Quote:
Originally Posted by 1487
We have a recent hire with 6 figure salary who got an apt in CC (actually I can think of 2) for nearly $2k a month. He has a 15 year old paid off car and is a self avowed cheapskate on most issues. He is paying high rent for convenience, not because he enjoys luxurious living or has money to burn. He is the last guy I could see giving a damn about Saks or Gucci- he wouldn't set foot in such stores. There are thousands like him.
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No doubt, but there are also thousands of folks moving into greater Center City with significant assets, credit-worthiness (enabling big mortgages), and plenty of cash and liquid assets to spend, many migrating from large homes on the Main Line, in Chestnut Hill, etc. Just ask people like Allan Domb, Carl Dranoff, Tom Scannapieco, etc. And as has been pointed out in media coverage of the current boom, these folks want lots of space
and can afford it, leading to significant increases in average square footage of residential units being developed in Center City. And they also want the convenience of city living and all it has to offer and, I suspect, would prefer NOT to have to schlep out to King of Prussia for most of their shopping.
You seem to be focussing on one segment of the population growth in greater Center City, and admittedly it's a significant one both in terms of absolute numbers and in terms of the vibrancy and, well,
hipness it brings to the area. But you also seem to be discounting the other major segment of population growth in Greater Center City, which consists of folks who are quite affluent, somewhat older, and are essentially trading their suburban lifestyles for an urban one with its associated amenities and convenience. And then there's what might be called a multiplier effect, by which affluent friends and acquaintances of those folks who may not themselves move into the city, increasingly think of greater Center City as a great place to visit and shop on a more frequent basis. Not to mention, as I said previously, the growing number and increasingly diverse mix of tourists and conventioneers who visit Center City.
So yes, there's a large component of hipster Millennials moving into the city--and thank goodness for that!
--but there's also a significant component of older, more affluent folks who are moving into the city, resulting in the need for more retail and businesses to serve
their needs. Ideally, greater Center City will develop a healthy
mix of retail, restaurants, etc. to serve this diverse growth, as you find in other urban centers that are popular destinations for both tourists and residents.
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I've lived less than 10 miles from it for more than 25 years now, and have raised a shopaholic daughter (now in college) together with my shopaholic wife 
, and Willow Grove just isn't that unique in the Philly area. In fact, I was there at the Apple Store just last week. I've watched over the past decade or so as they've attempted to upgrade it a bit with the Bloomie's, etc., but when most folks I know (including my own family) want a more upscale shopping experience, they head to KOP, and not Willow Grove (even when, as in my family's case, Willow Grove is closer). Further, you just don't have the concentration and volume of higher-income households within 5-10 miles of Willow Grove Mall that you have within 5-10 miles of KOP, or even in and around Center City (both now and even more so in the near future).
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