Economic Restructuring

Economic Restructuring Committee works to assist downtown businesses, identify and attract a strategic mix of businesses to Lansdowne, and promote commercial properties. The Committee assists businesses in strategic planning and provides developers and business owners with information regarding commercial properties.

Business Development and Growth in Lansdowne

When a group of Lansdowne residents and business owners formed the LEDC in 1998, Lansdowne’s CBD was in significant decline. There was a 30% vacancy rate in the commercial properties and stores. Six of the largest buildings and both shopping centers in the downtown were either vacant or partially vacant and for sale. Many of these properties had been for sale for years and in some cases even decades.

Today much progress has been made, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The activities of the Economic Restructuring Committee and the LEDC have contributed indirectly and directly to significant development in downtown Lansdowne. In the last two years, despite the nationwide recession, Lansdowne has experienced new investment and business success. Downtown stores have experienced turn over, but storefronts are vacant for shorter periods of time, and several new business ventures have experienced significant success.

Since 1998 five of the largest buildings in the CBD and the two shopping centers located in the CBD were sold to new investors. While some of these properties still await re-use, most of them have been renovated or are in the process of renovation. The important thing is: new investment has come to Lansdowne during difficult economic times and new property owners are committing resources to economic growth and development. Examples of this investment include the following developments:

The former Bell Telephone building was shuttered and used for storage for nearly two decades before a growing Lansdowne based software development company, Appligent Inc., bought the building in 2004 and spent nearly a year renovating it. Appligent moved from its rented office space and has continued to prosper boasting an impressive client list of Fortune 500 and international companies. As the first major building to be acquired, renovated and placed back into productive service a strong signal was sent that Lansdowne’s CBD was poised for investment and re-vitalization.

The Lansdowne Theater, closed since 1987, was bought by a community organization and is in the process of re-opening. The LEDC, in partnership with the Greater Lansdowne Civic Association, (GLCA), received a grant from the Department of Community and Economic Development to acquire, restore and re-open the historic Lansdowne Theater. The Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation, a non-profit corporation, formed by members of the LEDC and GLCA, acquired the theater October 2007, renovated the store fronts and second floor office suites and for the first time in over twenty years all of the retail and office spaces in the theater building are fully occupied and rented. The LEDC continues to work with the Historic Lansdowne Theater Corporation to obtain funding for the theater’s auditorium restoration and eventual re-opening.

In 2001, Mark Galdo bought a single storefront building on Baltimore Avenue that had been vacant for nearly a decade and opened a ceramic tile store. After acquiring several adjoining properties, expanding his retail showroom and warehouse space, in 2010 he completed a major facade improvement project partially funded by the LEDC. Over the last several years his store has become a regional destination and he has significantly increased his staff, merchandise, and service offerings.

The Barker Building at the northwest corner of Lansdowne and Baltimore Avenues is currently undergoing a major renovation. It is one of the six largest buildings in the CBD. The tenant operator of the Lansdowne Restaurant, a fixture in the building for nearly thirty years, retired and a new tenant is waiting for the renovations to be completed and is eager to open a remodeled eatery. The LEDC is partially funding this major facade improvement project and renovation.

A major investment in Lansdowne was made when a real estate development and management firm bought the Lansdowne Center in 2004 and two years later, in 2006, bought the 1925 Fidelity Bank Building. The Bank Building has been vacant for over two decades and the shopping center also had high vacancy rates. The Bank Building and Lansdowne Center are located in the heart of Lansdowne on the southwest corner of Lansdowne and Baltimore Avenues. The Lansdowne Center is the largest shopping center in the CBD. It will shortly undergo a major renovation and for the first time in many years all of the stores will be fully occupied. The Food Lion Corporation is locating in the center as the anchor store and has re-designed the center’s facade to resemble a two story main street. This is the first major food corporation to locate in Lansdowne. The 27,000 square foot, land locked, bank building is still awaiting renovation and use, but its incorporation into the shopping center has resolved the parking issue which was a major deterrent to its adaptive re-use. The LEDC continues to work with the new owners to find a prospective tenant and use for this great anchor building.

The Lansdowne Plaza shopping center, located at the northeast corner of Lansdowne Avenue and Baltimore Avenue, also has a new owner. In January 2008 the Lansdowne restaurateur operating in the center for many years acquired this smaller group of stores. The pride of local ownership and investment has eliminated store vacancies and funded center improvements.

In 2010, the LEDC partially funded a facade improvement project at 24-26 N. Lansdowne Avenue. This building, also one of the largest in the CBD, had been for sale and partially vacant since the hardware store closed in the late 1990′s. Its new owner has been successful in attracting new businesses to Lansdowne.

New Lansdowne Businesses

New property ownership and investment has contributed to the progress and success made in filling the storefronts along Lansdowne and Baltimore Avenues. There is a healthy mix of businesses locating in Lansdowne consistent with the imaging, branding and the vision formulated by the community and LEDC. A few notable businesses besides those already mentioned are:

Sycamore Restaurant – Completing its first year as a BYOB fine dining restaurant, it recently took over a second storefront and doubled its space. Its success was recently acknowledged when it was awarded the 2010 – “Philly Best New Suburban Restaurant” by Philadelphia Magazine.
Regency Café – opened in 2007 in a small storefront, doubled its space when it moved into the Lansdowne Theater in 2008. It has nearly tripled its business volume and number of employees since the move.
Cinema 16:9 – An independent micro-cinema opened in the Lansdowne Theater in early 2009. It is one of a few regional independent movie theaters. It also provides movie rentals and café services. Over 44,000 votes were cast for Cinema 16:9 as the best independent Philadelphia-area cinema in 2009, making it the runner-up for the Best of Philly contest sponsored by PHL17.
Paddington Station Antiques on the Avenue – An antique and speciality shop opened in 2009 after a restoration that returned the store front to its near original appearance partially funded with a facde improvement grant from the LEDC.
State Farm Insurance Agency - A State Farm Insurance agency opened in a CBD store- front in mid-2009 and received a facade improvement grant from the LEDC.
Provisions – Started as a home based business selling prepared foods at the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market opened a CBD retail store in November 2009.
Greenwood Kitchens – also started as a home based business offering healthy food products, candies and snacks at the Lansdowne Farmers’ Market has expanded its sales into other markets and supplies product to other retail outlets, including Cinema 16:9.
Aton’s Medical Suppplies – is a long-standing Lansdowne business that received an LEDC facde improvement grant in February 2008 when it moved from a rented storefront to its own building on Lansdowne Avenue.
Life More Abundant – Shortly after the owner of this health food and inspiration book and gift shop acquired a building on Lansdowne Avenue and opened a store, the LEDC, in 2008, provided a facde improvement grant to help make the store front more appealing and welcoming to shoppers.
Agustina’s Salon and Spa – Agustina’s is a regional destination for those searching for Dominican-style salons nearly tripled its space and hired more employees when it moved to fill a vacant storefront in the old hardware store building in 2008.
Dunkin Donuts - This national chain franchise acquired and renovated a vacant former 7-11 Store and in 2008 opened an upscale store with outside dining and a conference room. The 7-11 Store had been closed and vacant for several years before being acquired and renovated by this national franchise business owner.