A few days ago Eli Kahn said in a Malvern Patch article there were “no flaws in East King design.” (You know other than the buildings are cavernous, hulking, have barely any set backs, and is utterly out of scale with the rest of tiny, small town Malvern.)
So I took some photos today. Take a peek. I still say this is Malvern’s mistake. But I don’t think a super urban looking man-made canyon with zero attention paid to anything other than this developer’s towering edifice to his own legacy enduring or otherwise is the way to go in a very small town.
At the bottom is the rendering of this guy’s Valhalla. I took these photos today because it doesn’t even look like the same street in reality to me. I think the sheer lack of human scale and lack of set backs is profoundly disturbing.
The developers might not appreciate my opinion, but I am entitled to it and it is shared by a LOT of people.
Focus on Malvern Borough continues. The past couple of weeks I have been through Malvern Borough a lot. Just the luck of the draw. But driving up King past the “magnificence” being created by Eli Kahn and David DellaPorta is enough to give me nightmares.
This development which they are pretentiously calling Eastside Flats is unimaginative and looks like hulky, looming Lego buildings that are creating a complete canyon effect in tiny Malvern.
Of course on their artist renderings it is a veritable Vahalla with sweeping land and streetscapes. The reality is the street is narrow and at night it is the same canyon effect and feel that you get on dark streets in downtown Manhattan…only this is Chester County.
There is nothing about what is being built that truly ties into the quaint Borough of Malvern. The horse is out of the barn, so no bells can be un-rung, but lordy is what is being constructed ugly with a capital U. And I can’t wait to say I told you so on the parking. I predict it will be a problem upon completion. It looks like a problem now but I am just a mere mortal and a female. I feel sorry for any house or pre-existing small business that has to exist with this development.
And oh yes, the Whip has bailed so there is no cute anchor restaurant at present:
The owner of The Whip Tavern in Unionville said design shortcomings were behind his decision to cancel plans to open a second location on Malvern’s East King Street.
In a phone interview, Casey Kulp cited an insufficient kitchen ventilation system as one of the reasons he decided against opening in Malvern, after expressing interest in the idea in 2012….
In a recent interview, Kahn declined to comment on the circumstances of the change in The Whip’s plans.
Kulp said he thinks they’ll have a difficult time getting restaurants into the space
And speaking of restaurants, what is the deal with parking at The Great American Pub at 516 King Street in Paoli? As in how do they have sufficient parking? We almost went there last week for a quick bite to eat but opted against it because the only place to park was in that small neighborhood adjoining the restaurant and we did not want to take up residents’ parking at dinner time.
What municipality is that in? Willistown? Wow they sure approach things in a very interesting manner don’t they? They deny Woodlawn a business expansion in an existing structure on their property with ample parking yet they allow The Great American Pub to act like a bar leech and take all parking of a small neighborhood? The parking is a hot mess and I wonder exactly where the valets are dumping cars, don’t you?
Circling back to the original topic, one more article on Malvern’s development atrocity. Somewhat of a fluffy article from the Inquirer that buys David DellaPorta’s New Urbanism Fairy Tale hook line and sinker. (He has been spouting it for years every time he proposes anything.) Malvern isn’t the town time forgot, it is a little borough that has a borough council that was dumb enough to think supersizing will fix all woes. Urbanization of exurbia. Oh yeah, so fabulous because we all want to live in the inner city, right? They are just doing suburban sprawl of a different kind.
The developer calls Malvern “the town that time forgot” – its main street lined with Victorian-style houses, small boutiques, and local watering holes like the Flying Pig Saloon.
But Eli Kahn and his partners are betting that a $45 million apartment and retail complex on East King Street will help satisfy urban appetites in one of the region’s most venerable suburbs – and entice empty nesters and young professionals looking for a citified environment outside the city.
This development in Malvern has never in my humble opinion really been about the town of Malvern. If this was really about the town, the design would have been more complimentary. This project is all about developer pork and profit. Let’s not delude ourselves to the contrary. What will eventually happen here is people will start to avoid going through Malvern like they are starting to avoid going through Ardmore, Bryn Mawr, and even Wayne because of a lack of parking and congestion.
File under taking the farmers market show on the road.
I love the East Goshen Farmers Market . It is far better run than the Farm to City Markets I used to patronize because although not inexpensive, the price points at East Goshen’s market are a lot more attractive than the pricing I see some of the same vendors do in Bryn Mawr. And there is a far greater variety of farms to choose from. Also, the vibe is so awesome each week. As someone settling into a new community after 30 plus years in another community, this is one of the little things that has helped my transition because although I do not know a lot of people out here yet, going to the market has helped be become comfortable with my new community.
