Hallelujah!
Like many in our community yesterday, I was surprised by the news that the Rite Aid at Main and Broad would be shutting their doors on Sept. 10. Upon finding out, I was immediately struck with a sense of hopefulness that the doorway to our community might one day again be a more welcoming and vibrant corner of our community.
As I have stated in previous columns, this corner is extremely important to our community and the potential sale and redevelopment of this property means new life can be brought to Lansdale in a very real and physical way.
It is important to first acknowledge the limitations, as a community and as a government, that we have on the coming changes. The property owners, HLC Lansdale out of Pittsburgh, have the right to sell the building to whomever they want. That buyer then has the right to build whatever they want, so long as it meets the zoning requirements.
Lansdale Borough Council, I, and the rest of the local government can only offer ideas, suggestions, and support for how to best redevelop our community and the commercial spaces that occupy it. Like events of the past, if a redevelopment plan meets the requirements and expectations of the zoning ordinance that governs a property, borough council would be in legal jeopardy to try and deny approval.
However, unlike in the past, we have hired a downtown and economic development consultant in Stephan Barth to help manage these exact scenarios and to offer suggestions on how we can foster a more vibrant downtown that appeals to more people and more businesses in a multitude of ways. His participation in this process is critical to helping us proactively reach out to businesses and developers who might have an interest in our community and allow us to have supportive and productive conversations around what the community may need and would support.
Let’s not mince words: the redevelopment of the Rite Aid corner combined with the possible renovations and redevelopment of the former Wells Fargo building means our community can substantially improve our downtown in ways that it has not seen in decades. We need to meet this moment and use every lever available to us — which is certainly limited in scope — to encourage the development that our community needs.
From a business standpoint, Lansdale, under any audience evaluation review, has one of the best markets for business in the area. We are a sizable and diverse population — nearly 19,000-plus residents — in a dense and walkable community on a commuter line filled with residents whose average household income is over $77,000 (nearly 14% higher than the PA median). The market for success is here.
There is one other reality that also needs to be addressed: the prospect of a critical vacancy for an extended or protracted period.
As we have seen with other vacancies in our community, a property owner is not under any obligation to do anything with their vacant space other than to maintain it to meet code requirements — something I disagree with deeply. As noted above, the property owners are not in Lansdale, and it is undetermined if they are going to actively promote the sale or redevelopment of the property.
Obviously, it is my hope that HLC Lansdale will take proactive steps to either redevelop the property to meet modern aesthetics and standards that would appeal to businesses that want to call Lansdale home or sell the property to someone who has a vision for the corner that helps our community thrive and grow. As a community, the changes happening in our commercial spaces over the next 12 months have the potential to dramatically change the trajectory of our community and I look forward to actively engaging with all of you in ways that we can ensure we keep our community moving forward.
(Mayoral Musings is a weekly op-ed column submitted to North Penn Now, courtesy of Lansdale Borough Mayor Garry Herbert. The views expressed are his own and are not representative of North Penn Now or Lansdale Borough.)
See also:
Mayoral Musings: The Promise of Private/Public Partnerships In EMS Funding
Mayoral Musings: Susquehanna and Courtland to Change to Two-Way Traffic This Month
Mayoral Musings: National Night Out is Tonight!
Mayoral Musings: What The Borough Can (And Can't) Do To Preserve History
Mayoral Musings: Revisiting Revenue Per Acre and Vacancy Ordinances
