Finding 'The Holy Grail': Exton Square Developer Aims To Urbanize The Suburbs Amid Resident Pushback

Abrams Realty & Development has grand plans to fuse the best of suburbia and city life in its mixed-use redevelopment of the ailing Exton Square Mall.

But designs remain in flux as the company attempts to address concerns from nearby residents, some of whom are skeptical about traffic and a loss of green space.

Owner Peter Abrams finalized his almost $34.3M purchase of the 52-year-old Chester County mall property from PREIT last month, but he told Bisnow the design phase began a full year ago. Now, it is threading the needle to ensure the project moves forward.

“It’s almost like you’re searching for the holy grail,” the developer said of his quest for a pedestrian-centric plan to seamlessly fuse retail, rental apartments and for-sale townhomes in the far-flung Philadelphia exurb.

Original plans called for 376 apartments, 243 townhomes, 147K SF of commercial space including shops and restaurants, 95K SF of fitness and entertainment, and 48K SF set aside for office.

What ultimately gets built is still a work in progress, but those elements are set to come together in a park-like privately owned public space centered around a main street.

The idea is to merge the convenience of suburban living with the vitality of a downtown.

The Philadelphia area already has lifestyle centers with mixed-use elements. But there’s nothing quite as ambitious or urban as Abrams’ plan, according to Barton Partners principal Seth Shapiro, the lead architect for the project.

“We have been a little behind in this area,” Shapiro said. “We think this is going to set the example in the region.”

Shapiro cited Crocker Park in suburban Cleveland, Ohio, and the Avalon outside Atlanta as his main “de-malling” inspirations. Abrams hopes to get a full slate of approvals for the project by early this summer and start demolishing the enclosed mall within nine to 12 months.

The project could be complete within three to five years, and Abrams estimated that he and his partners will spend $600M on the project.

But first, the developers need to get final approvals from West Whiteland Township. While Director of Planning & Zoning John Weller has seen lots of enthusiasm for the project, he said there are also naysayers.

For the most part, Weller said residents are fine with the high-density cluster of retail and rental apartments at the center of Abrams’ plan.

“The part that seems to create more of an issue is the townhouses,” Weller said.

The proposed rental apartments are several stories tall, but they are slated to sit in the middle of a lush, park-like environment that many residents appreciate, Weller said.

That was not true of Abrams' original plan for the townhome subdivision, which some critics believe suffered from a lack of open space. To satisfy them, Abrams and Shapiro have axed 20 units from their blueprints to create a central green corridor in the neighborhood.

One of Abrams' main collaborators, NVR Builders, will construct the for-sale townhomes.

The current iteration of Exton Square has two main anchors — Boscov’s, which will remain open as it is surrounded by new construction, and Main Line Health, which was initially slated to get a brand new building on a nearby outparcel.

Abrams’ latest plans would relocate Main Line to the former JCPenney building on the site. This shift was meant to address resident concerns about the proposed outparcel’s proximity to the woodlands around Valley Creek, which runs next to the mall.

Some residents requested stronger pedestrian links to the Chester County Library branch east of the mall and the Chester Valley Trail to the south, which Shapiro is also working on.

“Out here in the suburbs, traffic is a huge concern,” Weller said.

Developers are working on a traffic impact study. But it would be hard to effectively rehabilitate Exton Square without bringing more drivers to West Whiteland, he said.

“Any viable new redevelopment of this site is going to generate some more traffic,” Weller said. “People have forgotten that when the mall really was firing on all cylinders, we had a lot of traffic.” 

Developers will be providing plenty of parking for those drivers. Current plans include 2,600 spaces scattered across the site, which is more than enough, according to Shapiro.

“The township’s zoning ordinance requires an enormous amount of parking spaces that we just don’t need,” the architect said.

Weller is hoping the project will help West Whiteland become more dense and transit-oriented.

Exton Square is already serviced by two Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority bus routes. Another major transit asset for Exton Square is the joint SEPTA and Amtrak stop, which is just a 15 minute walk south of the mall.

The collar counties are generally a challenging place for multifamily developers despite high demand for rentals, but Weller said West Whiteland has approved a large number of new apartment buildings that have come online in recent years.

“Some of our residents are a little leery of apartments, but our board has specifically said this is where apartments belong,” he said.

This increased population has been an important strategy for increasing the township’s revenue since it has relatively low property taxes and relies heavily on an earned income tax.

Abrams expects the project to bring the municipality and its school district $5M per year.

“This is going to be a significant tax revenue generator for the township,” he said. “West Whiteland can do a lot of things with $5M.”

While the redevelopment won’t be complete for several years, Abrams is already confident it will be embraced by the community once it's all said and done.

“This is a place for the entire township and the entire county,” he said. “It’s going to be packed.”

CORRECTION, APRIL 16, 12:40 P.M. ET: A previous version of this story misidentified NVR Builders. The story has been updated.