues to do well today due to it’s storied history, generational families, top-notch schools, and convenient location.

Today, it’s suburban areas like Radnor, Ambler, and Conshohocken that continually do well from a market value perspective, and much of it has to do with their access to convenient SEPTA rail lines.