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Downtown Marketing and Development

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

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Published in Downtown Marketing and Development

  • Article

    Seattle 2026

    While in Seattle, I am documenting the decline of a downtown area. A combination of factors has led the city to focus more of its efforts on the market area near Elliot Bay. Things have not changed much since last year. The astounding number of street-level vacancies shows a shrinking city. There are long strings of v...

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  • Article

    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. I classified every storefront using the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), a standard...

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  • Article

    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. I have managed large h...

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  • Article

    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 developme...

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  • Article

    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 st...

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  • Article

    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 contin...

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  • Article

    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 replac...

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  • Article

    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 i...

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  • Article

    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 o...

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  • Article

    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 M...

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  • Article

    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. Here I was, a 75-year-old man walking around with a clipboard and a $2,000 Nikon camer...

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  • Article

    Life on the Road

    I'm currently on a nationwide trip across the United States to explore vacancies and various types of businesses in American downtowns today. My 70-city journey has already taken me through Memphis, many cities in Texas, and up along the California coast. Most signs of the 2021 lockdown protests have now disappeared,...

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  • Article

    Riots in Los Angeles

    Not many people deal with riot control on a civilian level. As I watch TV and observe the rioting, I think about the measures that I had to invoke after the Mardi Gras riots and the Greek Picnic sexual assaults on South Street. Sitting down and reviewing everything with the city and state police was eye-opening. Much...

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  • Article

    Alvin Lee’s Directive in Solving the Problem of No Train Service in Downingtown

    I was stunned to hear that the Thorndale/Paoli Line may be terminated. I believe it is a bunch of hocus pocus, but you never know. After pondering it a little more, I wanted to share my two cents. If you recall, I initiated the proposal to extend the rail line from Philadelphia to Phoenixville. Manny DeMutis asked me...

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  • Article

    Turmoil in Grant World

    These are interesting times if you make your money providing public finance, like I do. I have an EPA Environmental Justice application pending. It is a good application, but you never know if they want to review all applications over $50,000; mine is $150,000. If we get the money, it will mean we met the Trump criter...

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  • Article

    I Get Another Chance

    Very rarely do you fail at something and get another chance to fix it. Such is the case with the only blackspot on my resume. In 2014, my father summoned me to Pittsburgh because he could not care for himself. He epitomized a cantankerous old union organizer who wanted to die at home. He had already alienated everyone...

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  • Article

    Flood Control Along Beaver Creek

    In mid-November, we held the second public meeting of the stakeholders along the floodplain in Caln Township. The Borough of Downingtown is a sub-basin area of Brandywine Creek. The houses along Brandywine and Beaver Creek, as well as Brandywine Creek and Parke Run, are most affected by flooding. These homes constitut...

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  • Article

    When Agencies Go Away, Some Programs Stay

    The incoming Trump administration will bring changes, which remind me a little bit of the Reagan years. We have been promised wholesale changes in the composition of government agencies. Agencies can be consolidated, abolished, or merged to save on administrative costs. In many cases, the agency can go away, but the p...

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  • Article

    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...

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  • Article

    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 b...

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  • Article

    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...

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  • Article

    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 thi...

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  • Article

    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 ha...

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  • Article

    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,...

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  • Article

    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...

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  • Article

    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,...

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  • Article

    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...

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  • Article

    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 b...

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  • Article

    Please Follow the Narrative

    Since the last column, I have been involved in some level of controversy, which has put my professional judgment at odds with a narrative. My credentials in the area of aberrant behavior are substantial — In both my behavior and the behaviors I seek to change. Although much has changed in my personal life, the memorie...

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  • Article

    Dealing with Open Air Drug Markets

    I remember watching The Wire on an HBO binge. I had worked in Baltimore, both in the county and city. In the city, I worked in the Patterson Park Area and did tenant conversions from renter to homeowner. In the Wire lingo, I worked in Prop Joe’s area. I laughed about how they set up “Hamsterdam," an open-air drug mark...

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  • Article

    Towns Struggle with Post-Pandemic Adjustments

    Many cities throughout the United States are struggling with the post-pandemic world. Much of the problem was self-induced when we all went into hiding and started working from home. Only a little was happening in the downtowns, and most was happening took place outside. As I toured the country, I saw how the restaura...

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  • Article

    Technical And Administrative Elites in Today’s Society

    My first job out of college was working for the AFL-CIO in the international headquarters across from Layfette Park in Washington, D.C. I was tasked with compiling a manual explaining the new Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1971 and managed speakers at ten workshops nationwide. I had a lot of time on my hands an...

