Around Phoenixville

The Phoenixville Hospital Thrift Shop, which closed its doors on March 1st, has found a new location which should be familiar to those who have shopped there in the past. The new store will be located across the street from the old at 228/230 Church St. Source: The Phoenix

The March issue of Philadelphia Magazine focused on real estate in and around the Philadelphia area. In it, they highlighted 40 towns that they anticipate seeing 'big popularity gains in the next 10 years...'. And we were listed! Phoenixville was one of three in Chester County, along with West Chester and Willistown, that PM recognized. Article isn't online so go pick up a copy.

The proposed Phoenixville Education Center, to be located at Franklin Commons on the borough's North Side, is one step closer to becoming a reality. Two universities have agreed to offer programs starting as early as Sept. 07. From the article in the 3/1/07 issue of The Phoenix Neumann College, with its main campus in Aston, and Reading's Alvernia College, which has additional off-campus programs in Pottsville and Philadelphia, have both agreed to establish undergraduate and graduate program offerings in Phoenixville, in fields ranging from elementary education and criminal justice to accounting and business administration. ... Each college would have its own space within the complex, but many facilities - including a commissary, a fitness center, student union, and a day-care center - would be cooperatively managed, and the costs shared. ---- This would be a great addition to Phoenixville as it would provide numerous new jobs as well as bring it people from all over the area....

Although not directly tied to Phoenixville this will certainly effect those who live around here. Last night, PennDot began a construction project which will have a stretch of Rte. 23 closed Monday thru Friday from 9pm-5am. The effected area will be between County Line Rd. and Richards Rd. Construction is supposed to last through August. For more details see the following articles The Philadelphia Inquirer The Phoenix

In Dennis Wrigt's article on 2/23/07, he wrote about a discussion he had with Barry Cassidy. Among other things they discussed what was going on with some of the store fronts in town. Some we already knew about but others were new, at least to me. Some highlights from the article In no particular order, the former Seachrist's will become Molly Maguire's; the Hotel Washington will transform into Ryan's Pub; the former Scioli's Used Furniture and Antiques is slated to be Earthmart; and the former Sleepy Hollow is going to be a French bistro. A major restaurant is scheduled to move into the former Dan's Sports Pub; the former Phoenix Tavern will become a high-end fabric store; and Troxell's Jewelry will be occupied by Romantic Jewelers from West Chester. "Romantic Jewelers will be going to the Zoning Hearing Board to make the building into three apartments on top," said Cassidy. Tom Carnevale, of Carnevale Eustis Architects, Inc., may be moving his...

The 30th Annual Banff Moutain Film Festival will be coming to Phoenixville on March 2nd and 3rd. The film festival, which features "a collection of the most inspiring and thought-provoking active, environmental, and adventure mountain films" is being hosted by Philadelphia Rock Gym and will be held at the Colonial Theater. Tickets are $13 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information, visit their website at http://www.philarockgym.com/Banff2007.htm

In the Thursday, Feb. 15th issue of The Phoenix, Barry Cassidy wrote an editorial discussing his plans for the downtown area. For those interested in what is happening, the entire article is worth a read. Here are some highlights for things planned in '07 "The developer hopes to have the Foundry ready as a 400-seat concert venue in September of 2007." "Starting in 2007 there will be limited performances on Saturday afternoon in an effort to draw crowds to the downtown." ---- Cassidy anticipates the effort will take 20 years to be complete. Source: The Phoenix .