Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

interviews with developers who have invested in Pennsylvania cities and towns Developer Joe Duckworth, Arcadia Land Joe Duckworth is a New Urbanist developer – he builds walkable neighborhoods with housing, shops and businesses in Pennsylvania boroughs and townships. A little less than a decade ago, Duckworth was the President and CEO of Realan Homes, one of the largest builders of suburban residential homes in Philadelphia, and in 1992 was elected “National Builder of the Year” by Professional Builder Magazine. But Duckworth, convinced there was an unsatisﬁed market for higher density, walkable neighborhoods, began a new ﬁrm called Arcadia Land. In addition to several smaller communities, Duckworth is leading a partnership redeveloping 3200 acres in New Morgan Borough in Southern Berks County. Duckworth believes that Pennsylvania towns have a great deal to offer developers who value town living. To attract development, he explains, Pennsylvania’s older communities should take a number of steps. First, of course, there has to be some attractiveness to the place to create market demand, but many communities in Pennsylvania have that. The key for me is to make certain that there is a reason to live there. My experience is that many people want to live in small towns rather than anonymous suburbs, but wherever they live, they need to be able to commute to their job. As a result, a community that is part of a larger metropolitan region that has ongoing economic activity is key. In New Morgan’s case, the borough is right off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and this makes it just 10 to 30 minutes away from Chester and Montgomery County job markets. Second, developers want to work with high integrity local leadership. The last thing I want to do is build in a place whose Mayor has been indicted or a town that has a reputation as a “pay to play” culture. I do not want the unpredictability or risk that such a relationship brings. Almost as important, I want to work with a stable government that has proven they can get things done together. No developer wants to risk their money over the outcome of a series of arguments between two local governmental leaders. Third, all developers want the least risk and ambiguity possible. If you can do one thing, create a consensus around a vision for your town and record it through coherent, logical zoning. This vision can not be simply that you want it to stay the exact same but with more people living and shopping in your town, because there must be some new housing or retail products to attract those people. Once you have a vision and a comprehensive plan, then rezone each area to permit what you would like to be built there. If I see an article that a borough has written a comprehensive plan and is rezoning, that is enough to get my attention. Some towns say that once you tell us what you want to build, if we agree, then we will rezone. This is not good enough. Let’s say that I think that a downtown would be a great place for condominiums with retail on the ﬁrst ﬂoor, but the downtown is zoned for commercial use only. If I have to wait for a rezoning, I must negotiate with the seller of the land to wait around until the land is rezoned before I can complete the deal. Many sellers are not interested in waiting. Developers want to get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible. In addition, once your community is clear on what they want their future selves to look like, go to the county and state and see if they will support your plan and work with you to encourage growth in the areas you chose. When the Governor comes down and says this is a place the State is targeting for growth - that makes a difference. Fourth, you need to send an economic message that you want development. A tax abatement or taking the lead in land assembly or environmental remediation - these actions say that you welcome development and we will be working as a team. Be proactive; don’t leave the developer scratching their head trying to ﬁgure out how to make something happen. Fifth, get some new construction or conversion in the ground. Prior development at whatever scale helps to reduce the risk and give us a feeling that we have a greater chance of success. Work to help make some private market investment happen even if you have to ﬁll the gaps with state or federal dollars. Sixth, when building for the residential family market, a functional school district is essential. It doesn’t have to be the best in the state but it must be a district where most of the community’s parents feel comfortable sending their kids. Seventh, reach out to regional developers who have built in surrounding areas. Developers, aside from the huge national companies, don’t like to stray too far from home. We are proud partners in our regions and like everyone else, we want to be able to have meetings with City Council and still be able to be home for dinner. For me, based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, that means I would go as far as Harrisburg or the Poconos, but not much farther. As local officials, the most important thing you can do is to let developers know you are a straightforward place to do business. By knowing up front what the rules are, developers can save months, if not years, of time. And for a developer, time and money are one in the same. Developer Lou Pektor, Ashley Development Louis Pektor, the founder and president of Ashley Development Corporation and a lifetime resident of the Lehigh Valley, founded his company in 1989. Ashley Development Corporation has completed more than 100 projects with a total market value exceeding $700 million. In recent years, an increasing number of these projects have been located in Pennsylvania’s small historic cities and surrounding communities. Recent projects in the Lehigh Valley have included medical facilities and ofﬁces, historic redevelopment, and niche housing products. 49 INTERVIEWS WITH DEVELOPERS WHO HAVE INVESTED IN PA CITIES AND TOWNS

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Community Revitalization Desktop Guide

PA Community Revitalization Desktop Guide Table of Contents How To Attract High Impact Investment to Core Communities Goal One: Choose One Asset-Rich Redevelopment Area Interviews with Pennsylvania Mayors Goal Two: Prepare Redevelopment Area for Market Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Three: Welcome Investment Interviews with Developers who Have Invested in Pennsylvania Cities and Towns Goal Four: Apply Strategies That Work Conclusion

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