Touring Phoenixville Tops American Planning Association Conference

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —City planners from all over the country were treated to a tour of Phoenixville, the former steel town along the Schuylkill River that underwent a massive downtown revitalization in the last 20 years.

The mobile workshop at Phoenixville, a regional tourist destination, was part of the American Planning Association’s national conference last weekend in Philadelphia.

Borough Manager E. Jean Krack said the borough was honored that professionals in municipal government and the private sector view Phoenixville as a model to emulate. Krack has led numerous tours of the borough in the region.

“When a national organization such as the American Planning Association, which is over 40,000 members from 90 countries, decided Phoenixville should be a mobile workshop destination for planners from all over the United States and Canada, well that is a statement,” Krack said.

The planners participated in two tours.

The first tour met at The Columbia Station where they discussed the history of the former railroad station, before moving on to discuss the proposed passenger rail line reconnecting Reading to Philadelphia via Phoenixville, and the many benefits it would provide to the community.

The second tour visited The Colonial Theatre, the mural at Main and Bridge Streets, and Phoenixville Foundry before stopping for lunch and a presentation at Borough Hall by Krack about the revitalization.

The second tour continued on foot to view several residential developments, the new Phoenixville Fire Station, and the Schuylkill River Trail before returning to Philadelphia for the rest of the conference.

Borough Council President Jonathan Ewald said it was remarkable to host two separate tours of professional planners and municipal leaders to showcase the revitalization of downtown and the preliminary plans to restore passenger train service.

“It is a testament to the endless work our staff, council, and councils before us have done to continue to make Phoenixville the place everyone looks to for inspiration,” Ewald said.