East Goshen Farmers Market has so many terrific farmers, and I patronize all but one farm – the farming folk known as the Millers and Birchrun Hills Farm. Given the treatment people I know in West Vincent receive from Farmer-Supervisor Miller and the other supervisors in West Vincent, it is so unfortunate, but I just can’t patronize them. To me it would be morally wrong to put jingle in their pockets. And that pains me, because no matter what I like to support local farmers whenever I can.
Mind you that opinion cost this blog being linked to the East Goshen Farmers Market site (at their original request, not mine) and for the market manager Lisa O’Neill to treat me like I had a disease any time I tried to say hello. She and her co-market manager Donna Levitsky are trying to be politically correct and face it, I am not your average PTA mom…. and I am a blogger who doesn’t just blog about recipes and homemaking projects, so I get that, it’s cool. I just don’t bother to say hi any longer. It is easier and makes them more comfortable – they are so busy on market days, I wouldn’t want to detract from what they have to do by saying hi, you know?
Anyway, Lisa has in all honesty produced a most fabulous market for East Goshen (I featured it in an article I wrote about farm markets and community gardens for Philly.com this summer) , and she is apparently taking her show on the road for 2013. Malvern Patch is reporting that East Goshen’s market will be giving birth in the spring of 2013 to a mini version of itself in Malvern on Saturday mornings. That is awesome, even if it is the exact same time and day I believe as the West Chester Growers Market which is quite simply amazing, as well as the market that is the original of all these local farm markets.
I am glad local farmers will be getting more exposure – this will be another producers only market. That means to be there and sell, you grow it/you raise it.
One question, however. East Goshen Farmers Market is sponsored by East Goshen Township and The Friends of East Goshen – and part of the money they say in their mission statement goes back to East Goshen Park. So will part of the monies here go back to Burke Park in Malvern Borough where this will be held? Who is sponsoring this market? Is the borough or is there another non-profit sponsor? Or maybe they will start their own company or non-profit at this point? And what do Lisa O’Neill and her co-manager Donna Levitsky (one of the owners of Shellbark Hollow Farm which is a participating farm at East Goshen Farmers market) get out of this monetarily? Not being mean, just being realistic. A former neighbor is the market manager of the Bryn Mawr Farmers Market and I know the lady who manages the Collegeville Farmers Market. I know the incredible amount of time they put into running just one market. Will they receive a salary for this Malvern market? A profit-sharing slice of market profits? Or is this all done in a volunteer capacity? Either scenario is fine with me, I am not judging – I am merely curious how it all works. Most markets I have come across, pay their market managers something for all their efforts. And running a Saturday morning market will sure mean more effort as they will be up with the roosters to ensure the market is set up by 9 a.m.
Here’s the update from Patch and I am looking forward to this market and Kimberton Whole Foods coming to Malvern! I am still not a fan of the development occurring on East King Street, however, outside of Kimberton Whole Foods coming to town. I think the development in the end will prove to be too dense and too much for the borough of Malvern to handle.
Local communities do indeed benefit HUGELY from things like farmers markets. It brings people to town who might never otherwise visit. And Malvern is cute. The Bryn Mawr Farmers Market (albeit expensive) has greatly benefited Bryn Mawr by giving it foot traffic on Saturdays, and things like First Friday Main Line and Clover Market have also similarly benefited main street Ardmore. (and if you have never been to either First Friday Main Line or Clover Market, you should check them out!)
Hey, it is the end of September so what farms are doing the best corn mazes and hay rides and pumpkin things this year? Let me know! You know how I love pumpkins!!!
Today when the news came that Brian O’Neill was continuing with Uptown Worthington’s next phase, I was not one of the ones cheering. First I thought of my former township (Lower Merion) and the O’Neill projects in moth balls and sites looking shabby. Then I started to think about the development I have seen since I moved to Chester County, and I am concerned.
With regard to Malvern, I will say again, You know what I think Eli Kahn and Jack Loew’s project is going to be like when it is done? A super-sized Charleston Greene. And over the years, how has Toll’s Charleston Greene worked for you ,Malvern?
A friend said to me a little while ago “You can’t spend other people’s money and generate prosperity. ”
Further township discussion of a controversial Bala Cynwyd development plan has been postponed until next month.
