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

When the Administrative Elite Goes Silent

When I graduated from college with a BA in Political Science, my father helped me get an appointment as an intern for the AFL-CIO in the Industrial Union Department (Old CIO). I was excited to start a career and was assigned to work on an education program explaining the new Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971.

Disrupting The Administrative Elite

In my last few columns, I have discussed how things work in government. In my August column, I discussed how the administrative elites can make problems disappear through interpretation. In September, in my interview with Phoenixville philanthropist Manny DeMutis, I discussed how environmental issues impacting local beaver habitats in the revitalization of Phoenixville impacted potential development.

Phoenixville Revitalization — Interview with Manny Demutis

(The following is an interview Barry Cassidy conducted with Phoenixville developer Manny Demutis in Cape May, New Jersey on September 8, 2024.)

Q. Why are you spending a lot of time in Cape May?

We own the Inn of Cape May, an ideal summer setting. I have a house close to the hotel and provide oversight when needed. I try to blend as much work time as I can into days at the beach.

Q. Saw the live band out in front of the Inn last night. It seems like you drew a nice-sized crowd out there.

Understanding the Administrative Elites

I remember attending meetings with my peers in economic development and being told I could not do what I was doing. I know that sounds odd, but it is true. I have always tried to be creative when doing economic development. I gained expertise because I would read the regulations and examine the process for getting things done. My theory was that if there is a form to ask if you can do it, you can do it if you meet the criteria.

City Downtowns Contracting

The conversion of office space to housing is not just a potential wave of the future but also a promising avenue for real estate developers and business owners. This trend, while requiring the satisfaction of existing leases in some cases, also presents a unique opportunity in the wake of the remote work shift that has affected downtown businesses across America. More housing would put more people on the street.

The Rise of Vintage

While in London for the Phillies game, my wife and I had a little bit of free time to shop and dine out. In Chelsea, we visited the John Lewis Department Store. It was a full-blown department store with electronics and appliance departments. I think it was six floors packed with goods. In the ladies' clothing section, I took a seat while my wife browsed the English fashions.

Filling Vacant Storefronts After the Pandemic

I am currently in Portland OR on my cross-country journey to evaluate the recovery from the 2021 lockdown. I was deeply impressed by the transformative power of innovative strategies and the strategic use of ground-floor retail. These approaches are not only breathing new life into the towns but also fostering a sense of optimism and advancement.

Downingtown Property Owners and Residents to Address Flooding

As a property owner in Downingtown for the last twenty years or so, I have experienced three floods that have affected the community. They all caused a lot of damage, and it took a long time to recover. The flooding during Hurricane IDA was particularly devastating.

The thing about Downingtown is that, in many cases, if it is not raining, there is no problem, and it is time to move on. I tried to work through the process to address flooding issues and found the process onerous locally.

Establishing a “Sense of Place”

When Fred Kent created and ran the Project for Public Spaces, he inspired me with the placemaking concept, and I became very interested in learning. He was somehow ousted later, and the group of 400 people he put together internationally collapsed under new management.

I always remember what he said about how you can only hold someone’s interest for about 100 feet when they are walking in a downtown setting. Figure twenty-five feet per storefront would be like four storefronts in terms of distance.

The Second Round of Lockdown Study

I plan on another nationwide evaluation of downtown vacancies due to the 2021 lockdown. This time, I will leave a few days before I did in 2021 and hope it does not get upper 90s temperatures in some of the locations, as I encountered in 2021.

I will also be able to have solid data on office vacancies in many of the big cities during this round. Still, I can also quickly determine the office vacancies in some small towns that I need to rank in the system.

Vision and Development

I was in Phoenixville the other day and found that the new downtown development is being constructed that will soon transform downtown Phoenixville. The project has been in the works since 2010. My working the project through the initial approval process was my first consulting job after the Main Street CDC in Phoenixville.

“I Am Main Street” Begins

The effort to create a more dynamic and self-sustaining downtown/neighborhood revitalization effort is finally ready to kick off. Eight downtown managers from around the state have banned together to form the “I AM MAIN STREET” organization. Starting anything from scratch is a difficult task, and there have been many ups and downs while starting this movement.

Promotions and Festivals as an Economic Development Tool

There is always a need for things to happen in a downtown around Christmas in order to spur year-end sales. It is hard for a downtown to compete with big box stores or the chain stores that are located in malls. People try to shop in the downtown central business district as a way of securing alternative goods that are not part of the homogenized offerings of the chains and the big box stores.

Downtown Development as a Profession

Many people ask me “How did you get into the downtown development business?” The fact is that I am not sure how it happened. I remember in the early years it was not really a profession, and it was hard to explain what I did for a living.

Can Something Be So Bad It Is Good?

I have worked in a number of communities that have attempted to revitalize their downtown, and faced obstacles because of poor housing stock surrounding the downtown. The commonwealth attempted to address this problem with the Elm Street program. If the housing stock around the downtown is deteriorating, in many cases it deters people from entering the area.

Future of Main Street/Budget Constraints Imperil Program

It appears that a number of things have not gone well for the Pennsylvania Main Street program the last few years. Severe budget cuts and the loss of a designated specific line item in the Commonwealth budget have hurt the program. The number of Main Street programs across the state decrease annually, as local budgets shrink along with the Commonwealth’s budget.

What Kind of Place is Your Downtown?

Summer is a good season for getting outside and walking around. The warm summer nights could afford many an opportunity to walk around in the downtown. Many times people walk around and really do not pay much attention to anything but the path in front of them.

I would like to suggest the next time you take a walk, do it in your downtown. You will be surprised at what you see if you pay a little attention to detail. Towns change over time but some things just remain the same.

Pennsylvania Main Street Program is Imperiled

I am the co-founder of the Pennsylvania Downtown Center and I attend their annual conference. I have not been a main street manager for a few years, so it is more a labor of love to attend than a necessity. The conference is always a good time, but this year I retired early because as I age, 10 PM has become the new 11 PM.

Elections and Downtown Management

I have been in the Main Street Management field for almost 30 years, and I have always found that public service people, like main street managers, come under greater scrutiny during an election year. Many times, it is derived by inference. Some person running for office or supporting someone running for office normally has an agenda or platform, and if something relating to your program somehow… someway… bears any resemblance to the platform or agenda, you end up in the cross hairs.

Brownfields and Community Development

In many of the communities that I visit, there is a common problem of a contaminated property. It is considered blight, and in most cases, there is a consensus that the blight should be remedied. Sometimes it is a downtown property, as it was in Downingtown, with the O’Brien Machinery property, and other times it is in a residential area like in Forest Hills.