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Beyond Bridge
Everytime we hear or read about a new business coming to town, it almost always is opening on or in the vicinity of Bridge Street.
It's easy to forget that Phoenixville extends beyond that single stretch of road (perhaps too easy for some. How's that Bridge Street sidewalk coming along?). But with Franklin Commons on the north side steadily progressing, and businesses opening on Taylor Alley, we're starting to see how this period of revitalization is affecting our community as a whole.
I'm not going to lie, at first I was skeptical about Salon Fiber's move to Taylor. Driving down the alley on a daily basis, I wouldn't think it would be an ideal location for merchants to operate. Maybe that's just my aggravation over having to play a game of chicken every day when another car is driving down the alley in the opposite direction. But after speaking with the owner, it seems to make sense: we're running out of room on Bridge for businesses, and the parking lots on Taylor can easily accommodate customers coming to Fiber or any other businesses that may open there in the future.
As for Franklin Commons, we may not commonly associate business and commerce with the north side. But after going on a tour of the facilities with Laurie and Skip on Wednesday, I was extremely impressed by the over-25,000 square foot facility. Not just in terms of size, but how Franklin Commons is bringing education, daycare facilities, a commissary, and businesses all together in one complex, one concentrated area. There's still more tenants joining the complex in the future, so stay tuned for more information on them.
There isn't enough room in a single blog post to include all of the information on Franklin Commons' history, facilities, businesses and plans for the future, but the three of us are working on a series to explain what the complex offers to the community and what it means not only for the north side but all of Phoenixville.
Are these locations (Taylor, the area around Franklin Commons) ideal for new businesses, in your opinion? Or should prospective merchants and business owners look elsewhere? If so, where?
Posted by
Brian McCarthy
It's easy to forget that Phoenixville extends beyond that single stretch of road (perhaps too easy for some. How's that Bridge Street sidewalk coming along?). But with Franklin Commons on the north side steadily progressing, and businesses opening on Taylor Alley, we're starting to see how this period of revitalization is affecting our community as a whole.
I'm not going to lie, at first I was skeptical about Salon Fiber's move to Taylor. Driving down the alley on a daily basis, I wouldn't think it would be an ideal location for merchants to operate. Maybe that's just my aggravation over having to play a game of chicken every day when another car is driving down the alley in the opposite direction. But after speaking with the owner, it seems to make sense: we're running out of room on Bridge for businesses, and the parking lots on Taylor can easily accommodate customers coming to Fiber or any other businesses that may open there in the future.
As for Franklin Commons, we may not commonly associate business and commerce with the north side. But after going on a tour of the facilities with Laurie and Skip on Wednesday, I was extremely impressed by the over-25,000 square foot facility. Not just in terms of size, but how Franklin Commons is bringing education, daycare facilities, a commissary, and businesses all together in one complex, one concentrated area. There's still more tenants joining the complex in the future, so stay tuned for more information on them.
There isn't enough room in a single blog post to include all of the information on Franklin Commons' history, facilities, businesses and plans for the future, but the three of us are working on a series to explain what the complex offers to the community and what it means not only for the north side but all of Phoenixville.
Are these locations (Taylor, the area around Franklin Commons) ideal for new businesses, in your opinion? Or should prospective merchants and business owners look elsewhere? If so, where?
Posted by
Brian McCarthy
posted by The Phoenix Files at
1:44 PM
5 Comments:
we're running out of room on Bridge Street? Really? Polka Dots pulled out and Salon Fiber just moved. I hope one day we'll have that problem but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
There are plenty of empty storefronts on Bridge Street from the 100 block through the 400 block -- if the Salon Fiber folks thinks its best for their business to move, that's their call, but to say that "Bridge Street is running out of room," considering the blank spaces, sounds like nothing more than spin.
Don't take anyone's word for it -- walk down Bridge Street (from the New Century Bank building, only 1/2 full) to the 400 block and count up all the spaces!
Maybe the rents are cheaper on the side streets. People are struggling to heat their homes and fill their gas tanks this year. They aren't spending on frivolous items as seen in the downtown. Target parking lots are always full. The small shops with jacked-up rents are struggling to stay alive in the downtown. None of them are doing well. We tried to cater to main line types, but in the end the Phoenixville types remain in Phoenixville and our attempts to be snooty and artsy shut them out.
It's a good business location if your business is dealing crack or hooking...
what kind of nonsense is all of this. crack...hooking...ran those babies off. who are you joking. polka dots is already rented...more negative people saying stupid things. gets old after a while looking at stuff that is obviously wrong. and being posted without any baisis of truth. ya know you can write all the stuff you want but is it better now than 4 years ago? yes...your a joke
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