Philadelphia’s a great city to do real estate deals, but the suburbs are indisputably strong as well going into ’15, Zommick McMahon president Ryan McMahon tells us. That’s why we’re excited to hold the Future of the Suburbs on Jan. 22.

Ryan, who will be a speaker at our event, says that the suburbs continue to strengthen on a number of levels. For instance, the top four counties in the state in per capita income are Chester, Montgomery, Bucks and Delaware, while Philadelphia ranks 45th out of the 67. He also points out that the suburbs have been hamstrung by travel times, but are now seeing a lot of improvements: the Turnpike’s additional ramps, the widening of 202, the future widening of 322 and the future I-95/Turnpike connect. All of these will improve commute times and help push residential expansion in the suburbs.

Ryan adds that retailers know that the suburbs still include limited shopping options to service those residents with healthy bank accounts. “We've seen projects being driven by Whole Foods, Wegmans, Giant and Shop Rite in many areas of the suburbs,” he says. At the same time, space users like Royal Farms, CVS, Wawa, Rite Aid and a handful of banks are absorbing traffic-light corners. The Future of the Suburbs will be at the Radisson-Valley Forge Casino Resort: sign up here.