‘Power’ of positive thinking in Chester

The original plan sounded too good to be true. Turned out it was. Back in 2008, when developers rolled out their vision for the Chester waterfront, it was enough to take your breath away. The Buccini-Pollin Group, which was one of the cornerstones for the

At its center was a 20,000seat soccer stadium that would be home for a franchise in Major League Soccer.

But what was really enticing, especially to those who had watched Chester decay for decades, was everything else.

Townhouses, retail and entertainment venues. A convention center. It was all part of a $500 million development to transform the city’s waterfront.

It was impressive enough to attract serious money, as in $43 million in state funds and another $10 million from the Delaware River Port Authority. Even Delaware County Council could not hide a smile, approving a $30 million bond issue, to be financed by revenue from Harrah’s casino, to sink into the stadium project, overcoming a rare “no” vote from Republican Councilman Andy Lewis.

Eight years later, PPL Park is alive and well, even if it has changed names. It is now referred to as Talen Energy Stadium.

But all those townhouses? Nope. Retail and entertainment complexes? Uh, not exactly. A convention center? Didn’t happen.

The developer’s timing could not have been worse. Not long after the shovel went into the ground to build PPL Park, the economy went off a cliff. A recession sparked by the housing and mortgage collapse drove the economy to its knees. Development came to a standstill.

Eight years later, not much has changed.

And that includes the Chester waterfront.

The stadium remains vibrant. But all the rest of that dream remains just that, a pipe dream. That may be about to change. Last week a new player showed up on the Chester waterfront. Actually, Power Home Remodeling has been in Chester since 2010. But the brainchild of 30-somethings Corey Schiller and Asher Raphael believe in Chester and the opportunities that exist there.

That’s why they have teamed with the Union to slap their name on the team’s glittering new training facilities, located just a stone’s throw away along the city’s waterfront.

Christened the Power Training Complex, the building marks a change in the stalled development in the stadium area. And it represents a crucial victory for the city and the team, which had been locked in a dispute over new taxes that at one time had the team considering looking outside the city to build its training complex.

Power Home Remodeling also is putting its money where its own home is as well. They recently doubled their space in their offices in the Wharf at Rivertown down the street, including a 200-seat auditorium and 40,000-square foot center dedicated to training employees from around the country.

Both Schiller and Raphael remember the initial vision for the waterfront, a destination for visitors and a place where employees could have lunch, or hang out when the work day was done.

Now the company will join forces with the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County to get the ball rolling once again when it comes to developing the Chester waterfront.

Now the Union is looking beyond its stadium and training complex, turning its sights on converting the Chester waterfront into the next regional hot spot. It’s a tall challenge. And it’s one we’ve heard before. But the Power Training Complex is not talk — it is a real, living thing, proof that new money and new development is coming into Chester.

Just as Uno’s Chicago Grill did when it opened the city’s first national chain restaurant near the Widener University campus. And as city officials continue to plan for a new hotel on Route 291 between Welsh and Crosby streets.

Yes, the city still faces immense financial challenges, as so clearly pointed out in a recent state audit that suggested drastic action, including cuts among the city’s police and firefighters, something city leaders have opposed.

Instead, it is focusing on new revenue streams. You can put development along the city’s waterfront – on the back burner now for several years – at the top of that list.

You can call it the “Power” of positive thinking.