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  • Article

    Life in America – Homeless Encampment Edition

    The lockdown of 2021 created an upheaval in many lives. Everyone had to shelter in place for a year. This created many issues in our daily routine. My wife and I got to know each other well as we worked from home. We each got a monthly paycheck, even though my work was in slow motion because it was public sector work....

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  • Article

    Trust the Science and Follow the Narrative

    Last week I saw something I had not seen since the publication of the Covert Action Bulletin in the 1970s. The court has prohibited the government from censoring dissenting opinions. It concerned vaccine deniers and, in general, those unwilling to accept everything and the "trust the science" exception to free speech....

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  • Article

    Flood Preparation and Mitigation — The Downingtown Model

    The Hurricane Ida flooding in Downingtown was some of the worst residents saw. Many of the churches and service organizations contacted Mayor Phil Dague and asked him to lead the effort to be prepared for the next flood when it comes. He established a common understanding of risk-informed planning and decision-making...

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  • Article

    Office Vacancies and Retail Recovery

    The face of cities is changing. Recently, the CoStar Group reported that 12.9 percent of office space is vacant nationally, marking the sixth straight double-digit quarter. The rate has increased from a post-financial crisis low of 9.4 percent in the second quarter of 2019. The office space "availability" rate, which...

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  • Article

    Noblesse Oblige Versus Capitaliste Oblige

    The term noblesse oblige was first used in 1835. It is a term belonging to an earlier time of medieval generosity, referring to a lord’s responsibility because of their hereditary inheritance of privilege. I became familiar with it when some guy named Mike used the term in all the classes I shared with him when I was...

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  • Article

    Trust the Science

    German Political Scientist Robert Michels (1876– 1936) theorized the "iron law of oligarchy" during his attempts to explain exclusive organizational behavior. It is as follows: All forms of organization, regardless of how democratic they may be at the start, will eventually and inevitably develop oligarchic tendencies...

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  • Article

    The Value of Design in Maintaining Regional Marketplace Position

    One of the things I look for when strategically repositioning a municipal entity is how a place looks. I have always been a fan of historic resources and how they impact the sense of place in a town. Infill construction is an important part of the design effort. When you are in the city, there is a lot of color in the...

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  • Article

    Repositioning in the Regional Marketplace

    I recently saw a newspaper article about the Municipality of Norristown proposing repositioning the municipality in the regional marketplace. It was refreshing to hear someone take a serious approach to improving the town. Norristown has witnessed a hyper-segregation of low-income people in one area. The hyper-segrega...

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  • Article

    Foot Traffic is the Key to Cities Survival

    As cities continue to come back from the pandemic, Center City Philadelphia is trying to track the foot traffic in relation to pre-pandemic 2019. Their recent study shows that it is about 77 percent of what would have been considered normal before Covid-19. That number has been bolstered by the return of office worker...

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  • Article

    Changes in Place as Space Use Evolves

    I have worked in several different sections of Philadelphia, and recently both of my former streets have been in the news. Repeated shootings on South Street have left the street shell-shocked and led to retail store vacancies far greater than anything I remember in my 30 years in Philadelphia. Kensington Ave (The Ave...

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  • Article

    Cities Changing with the Times

    Remote work has changed the office market in many cities. However, things are far from the ghost towns I saw in the spring of 2021 when I visited 70 cities to inventory and chronicle the effect of the lockdown on cities. In Philadelphia, 87.9 percent of office space was occupied in the third quarter, and by being occu...

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  • Article

    South Street's Redefined Market Position

    I visited South Street in Philadelphia this week to have lunch with a long-time friend. It was the day after there was a news article that had people questioning the closure of the side streets during the Made in America concert weekend. It appeared to me that the police were trying to limit access to the commercial a...

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  • Article

    Flooding in Downingtown

    For the past few months, I have been working with a committee in my hometown of Downingtown concerning flooding. I sent out a mailing asking interested people to form a committee. About ten people are involved, and each has a different interest in the process. One Committee worked on mitigation and was eventually merg...

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  • Article

    As American as Mom and Apple Pie

    Recent efforts to change how we feel about sexual identity have caused a stir throughout the hinterland. In a recent article, I explained that I had no problems calling people by their preferred pronoun. But now, the term motherhood is under attack. You are no longer a mother but a birthing parent. I fail to see how t...

