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THE COUNTY ECONOMY
Jobs of County Residents
Jobs in the County
County Businesses
Downtown and Main Street
Areas
Office, Industrial, and
Brownfield Areas
Retail Commercial Areas
Tourism
Agriculture and Farm
Preservation
Employment Forecasts and
Economic Trends
Downtown and Main Street Areas
The county has many traditional downtown and main street
areas, ranging from large places like Ardmore or Pottstown
to relatively small areas like North Wales or Pennsburg.
These places are economic engines and focal points for the
community-at-large, places where people of all incomes
and ages can gather. Unfortunately, over the past 60 years,
the county’s older downtowns and main street areas have
declined as new shopping centers and retail approaches
have risen.
Reenergizing main street areas can be challenging
because of on-going market issues, parking concerns,
land constraints, building obsolescence, aging
infrastructure, image problems, organizational inertia, and
economic trends.
In Montgomery County, local governments work to
improve downtowns and main streets with many
approaches, such as Main Street Programs, Elm Street
Programs, Business Improvement Districts, revitalization
planning, tax incentives, land consolidation, market
analyses, anchor tenant attraction, new housing, small
business programs, expanded parking, simplified codes,
upgraded infrastructure, streetscape improvements, traffic
calming, façade improvement programs, historic
preservation, visitor signage, better building design,
improved parks, and special events.
PLANNING ISSUE
Half of the county’s
downtowns and main streets
have relatively weak retail
cores even though they are
focal points for the
community. Reinvigorating
these weaker downtowns and
strengthening the others is a
continuing challenge.
What’s New
How have the county’s downtowns and main streets
fared since 2000? Pretty good overall, although many
places still struggle. Successful approaches have
included:
•
New Employment Centers
- Taking advantage of
their access to two major highways, Conshohocken
and West Conshohocken have become new-
economy employment centers.
•
Arts and Culture Anchors
- Many communities
have successfully added or rehabilitated
performance theaters or movie theaters, including
Ambler, Bryn Mawr, Jenkintown, Norristown,
Pottstown, Souderton, and East Greenville.
Lansdale’s performing arts center was temporarily
closed in 2011, and many of the county’s theaters
survive on shoestring budgets.
•
Immigration
- Norristown, particularly the West
Marshall Street business district, has seen new life
brought by its Hispanic immigrants.
•
Attraction of Nearby Wealth
- Ambler and
Narberth have vibrant downtowns that attract many
high income visitors from neighboring areas.
•
Housing
- Large amounts of new housing have
been added around many of the county’s older
downtowns, often on old industrial land. This
residential development brings new customers and
visitors for local businesses.
In 2011, the county conducted an analysis of 23
revitalization communities and found that housing
construction and prices increased significantly over the
county rate. Population also increased in these
municipalities.
This shows that demand to live in these
places has increased; nevertheless, many downtown
portions of these places continue to struggle, particularly
with the aftereffects of the Great Recession.
