DVRPC welcomes 3 more towns to Classic Towns program

The Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC) on Wednesday, July 27, named three more towns to its groundbreaking Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia program, designed to promote the region’s unique communities in both the city and suburbs.

The newest classics are Lansdale in Montgomery County, Kennett Square in Chester County and Bordentown City in Burlington County.

“These towns are timeless communities, where everyone can feel at home,” said Barry Seymour, executive director of the DVRPC. “With more than one million people relocating within the Philadelphia region every year, the Classic Towns program helps keep our region strong by encouraging people to rediscover our older towns as great places to live, work and play.”

Seymour officially announced the additions to the Classic Towns program during the DVRPC’s second annual Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia Trolley Tour, which highlighted Ardmore in Montgomery County and Manayunk in Philadelphia.

The tour enabled regional leaders and local business owners to see firsthand the vibrant residential neighborhoods, diverse architecture, bustling business and entertainment districts, and remarkable recreational opportunities that exemplify the 21 Classic Towns.

“Ardmore is classic in every sense of the word,” said Christine Vilardo, executive director of The Ardmore Initiative.  “The Classic Towns program helps us market our community and attract residents and businesses that value the culture and diversity that make Ardmore one of the best places to live in America.”

The tour highlighted Ardmore’s Central Business District and Suburban Square as well as Frank Lloyd Wright’s Suntop Homes. In Manayunk, tour participants took in the downtown along with the Manayunk towpath and enjoyed frozen yogurt at Whirled Peace.

“As a Classic Town, Manayunk has so much to offer,” said Jane Lipton, executive director of the Manayunk Development Corporation. “From our restaurants and shops to
our waterfront location and historic architecture, Manayunk stands out as a strong and lively community.”

About the Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia Program
Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia is a groundbreaking DVRPC initiative designed to promote the region’s unique communities in both the city and suburbs.

With more than one million people relocating throughout the Greater Philadelphia region every year, this program highlights the “classic” communities and helps residents rediscover the beauty and diversity of our older towns.

Although the Greater Philadelphia region as a whole is promoted as a tourist destination and business center, many suburban communities lack the resources necessary to launch sophisticated and effective marketing programs that target specific demographic groups.

Understanding that the lifestyle and community amenities people desire may change as they move through different life stages, the DVRPC introduced Classic Towns of Greater Philadelphia to appeal to three different markets: young professionals and childless couples, young families, and empty nesters.

The genesis of the Classic Towns program dates to 2004 when, with funding from the William Penn Foundation, DVRPC launched the Strategies for Older Suburbs Initiative to stimulate and support reinvestment in the region’s older suburbs and urban neighborhoods through multiple and varied efforts.

To date, the DVRPC has named 21 Classic Towns. They are: Ambler, Ardmore, Bordentown City, Collingswood, Germantown, Glassboro, Haddon Heights, Kennett Square, Lansdale, Lansdowne, Manayunk, Media, Merchantville, Moorestown, New Hope, Overbrook Farms, Phoenixville, Souderton/Telford, Wayne and West Chester.

To learn more about the Classic Towns program and these communities as a whole, as well as specific neighborhoods and their amenities, visitwww.classictowns.org

About The Ardmore Initiative
The Ardmore Business District Authority – commonly known as The Ardmore Initiative –is a municipal authority created in Ardmore, Pa. in 1993 to preserve and promote the economic vitality of the historic commercial and business center of Ardmore. The Ardmore Initiative is a nationally designated Main Street Program and a Pennsylvania Main Street Achiever and has been a member of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Classic Town’s program since 2009. Activities of The Ardmore Initiative include economic development, business recruitment and retention, marketing and promotions, as well as administration of streetscape amenities.

About the Manayunk Development Corporation
Manayunk Development Corporation (MDC), established as a non-profit corporation in 1985, is the local business association for the Main Street business district in the Manayunk section of Philadelphia.  With both a primary business development mission and a cooperating community development mission, MDC takes primary responsibility for the management, promotion and positive business development of the district. As a community development corporation, MDC cooperates with other civic and community organizations in the Manayunk area to plan and carry out community programming and physical improvement projects of interest to both businesses and residents in Manayunk.

About the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
DVRPC serves as the official planning and review agency for the nine-county metropolitan region, which comprises Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties in Pennsylvania; and Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Mercer counties in New Jersey. Through data collection, research, coordination, and planning efforts, DVRPC sets a framework for governmental decisions affecting development within the Delaware Valley. DVRPC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities.

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Elise Turner
Communications Manager
Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission
190 N. Independence Mall West
8th Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19106-1520
Phone: 215-238-2941
Fax: 215-592-9125
Email: eturner@dvrpc.org

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