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  • Article

    Stochastic Events and Change, Trust the Narrative

    All, all that you dream Comes to shine in silver lining And clouds, clouds change the scene Rain starts washing all these cautions Right into your life, make you realize Just what is true, what else can I do Just follow the rule Keep your eyes on the road that's ahead of you Paul Barrere / William H Payne A spectre is...

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  • Article

    Sexual Identity and Change

    I recently changed my pronouns to "It" and "Itself" because pronouns are not something I wish to address in my life. However, I still say "yes sir" and "yes mam" without regard for the nuances in public discourse. We may think that gender is pretty cut and dry, but some think oppositely. Maybe you could fear your inne...

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  • Article

    Last Days of Lockdown

    Within days I will be rolling out a new website highlighting to my trip across the country from May 15 to June 15, 2021. I am glad I could make the trip to visit cities across America. Thank my benefactor, Manny DeMutis, for letting me work on creative projects. I took special care to visit friends along the way as we...

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  • Article

    Change: The Ability to Say What You Think

    Knowledge and technology have a way of inserting themselves to change customs and traditions of the past. What a person believed and spoke about in one era could be accepted as true, only to determine that it was false later because of a deeper understanding of the subject. I still believe Galileo was a heretic. For e...

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  • Article

    Change: Law and Order in the Cities 2022

    As I visited cities across America between May 15 and June 15, 2021, I felt very secure walking around 70 towns and cities. I had a couple of incidents but nothing major. Most of my career has been spent working in less than stellar areas and performing community development tasks. I am familiar with the routine of ha...

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  • Article

    Preparing for a Disaster

    As I muddle through the plethora of options on flood recovery and mitigation in Downingtown, I have been struck by the FEMA and PEMA staff's professionalism. We have been able to make inroads in flood recovery due to their involvement and participation. It appears that I will be able to effectuate a buyout of a couple...

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  • Article

    Flood Relief in Downingtown

    Recently I was asked to help with the flood relief effort in Downingtown. As in many cases, I am helping at no cost. Unfortunately, the Borough of Downingtown is up against it with the flooding this year. There have been two floods, and the lower-income areas that have typically been located in flood plains and indust...

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  • Article

    Equity and Inclusion

    What I have found interesting is the debate over what is being taught in schools. For example, when I was young, in Fords, New Jersey, school #14, we said the "Lord's Prayer" right after the Pledge of Allegiance. Then someone would be required to read a bible passage in front of the class. It was almost putting you on...

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  • Article

    Institutional Poverty

    While at the recent statewide downtown conference in Reading, I spent a couple of days checking out the city. One of the mobile workshops was held at a public housing complex close to the hotel. We were there to talk to the tenants about the outdoor space around their complex. We were standing there outside as people...

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  • Article

    What Makes the Reading to Philadelphia Train Project so Compelling?

    The first time I tried to work on passenger rail service to Phoenixville (Greenline project), I thought we had a good chance of completing the project, and, at the time, the Citizens for the Train group was in high gear. There was a contribution from Liberty Property Trust to do the initial study, and there was partic...

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  • Article

    Office Contraction May Exceed My Estimation

    As I toured America the last month or so, I saw that many cities were ghost towns. If there was a large office concentration, those buildings stood vacant. Corresponding retail was either completely closed and all of the inventory pulled off the shelves or closed without notice of closure with inventory and fixtures r...

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  • Article

    Messaging and Vacant Space

    I have finished my trip across the country trying to assess public/private space in the cities. I was gone from May 15 to June 15 and stopped in many cities along the way. I took the southern route to head west and used a northern route to return. I perceived that the virus has had different outcomes in many of the ci...

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  • Article

    What is Equitable Rail Service?

    As social mores and values change, so do the programs offered by various agencies of government. Things become popular, and there are buzz words that are used and not fully understood. One of the things that have been given more prominence recently in the news media is the concept of “equity.” People talk about equity...

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  • Article

    Space Assessment in America

    I think that having my basic existence upset at this stage of my life was a surprise. I never thought I would spend a year indoors. Traveling in Italy looking for a house, I became aware of the virus and just got out in time. Upon arriving back in the U.S., I went to Florida for a while and then again, under emergency...

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  • Article

    How Could Tax Increment Financing Work for the Reading to Philadelphia Train Project?

    There are many ways to do things in the public sector, and sometimes proposed programs work, and sometimes they do not. I have made my living using programs that do not necessarily work for everyone. There is usually a substantial discussion on why things work or do not work. Many of these issues are dealt with in pla...

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