Developer Ed Morris of Traditional Properties LP had hoped to take his new plan for an assisted-living facility at 27-33 Old Lancaster Road to Lower Merion commissioners this week….Morris got zoning-hearing board approval in late July of a special exception to build a “home for the aged” on the parcels, which today are occupied by two single-family homes. The stone colonial houses would be demolished.
The plan was a switch from development plans approved by the township in 2006 for a four-story, 21-unit condominium building. Morris has said that marketing efforts to sell units in the proposed building were not successful as the housing market stalled….A number of residents in surrounding neighborhoods in Bala Cynwyd and Merion objected to the change in direction, saying that the assisted-living facility is a more commercial use, out of character with the area.
Then there is the thought of how many malls and mall like places do we need? Exton is but minutes away with the Exton Square Mall, Main Street at Exton and the countless other smaller strip malls in and around it. King of Prussia is also fairly close with the giant King of Prussia Mall and all the other various and assorted strip malls and sub-developments in the vicinity. (And don’t forget that charming casino because you know nothing says U.S. history like a slots parlor next to where George Washington literally slept.)
In addition to these larger malls and newer strip malls are all the other strip malls and often funky shopping centers on Route 30, Paoli Pike, Route 3, pick a road.
Really Chester County, how much development do you want? How much development do we need as residents? Are we actually getting new stores or are businesses just hop-scotching between retail developments, moving every few years to whatever the next sweetest deal is? And do you want a steady stream of fill-in-the-name-big-box-retailers and chains? What of the independent local business where they know their customer base and might be your neighbors?
I saw the development of Chester County in a most unusual way on my 9/11 hot-air balloon ride. I saw the development from the air. From high up in the sky it looked like miles and miles of Legos – developments all cookie cutter.
Chester County on a county level needs to get a real grip on the future. The economy is not recovering, and still these developments proceed. Developers will say they bring jobs, but once you get beyond retail shift work and minimum wage, what is there? And you need more than that to fill up the condos, town homes perched on formerly rural highways, and the communities of McMansions. (Don’t forget about the fact they are trying to supersize Birchrunville in West Vincent. And then there is other potential residential development in the future, right?)
Once the open space is gone, it is not coming back. Once the charming cross-roads towns are gone and the farms are gone, they are also not coming back. That’s all. Just think about it.
My wish for Chester County is a revolution of common sense.
Beautiful. No other word can describe the Great Blue Heron who lives at the Willows in Radnor Township. I call it Big Blue.
The photo above was taken a few days ago by my pal Greg Prichard. The photo below was taken by me in the same vicinity two years ago at the same time of year.
If there is any doubt why we need to preserve our environment and open space, just look at this magnificant bird. You don’t see creatures like this in office parks, strip malls, and New Urbanism Fairy Tales of Transit Oriented Development.
I love being in Chester County. Before I was a resident, anytime anyone wanted to take a leisurely drive and explore, I was all for it.
Birchrunville was one of those places. Quiet and charming, consisting of small country roads. Farms. Horses, as you can actually still ride your horse on the road which you won’t be doing if this development happens. Great old country architecture and some incredible old houses. The real deal of charm.
It is NOT a place where developers should come in with their Emperor’s New Clothes grand plans for supersizing a small hamlet. The residents should not allow it, and quite frankly, any elected or appointed official who likes a plan like this should be voted out as soon as possible.
We are, after all, talking about West Vincent Township. And for West Vincent Township to go from needing/wanting eminent domain for private gain at Christmastime 2011 to this plan now, well it is so very Lower Merion Township that I can’t stand it. And I can tell you how the story turns out: it doesn’t.
Once upon a time Lower Merion made a bid for eminent domain for private gain. Then they put people through the pain of grand redevelopment plans. All people wanted was a train station. What they got was heartache, headaches, and nothing. Well nothing except a lot of money spent on plans, plans, and more plans. A lot of the money spent was part of $6 million dollars that your Congressman Jim Gerlach got so Ardmore could have a new train station/transit center. So much of that money has been squandered that I just don’t get why Jim Gerlach hasn’t pulled the money back yet. But maybe he will and it will serve Lower Merion right.
And don’t let Supervisor David Brown tell you he had no idea of what went on in Lower Merion. He was too entrenched in the politics for too many years not to know. Via his own online political resume you can see: Republican Committee of Lower Merion & Narberth Committeeman 1976 – 1990, Counsel to Committee 1990 – 2004, Member Executive Committee 1990 – 2004, Former Solicitor to Montgomery County Controller,Gladwyne Civic Association, Former Director, Former Vice President.
