Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
New life coming to Granite Run Mall
Promenade at Granite Run will usher in new town center development with shops, housing, entertainment complex
“This will be a huge facelift. For us, this is the beginning of something that has been needing rehabilitation since the late ‘90s.” – Middletown Township supervisors’ Chairman Mark Kirchgasser
MIDDLETOWN >> As a township resident and the chairperson of council, Mark Kirchgasser views the Promenade at Granite Run from two different angles.
No matter which approach he takes, however, he likes what he sees.
The mixed-use development of shops, restaurants, entertainment, a medical office building and apartments, augmented by the existing department stores and supermarket, is replacing the former Granite Run Mall. The highly-anticipated town center, a project of BET Investments of Horsham, is generating the type of buzz heard 43 years ago when the mall came to the site.
“I get questions all the time about when it will open,” said Kirchgasser. “Whenever we (Middletown Township Republican Party) put updates on our Facebook page, we get 20 times the number of hits we usually get.”
Approved by council in November 2015, the redevelopment of the 58-acre site is the culmination of a project begun two years earlier when BET Investments acquired the property. The one-time place to be after classes ended at Penncrest High School, the mall had been in decline for a number of years, unable to attract tenants and shoppers.
“This will be a huge facelift,” said Kirchgasser at the time of the vote. “For us, this is the be-
ginning of something that has been needing rehabilitation since the late ‘90s.”
The overall size of the development will be reduced from approximately 1 million to about 820,000 square feet. About 350,000 square feet will be devoted to retail, with an open courtyard surrounded by higherend stores and restaurants connecting existing tenants Boscov’s and Sears. A Frank Theatre Cinebowl & Grille, combining multiple screens, 10-pin alleys and a restaurant, will occupy the second floor location of the former JC Penney.
The storefronts are nearly 85 percent leased and tenants will be announced in the spring. Some retailers are expected to open late this year, while others will debut in the first quarter of 2018, according to published reports.
The stand-alone Kohl’s, Sears Auto Center, Acme and PennDOT driver testing/licensing facility on the outskirts of the parcel will be joined by a 7,000-squarefoot Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia pediatric office.
With the demolition of the mall complete and the final land development plans filed with Delaware County, BET Investments may begin the permitting process with the township. A substantial amount of site work is underway throughout the parcel, such as retaining walls, footings for the promenade and grading for phase one of the apartments. Construction of the latter will begin with a 176-unit, four-story luxury building on the former ChiChi’s restaurant pad fronting Route 352. The one and two-bedroom units, with an average monthly rental of $1,750, are slated to be available in the fall of 2018, according to published
reports.
The plans show a total of 400 apartments, with the remainder being built on the Oriole Avenue side of the tract. The existing AMC movie theater will be razed.
The overall project will be completed within the recommendations of the design guidelines manual prepared by BET Investments and its engineering firm, with input from the township. The design review committee, whose members include Township Manager Bruce Clark, couinselor Susan Powell and town planner/landscape architect Tom Comitta, will serve in an advisory capacity regarding the aesthetics of the project, such as types of exterior materials, windows and roof treatments.
While the apartment dwellers will no doubt renew their driver’s licenses every four years, they won’t need their sedans and SUVs to navigate their environs. Promenade at Granite Run has been designed as a walkable community, surrounded by a trail connected to the township building and library. The developer is also planning to install an overpass between Acme and the apartment buildings so shoppers can easily stock up on groceries in inclement weather, according to published reports.
“The town center will provide passive transportation,” said Kirchgasser. “People will be able to ride their bikes to the Elwyn train station, the future Wawa train station or Ridley Creek State Park.”
For those who endured the deterioration of Granite Run Mall, watching stores close as their leases expired, the wrecking ball was welcome. As residents try to envision the actual development based on engineering plans and artist’s renderings, it is an image they enjoy creating.
“The visual effect is real,” said Kirchgasser. “When
people look at the rubble, they can visualize what is coming.”
The financial impact of the Promenade at Granite Run will begin in 2018. Council approved a 6.25-percent reduction in property taxes for the current year,
decreasing the millage from 1.6 mills to 1.5 mills and the typical tax bill by approximately $20.
Past revenue from the mall allowed the township to accrue a surplus, driven by increases in real estate tax revenue and the business
privilege tax, which will be applied this year. The benefit will begin again in 2018 with the property’s increased assessed value and mercantile tax collected on a per transaction basis, which will also offer relief for residents on the tax burden
from the Rose Tree Media School District, said Kirchgasser.
“The increased assessment and mercantile tax amounts will only get better,” he added. “Late 2018, 2019 and beyond will really benefit us.”