Category city ave

Is City Ave Philly’s next boom spot?

It may very well be … but it will take a few years.

You may remember one of my posts from last year titled “The Vision for City Ave.” As you can see, that post highlighted some of the yet-to-be-seen potential for this heavily traveled area. The good news is that Lower Merion has come through on some zoning changes which will now allow this area to flourish with new and practical development for the foreseeable future.

These changes went into effect on April 30th.

This article states that City Ave should be compared to the DC area’s Tyson’s Corner, VA; which is a good thing. The Philadelphia area, in general, needs to start better leveraging its existing assets (extensive public transportation, population density, Center City core, etc.) to further its reputation as a global city that is forward thinking.

What you will most likely see in the years to come will be larger projects with mixed-use aspects that are driven by TOD (Transit-Oriented Development).

And since this area is only about 10 minutes from my front door, I’m looking forward to seeing what the future has in store for City Ave.

The Vision for City Ave

 
If you’re from the Philadelphia area, or even if you’re not, you are probably familiar with an area us locals like to call “City Ave.”

What exactly is City Ave? Well, it’s probably one of the most interesting business districts in our area because: 1) It’s half city, half suburban, and 2) It provides a good mix of schools, businesses, and commercial properties sandwiched in between two very different neighborhoods; Wynnefield/Overbrook & Bala Cynwyd/Lower Merion.

But why is there such a large focus now on making the “New” City Ave better than the “Old” City Ave? Here are a few reasons why there is so much effort being put into this area today:

  1. 25,000 people work in the area, and 40,000 people live within a 10 minute walk.
  2. There are 2 train stations, 6 bus routes, and highway access points. Plus, it’s only 15 minutes from Center City, Philadelphia.
  3. It’s home to St. Joseph’s University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
  4. You get skyline views, and have access to shopping, dining, etc.

If those aren’t enough reasons to get the businesses/residents in this area to at least think about an upgrade, I don’t know what will.

Read on to learn more about what changes may be coming soon (…with a little help from Lower Merion).