….a letter in February 2004 informing him that Lower Merion Township had targeted his property and those of his neighbors for eminent domain acquisitions, he was devastated and uncertain about how to proceed….
In September 2004, the Township hired an independent consulting firm to study Ardmore and assess the extent to which economic redevelopment really required condemning their properties, as local officials contended. The Urban Land Institute, an outside organization that specializes in land use and has no financial connection to the business owners or the Township, conducted a comprehensive study of the downtown business district slated for demolition, and strongly urged against the plans proposed by the Planning Commission. Instead, the Institute submitted a number of alternative approaches to the Township, all of which protect property rights and promise the same benefits the municipality sought without condemning the Ardmore properties.[3]
“We kept coming up with alternative plans, but the Township kept ignoring us,” Mahan said.
In December 2004, the Lower Merion Board of Commissioners overwhelmingly approved the most destructive redevelopment option of all the plans submitted for its consideration. The proposal submitted by Hillier Architects called for the demolition of Ardmore’s entire historic district—even though Hillier simultaneously concluded that all of the buildings were in restorable condition…….the Save Ardmore Coalition continued fighting, attending all civic meetings, speaking against the proposal and especially against the abuse of eminent domain, and pursuing practically every grassroots avenue available.
“We’d march to the meetings, carrying signs and making statements. We’d have 300 people on our side, and 100 of them spoke out against the Hillier plan,” he said. “We just kept gaining momentum and the SAC kept growing and growing.”
These plans fermented for years prior to 2004 being the year eminent domain came full out in the public eye. And during that time there were commissioners on the board in favor of this, including one Ken Davis and there is no way David Brown did not know him. Ken Davis represented parts of Gladwyne and was a fellow Republican and member of Gladwyne Civic. Trust me, not that big of a sphere.
And if David Brown is for this development of Brichrunville, then he should go as soon as his term is up, but if Ken Miller and Clare Quinn are up first, vote them out. If you do not change the face of who governs you in West Vincent, you will not achieve what you need to achieve. I know because because I was part of a group who did it. We flipped five of the seven commissioner seats up in elections, and the people who came in had adopted our group’s mission to defeat eminent domain for private gain. You see, we endorsed no one. We had a position: no eminent domain.
But after we defeated eminent domain and the fractured community came together once again, we were faced with re-development plans. We should have said no.
And if you don’t believe how the land can be raped and pillaged by development that is not truly necessary, take a ride down King and check out the mega mess in Malvern. They got sold a New Urbanism Fairy Tale and they will rue the day when all is said and done is my prediction. I am not anti-progress, but I am anti-supersizing it on the theory of build it and they will come because it is not true. All this hoo ha over transit oriented development. It’s suburbia, people will always drive, always have cars. Duh.
Malvern got themselves a nice new train station, and if this current development being built was much smaller and in a scale actually in keeping with a very small town? Well we might be having a different conversation. Instead, West Vincent, you are being presented with cautionary tales.
But residents, I and others can talk about it, offer opinions from the sidelines and write articles, but you have to pull a real We The People and rise up with pitch forks if necessary. You have to not just talk about it but actually fight. Accept it will get nasty and dirty tricks will abound. To me, it should all be important enough to preserve your way of life. As well as your property values. (C’mon you think you are going to find it easy to sell a property if West Vincent keeps up indefinately with the West Vincent of it all?)
Rise up, support folks like BirchrunvillePeople who are trying to do good. And if you feel your government is not quite right and not quite ethical, hello it is a MAJOR election year. Your congressman needs more than checks from fat cats to survive, he needs votes. Get him to come around an you show him what you are trying to preserve. Go to the state. Surely the Attorney General’s office and ethics board are there for a reason?
But you have to do it for yourselves. This video like the one up top is awesome. Kudos to whomever did that. It literally shows people what you are talking about.
None of this will be easy, but you defeated eminent domain for the time being, so keep on keeping on and save Birchrunville too. After all, you may or may not realize that developers as much as they love to destroy small towns, also love to recreate them. You have the real deal. Preserve your way of life.
And don’t be swayed by “oh but look we can improve our roads.” Beg to differ. If your roadmaster actually took the proper care of the roads you would be fine. But what will happen with road improvements if development occurs? It will look good for a while because it is new and then it will be back to mainteance business as usual so what is the difference?
This historic school house could be easily sold and preserved from what the video says. It is YOUR community. Make that happen. YOU are the taxpayers. YOU are the voters.
