2026 is shaping up to be a pivotal year for Plymouth Township’s future. Several large redevelopment proposals, both floated and formally proposed, will likely be decided on in the coming year.
They are:
The Plymouth Meeting Mall
In November 2025, it was announced that the PREIT-owned portion of the Plymouth Meeting Mall property was being sold to LA Partners. Generally speaking, the PREIT-owned portion of the mall is the portion between Boscov’s and the former Macy’s (now Dick’s Sporting Goods, Burlington, Michael’s, etc.). In addition to those two bookend portions, it does not include the adjacent office tower (currently being converted into apartments) and the Whole Foods Market.
In media interviews, Dean Adler of LA Partners has spoken of converting the mall into a sports-focused town center. Think sports fields/facilities with retail, restaurants, and apartments.
The biggest issues won’t likely involve the sports uses. The zoning code for the Shopping Center District, underwhich the mall falls, allows sports uses such as “skating rink; bowling alleys; billiard room; athletic or health club; or indoor recreational establishment for tennis, squash or similar athletic endeavors.” A broad interruption of that wording is that other sports are allowed to.
Restaurants and retail won’t be an issue, as they are allowed currently.
The two issues will be apartments and traffic. The current zoning allows up to 425 apartments on the property. As mentioned above, 150 apartments are already underway as part of a conversion of an existing office building. That leaves 275 apartments that could be constructed through the conditional use process (which is granted by the township’s council).
Then there is the traffic. What we are really talking about is entering, existing, and circulating through the property. Having sat through a number of the previous meetings about apartments, it always came down to circulation. With the floated sports focus, the traffic will likely become more like movie traffic, with much of it entering and exiting at the same time.
LA Partners will likely seek a zoning amendment to incorporate its entire plan, which the council will have to decide whether to consider.
The Former Steel Plant
As widely reported, Brian O’Neill sought approval to redevelop the recently closed steel plant at 900 Conshohocken Road in the Conshohocken section of the township into a two-million-square-foot data center. That proposal met some neighborhood opposition and was not recommended by the township’s planning commission. However, it never reached the point of seeking the required special exception from the township’s zoning hearing board due to a dispute with the property owner over the agreement of sale.
The property is currently listed for sale, which doesn’t preclude O’Neill from coming to an agreement and resubmitting an application for a data center.
If you look at the property’s sales brochure, its location and access to rail and roads are key features. Other potential uses for the property could also drum up neighborhood opposition due to noise and traffic.
Conshohocken-Ridge Office Park
BET Investments has made informal presentations about converting a significant portion of the office campus at the intersection of Ridge Pike and Colwell Lane in the Conshohocken section of the township into a mixed-use development with a grocery store and apartments. While a grocery store tenant hasn’t been named, the described tenant is a Trader Joe’s or Sprouts-type store.
Former DoubleTree Suites
The 253-unit DoubleTree Suites across Hickory Road from the Plymouth Meeting Mall recently closed. The owner of the property is seeking zoning relief to convert the building into apartments. An application for this is expected to have a hearing in January 2026 before the township’s zoning hearing board.
Disclosure – BET Investments is an advertiser