On November 20th it was widely reported that Lubert Adler is nearing the acquistion of the Plymouth Meeting Mall from PREIT and that a town center was planned.
In the initial article in The Philadelphia Business Journal, Dean Adler mentioned that sports would play a role in the redevelopment, but offered more detailed information in a later interview with 6ABC Action News.
In that interview, Adler shared that the plan is to demolish the portion of the mall between the former Macy’s section (now Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s, Burlington, etc) and Boscovs. Those two bookends of the mall are under separate ownership.
In its place would rise a two-story, 500,000-square-foot “youth sports center,” according to Adler. Action News then goes on to describe facets of the redevelopment as “glass towers, athletic fields, courtyards, restaurants, hotels, and other amenities.”
This isn’t what people traditionally think of as a town center. In Exton and King of Prussia, for example, you essentially have a series of smaller retail shops and restaurants, a gym, a couple of box stores, and apartments. There is often a sales pitch that it will offer a community gathering space. The one in King of Prussia completely failed at this.
Adler’s focus on sports is not unprecedented. In Iowa, the Grimes’ Hope District is a 200-acre mixed-use site that focuses on the 50-acre Hy-Vee Multiplex for youth sports. Planned for the surrounding 80 acres are retail, a variety of residential developments, medical facilities, office buildings, hotels, and open space.
Not yet known about the Plymouth Meeting Mall is what will happen with popular attractions such as Legoland Discovery Center and the exterior restaurants.
Interestingly, we have not seen any negative comments about this on social media. A prior proposal to add 300 apartments to the mall drew comments about nightmare traffic and parking issues. This new proposal makes 300 apartments look irrelevant (and this new proposal will include apartments).
You can watch Action News’ report below.