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Originally Posted by EastSideHBG
I've heard this same thing about Norristown for a while now and got to witness all of this up close but it still hasn't turned the corner. And Norristown is in better shape than Chester is and in an arguably better location.
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I have to agree with you and I think that Norristown is definitely in better shape and a much better location. Yes Chester is on the NE corridor but Amtrak does not stop there. For employment centers in Philadelphia and Wilmington there are affordable areas in S/SW Philly that are in much better shape and Wilmington as well. I can't see a reason why somebody would move to Chester over Eastwick/Elmwood park if they worked at the Airport and that is all they could afford. SW Philly has great transit access and in my opinion safer and with more opportunity than Chester. Same could be said about parts of Wilmington. Maybe the refineries in Marcus Hook would be enough to convince people to move there.
In comparison to Norristown, King of Prussia is the biggest employment center outside of the Center City/University City and right across the bridge. Yes many of these jobs are white collar and wouldn't be accessible to most new immigrants. However somebody has to keep the buildings clean, provide maintenance, work the restaurants, and build the new buildings. This is not to mention that Norristown is surrounded by wealthy areas that hire people for landscaping and renovations. Chester has 2 regional rail stops, a few busses and access to 95/476. Norristown has 3 regional rail stops (proposals to extend to Reading via Amtrak) the NHSL, many more busses and access to 202/276/476. Norristown is also the county capital.
I think it would be very interesting to study how immigration patterns affect neghborhood development. You are right, they have been saying that the increase in immigration to Norristown will revitalize it. To an extant it has, W Marshall st is much more vibrant than I remember when I was growing up and that is very exciting. However, there are still many challenges and it is important to remember that there is not one solution for everything. There needs to be more market rate housing (especially around the transit center) To improve the tax base, Main street's liveliness, and diversify the socio-economic status of Norristown. Part of the problem is that the County has treated Norristown as the place to drop all of the Montco's problems (kind of like Kensington to a much more chill degree). The County and the Municipality seem to be holding the area back too.