The Gentrification of the Ville
To the Swarthmorean,
I read with interest Shannon Elliot’s piece regarding the planned condominium development replacing the two buildings at 102-104 and 110-112 Park Avenue. H.O.M. and Gallery on Park are great local businesses. I am sad to see them displaced, and wish both Shannon and Martha well in their quests to remain a part of the Swarthmore merchant community.
I, too, am a current resident of 102-104 Park Avenue, and find it a lovely building with a great location in the heart of the Ville. Members of my family have lived in Swarthmore since 1972. I am a 1976 graduate of Swarthmore High School, former owner of a home on Dartmouth Avenue, and a renter in downtown Swarthmore for the past 11 years. I greatly appreciate the unique charm and character that is Town Center. Like many native Swarthmoreans, I eventually returned because it is a special place. I have begun a search for a new apartment in town, but there are slim pickings out there in this overheated rental market!
I am sure that I will eventually find a place, but there is a larger issue I am concerned and worried about this gentrification project—let’s call it what it is—and what it means to the community. Over the many years that I have lived here, I have read in the Swarthmorean, and heard around town, about the council’s consistent stances on the importance of:
Having a diverse community—affordable living for all (read rentals)
Providing affordable living for local seniors (again read rentals) so that they can remain in town.
A vibrant, and engaging town center that encourages and promotes local small businesses that are attractive to residents, college students, and visitors.
And then there is the all-important unspoken character of the village that many Swarthmore residents and visitors love.
That said, I don’t see that a five-story condo complex located in the heart of the Ville, stretching from the intersection of Dartmouth and Park to the library, is in keeping with any of these core values. It seems that all of the above have been tossed out in favor of a substantial increase in the tax base that numerous new luxury condos will provide.
Let’s also look to the potential future and the ramifications. When this precedent is set, what is to stop current owners or future real estate speculators from doing the same with their current or newly acquired properties in the village? What could be next? Maybe the building along Dartmouth Avenue that houses Vicky’s and stretches down to Aria? Do we as a community realize, or care about the precedent that they are about to set? If I were a developer, looking for a spot to build high-end condos, this would make me smile. How can the council turn me down when they have already allowed it for Mr. Cumby?
By comparison, many “high-end” towns in the region have all worked to maintain the character and diversity of their downtown areas so as to attract shoppers. Doylestown, Wayne, Ardmore, Bala Cynwyd, Narberth—to name a few that I am familiar with. Sure there are high-end developments in these towns, but the leaders wisely kept them away from their business districts.
In my opinion, this project is a poison pill for the vibrancy of the downtown area. I will find new digs, but I am concerned about the town. This is a textbook case of short-sighted urban planning that will certainly gain tax revenues. But at what cost?
Gavin Stief
Swarthmore