June 23rd was the last time I wrote about Malvern on this blog. Before that I wrote in May.
I feel that Malvern’s super-sizing via the Eli Kahn development on King Street is a huge mistake. Having gone by the site quite a few times at this point, I am profoundly disturbed by what I see every time, and can easily envision for the future. Yes, it is a site that should be redeveloped. But why not a park and a couple of stores? Or something Malvern lacks? Sufficient parking?
You know what I think Eli Kahn and Jack Loew’s project is going to be like when it is done? A super-sized Charleston Greene. And over the years, how has Toll’s Charleston Greene worked for you ,Malvern?
Hasn’t that been a problem site, with islands not in a stream that are supposed to be traffic calming pedestrian islands that don’t work there anymore than the one in front of Bryn Mawr Hospital does?
I have to laugh every time I hear developers say to those in suburbia and exurbia that living in a “mixed-use” development on little spits of land or wedged in with a shoehorn next to existing buildings is such an exciting proposition. Folks, it’s just another New Urbanism Fairy Tale. Or redevelopment fantasies. Take your pick.
The economy can’t sustain big plans. And who says people outside a city want to be crammed in like lemmings? Doesn’t everyone know what happens to lemmings sometimes?
Municipalities dream of ratables like they are drugs and they need a fix. And then you see reality. Reality is that if you have ever lived next to a train tracks or a train station, you don’t repeat it. There is more noise and more dirt, and there is nothing like having your windows open on a nice spring day only to have the unmistakable odor of Septa trains and their burning brake pads wafting in the window.
And when you live on top of train tracks you also have fire fears during warn months or periods of drought. Septa and Amtrak also spray heavy-duty pesticides loaded with carcinogens in lieu of weeding.
Of course, don’t even get me started on stormwater management. You see when you live with rail as the neighbor, you are basically their stormwater management system if they have runoff issues.
I lived across the street from R-5/Paoli/Septa/Amtrak tracks for over a decade, so I know of what I speak. I also have sat and watched developers promise using too tall tales, and then what happens? It doesn’t turn out as planned. After all, when they show municipal fathers and mothers plans at a town meeting, the plans are all lovely with hearts and flowers on a field of green. Not real scale, and how it will look in conjunction with everything else around it.
I firmly believe with Malvern and this development that after the sheen of new wears off, these developments will end up being apartments going for cheap not chic because living on top of transit has limited appeal unless you want to live in the city, or near the 69th Street Terminal or in a row house near the El.
So I think Malvern has bought itself a Pig in a Poke. The town already has a Flying Pig, so it really didn’t need A Tale of When Pigs FlyByA. Developer.
Daddy Warbucks told Malvern they would have big bucks. And they believed him. Dumb. Real dumb.
During a discussion of the police services and budgeting at the June 19 meeting of Malvern Borough Council, resident Joan Yeager asked a related question:
“Once the King Street project is completed, how much additional money is going to come into the borough? In taxes and all,” she said.
“Something in the neighborhood of $60,000 a year,” council president Woody Van Sciver said, citing a financial feasibility study done before the project was approved.
I have written before how I feel that Malvern’s super-sizing via the Eli Kahn development on King Street is a huge mistake.
In March, the Daily Local had one of its nameless editorial columns on it. As was the case with a couple nameless, faceless editorials on West Vincent, they were off the mark on Malvern too. And honestly, part of my problem with these editorial is that if you want to go incognito on a blog, that is one thing, but if you are writing for a large local and regional paper, sign your name.
Ok, did the nameless, faceless anonymous editorial column writers walk the site? Or did they merely expound upon a developer feel-good press release?
I went to the site today while running errands. I was profoundly disturbed by what I saw, and can easily envision for the future. Yes, it is a site that should be redeveloped. But why not a park and a couple of stores? Or something Malvern lacks? Sufficient parking?
West Chester has a good formula in their downtown now, which I saw more of this morning when I went to the West Chester Grower’s Market. Carolyn Comitta and Holly Brown better keep their heads on right, lest they ruin a good thing.
Developers always say the right thing when they come a courting, but what happens when they leave?
Which brings me back to Malvern. You know what I think Eli Kahn and Jack Loew’s project is going to be like when it is done? A super-sized Charleston Greene. And over the years, how has Toll’s Charleston Greene worked for you ,Malvern?
