4th of July, 2010

Our 4th of July slideshow.  Photos by Jaime Perez
Find hi-res versions here (available soon).

Inky's Mark Armstrong weighs in on McCauley plan

Today's Inky has a column by business section scribe Mark Armstrong, who ruminates on Chestnut Hill's retail woes and briefly touches on the plan by Midge McCauley and Downtown Works that was "unveiled" last night. McCauley was hired for $75,000 to conduct the study.

A takeaway figure from Armstrong's piece was this:


What did Downtown Works find from its interviews with "stakeholders" and on its walk-arounds? According to its report released Wednesday, too many banks, not enough restaurants, and a mix of stores that is not enticing to shoppers.

During the winter, the firm counted 175 business spaces on Germantown Avenue between Rex Avenue and Mermaid Lane. Thirteen percent of that space is now vacant. Retailers fill 43 percent of the space, while bars and restaurants account for 15 percent. Offices and religious institutions occupy 22 percent of the space, while service businesses work in 7 percent.

That's the kind of data that could probably have been gleaned from any regular Avenue shopper, but it will be interesting to see what solutions McCauley offers. We'll have more here on the plan shortly.

McCauley to unveil plan next Wednesday

Retail consultant Midge McCauley will present a report to invited members of Chestnut Hill's business and civic community at Stagecrafters, 8130 Germantown Avenue, next Wednesday, June 23. McCauley and her firm, Downtown Works, were hired at the beginning of the year to study the Avenue's retail mix and its vacancy issues and create a plan of action.


Several weeks ago, retail recruiter Eileen Reilly was hired by the Business Improvement District to realize McCauley's plans.


The report caps a six month study by McCauley and her associates that was paid for with $75,000 in funds raised from the Chestnut Hill Community Association, Business Association, Parking Fund and Business Improvement District.

Electrical fire closes Cheese Shop this a.m.

Employees at The Cheese Shop on Germantown Avenue had a frightening start to the day when a fuse panel in the basement apparently short-circuited and started an electrical fire.

Cheese shop employee Adam Serfass said he and owner John Ingersoll heard a sound that sounded like an electric sizzle at about 8:30 this a.m. When he and Ingersoll went into the basement they saw massive sparks and Serfass called 911.

There appeared to be no damage to the shop. The shop was dark and passersby could smell smoke. The shop will likely remain closed for several hours as workers repair the circuit panel and check for other problems.

Hoeffel won 9th Ward

In this week's Local, we published a brief item about the Ward 9 primary election results. In that story, we mention the fact that Dan Onorato, who won the state-wide Democratic nomination, fared worse than the city-wide winner, Sen. Anthony Williams.

We failed to mention, however, that Joe Hoeffel, the 9th Ward Democratic Committee endorsee won the ward with 46 percent (45.91 to be exact) of the vote. Hoeffel received 1,699 votes to Williams' 905 votes. See table below.

Hoeffel came in a distant third in the state, earning about 10 percent of the vote.

(Photo: 9th Ward Democratic Leader John O'Connell greeted gubernatorial candidate and Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Hoeffel at the Company 37 fire station on primary election day, May 18).

RESULTS FOR 9TH WARD

Candidate Name	Party	Votes	% of Total Votes
ONORATO, DAN	DEMOCRATIC	777	20.99 %
WAGNER, JACK	DEMOCRATIC	320	8.65 %
WILLIAMS, ANTHONY HARDY	DEMOCRATIC	905	24.45 %
*HOEFFEL, JOSEPH M	DEMOCRATIC	1699	45.91 %

What is poor in Philadelphia?

A front-page story in this week's Philadelphia Inquirer by Alfred Lubrano references a study by University of Washington that establishes a benchmark income level needed for a family of four to survive. According to the study, Philadelphia families beed $59,501 to scrape by. And of course, according to Lubrano, nearly 62 percent of Philadelphia households take in less than $50,000.

In Montco, the minimum is $71,393.

One interesting omission from the study's findings is that student loan costs are not factored in. I'm sure student loan payments might add another $10,000 a year (ballpark) if you assume college educations are necessary for a household to earn at least $60,000.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20100520_Study__To_survive__family_of_four_needs_nearly__60_000.html#axzz0oTe7e7xt

Lot #7 goes private, will tow cars

A metal sign went up about one hour ago designating the former Chestnut Hill Parking Foundation Lot #7 as private parking (see photo) with a warning that all other cars will be towed. Lot #7 is located behind shops on the west side of the 8400 block of Germantown Avenue, from Gravers Lane to Highland Avenue. The lot has 73 spaces.

I reported on the parking foundation's loss of this lot in the April 22 Local. Acadia Realty Trust declined to renew its lease with the parking foundation late last year, and the lot reverted to Acadia's control on Monday April 19. All the parking foundation's lots are operated on a lease basis from the individual property owners who lease their land for a minimal fee, for as little as $1 a year in some cases. The property is part of a parcel that includes the retail strip on that block containing Talbots and Jos. Banks clothing stores.

Acadia has reportedly been fairly vigilant in towing cars from the small lot of the former Borders Books property, which it also owns. Acadia did not return calls for comment on its plans for the lot.