South Central Pennsylvania Residential/Commercial Development Thread

[Dequindre]

At Home recently opened at the newly redeveloped West Manchester Town Center in York, PA. The home decor store replaced Macy's as an anchor.

[Dequindre]

Construction has now started on Parkwood Drive Extension in Chambersburg. This road will open hundreds of acres near I-81 up to development. The land was recently rezoned commercial to accommodate light retail/hospitality/restaurant uses.

Road improvement project launched June 21

Greene Twp. re-zoning plan builds on business boom at Exit 17

[Dequindre]

Construction has started on the Sam's Club store at Gateway Hanover in Hanover:

Hanover Sam's Club construction to begin

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

I've noticed recently that the Pennsylvania forum on City-Data is pretty depressing, which isn't surprising considering how poorly the state is doing economically as a whole. However, South Central Pennsylvania seems like one bright spot. I thought this would be a good place to post about new developments, redevelopments, proposed developments, etc. in the Franklin, Adams, York, Lancaster, Cumberland, Dauphin county area.

Post away!

There is a Harrisburg forum.

[Dequindre]

Originally Posted by bluecarebear

There is a Harrisburg forum.

Yes, but according to the label, it's confined to Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry counties. The South Central region of Pennsylvania includes more than those three counties.

[bluecarebear]

Originally Posted by Dequindre

in the Franklin, Adams, York, Lancaster, Cumberland, Dauphin county area.

Those are either Harrisburg or Philly suburbs. Possibly DC/Baltimore exurbs.

[Flyers Girl]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

I don't like any of these "shoppes" because in MOST of these cases I guarantee these new plazas are being built within spitting distance to historic town centers that have PLENTY of vacant old buildings that could easily house a Jimmy John's, ULTA, mattress store, cell phone store, etc. All of these new developments these days are being suspiciously planned to mimic the appearance and ambiance of old walkable town centers. Why not just REINVIGORATE the old walkable town centers we already have?

So agree with this! I even wrote a letter to the editor of my local magazine back in the early 2000s about the development of a shopping center called "Main Street [town name]." It's a development, nothing more. You drive in, park, walk around the quaint little shops, then get back in your car, and drive away. I can't stand these types of places and they seem to be popping up everywhere. Think they're by and larget part of the "smart growth" movement; in my opinion, there is nothing smart about any of them.


Okay, rant over...

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Flyers Girl

So agree with this! I even wrote a letter to the editor of my local magazine back in the early 2000s about the development of a shopping center called "Main Street [town name]." It's a development, nothing more. You drive in, park, walk around the quaint little shops, then get back in your car, and drive away. I can't stand these types of places and they seem to be popping up everywhere. Think they're by and larget part of the "smart growth" movement; in my opinion, there is nothing smart about any of them.


Okay, rant over...

I wouldn't care so much if the state was growing rapidly enough to accommodate both the development of these new "town centers" on open space AND the revitalization of historic town centers nearby. The problem is that in the case of our state at least one of these commercial nodes tends to cannibalize the other, and it's normally the historic old Downtown business district that loses out in the long run.

What's so "smart" about a "Shoppes"-center that you have to get in the car to drive to? I know Downtown Lancaster is thriving despite all of the new commercial growth occurring nearby, but that's the exception---not the rule---and it's because Lancaster County's population has been exploding enough over the past couple of decades to comfortably support both a healthy Downtown and new commercial sprawl.

Are Downtown Altoona, Johnstown, Erie, Scranton, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Chester, New Castle, McKeesport, Pittston, etc. all thriving? No. Commercial vacancy is high in all of these historic cities while there are numerous newer "lifestyle center"-oriented developments nearby.

You CAN successfully incorporate big-box retail into the urban fabric of a large city, too. Downtown Williamsport has a Wegman's. Pittsburgh's urban East Liberty neighborhood has a Target and Home Depot. The Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC has a Target and I believe a Best Buy. Manhattan has a Home Depot. There's plenty of available brownfield redevelopment sites in our state's charming old boroughs and cities that can be reclaimed for commercial use before we have to go paving over more farmlands or tearing down more trees.

[Flyers Girl]

Originally Posted by SteelCityRising

What's so "smart" about a "Shoppes"-center that you have to get in the car to drive to? I know Downtown Lancaster is thriving despite all of the new commercial growth occurring nearby, but that's the exception---not the rule---and it's because Lancaster County's population has been exploding enough over the past couple of decades to comfortably support both a healthy Downtown and new commercial sprawl.

My favorite part of the article that prompted my Letter to the Editor all those years ago was when a woman who owned a flower shop across Route 100 (a 4-lane, divided highway at that point) from the proposed shopping center hoped that increased "foot traffic" would lead to increased visibility for her shop. I actually laughed out loud when I read that, and proceeded to think, 'lady, ain't NOBODY walking across Route 100!'