As I went back and forth through Malvern today, checking the streetscape, I had to wonder if they needed super-sized development anymore than Ardmore, PA does? In Ardmore, the residents wanted a new train station which may never appear in anyone’s lifetimes now, but on Monday apparently there is a press conference about the work beginning on the Paoli Transportation Center.
As I said before, as long as I can remember has had an unfortunate identity crisis – mostly stemming from local officials as opposed to residents. The borough of Malvern has a charm that doesn’t need super-sizing with giant Tyvec wrapped buildings that will end up looking like a New Urbanism Disneyland.
Malvern will sacrifice any charm of the area and the traffic will be a nightmare.
I think parts of Malvern may end up looking as unattractive as parts of Eagle, another tiny community developers had a “vision” for. When municipalities suffer an identity crisis, the residents and business owners are the ones who suffer in the end.
I sure hope I am wrong about Malvern and these plans, but I don’t think so. What I see are future buildings just sitting right on the street without sufficient setbacks like Jabba the Hutt, architecture (if you can call it that) that picks up zero cues from its surroundings, over-abundance of density abutting train tracks and an urban feel all wrong for a somewhat sleepy and small Chester County borough town.
And mark my words, just because they build it it does not mean they will come. And if they come, they might not be what you wanted.
But the horse is out of the barn on this one. So we’ll just wait and see. Hopefully I won’t be able to say I told you so. But again, honestly, I think Malvern had better enjoy Malvern before it’s gone.
Last week my friend Teri and I played touristas. We took a staycation day to West Chester. Wel walked the streets in town, and had lunch (al fresco!) at Limoncello.
Limoncello is a wonderful restaurant, and lunch was delicious (if you are a homemade bread junkie, do not under any circumstances try the bread they bring to the table in a basket. It is the best bread ever tasted.)
For Limoncello, not that they will listen to me a blogger, I have two suggestions: (1)The tables inside are definitely TOO CLOSE TOGETHER, and outside they are bordering on the same issue.
and
(2) They offer unsweetened iced tea and sweet tea. The sweet tea is a mix. The five minutes you take to brew real iced tea might add less than another 30 seconds for the time it takes to brew real iced tea with sugar and/or sugar and mint. That is all you need for sweet tea.
We then took in the streets and their merchants are town proud. Flowers in planters everywhere, and what is really neat, is there is almost a uniformity to the outside dining options as far as plants, flowers, and ambiance.
We also discovered a couple of the little boutiques and antiques places. West Chester has a walkability that a lot of other Main Street-oriented towns do not. And that includes traffic calming done creatively. My only reservation is what will happen to this when Eli Kahn does his supersizing and developing right around the center of town in I guess old county buildings. (Don’t forget that height discussion thing.)
Eli Kahn and Jack Loew bear watching. As in closely. I can’t see what they will do from my windows, but I would hate to see West Chester’s charm obliterated by ill-fitting downtown development. I already think their plans for Malvern are ghastly.
Malvern as long as I can remember has had an unfortunate identity crisis – mostly stemming from local officials as opposed to residents. The borough of Malvern has a charm that doesn’t need super-sizing with giant Tyvec wrapped buildings that will end up looking like a New Urbanism Disneyland.
But hey, I can’t see it from my window.
So to answer the question of a guy blogging on Malvern Patch who writes about the East King Development , as far as at what cost this development? Well I think you will sacrifice the charm of the area you call home and the traffic will be a nightmare. I think parts of Malvern may end up looking as unattractive as parts of Eagle, another tiny community developers had a “vision” for.
Of course as I read about in the Daily Local about a missing developmentally challenged boy from up King Road, I also wondered how what currently exists up and down King, whether it would be road or street will co-exist with GRAND PLANS? (you have to use all caps because these developer plans are always GRAND.)
I think super-sizing Malvern is a mistake, but hey that is just my opinion. Part of the reason I wanted to be in Chester County is it isn’t the Main Line, which in many parts has just been ruined by development. But now that I am here, I am learning that dumb development plans exist all over.
And while we are on the topic of building/development, can anyone tell me what is going on at the former site of Maddie’s on Route 30 in Frazer? There is some construction going on and yesterday there were also a slew of union picketers going on. Yet ironically enough, the orginal Maddie’s sign remains – my hypothesis there is if they demolish the sign they might have to go through zoning or whatever to get approval.
A few days ago Eli Kahn said in a Malvern Patch article there were “no flaws in East King design.” (You know other than the buildings are cavernous, hulking, have barely any set backs, and is utterly out of scale with the rest of tiny, small town Malvern.)
