Revive the movie studio idea
Although it would make all us squirm in our seats, clearing out the building and reaching out to film companies would be ideal and maximize revenue for the property. The owner of the property would make a pretty penny, especially if the next $1 billion film was recorded in Norristown! Plus, a portion goes back into the town with taxes. Norristown would still be home to the first studio on the East Coast, so competition hasn't changed since 2008. The 5-force analysis remains in our favor to have a studio in Norristown. The building is pretty much move-in ready, send USM a notice at the end of their lease to find a new location and you have a building ready to go. Typically, movie studios are empty canvasses. So given that there is no structure issues (which there shouldn't), this would be the easiest way to bring jobs into Norristown. Leave the rest up to the production companies.
Move USM and redevelop
Another sorta-easy idea while adding jobs and businesses into Norristown. The top level would be home of USM headquarters and any other businesses that would like their office there. The front facade and bottom levels should be reserved for businesses and a shopping center. Adding a few novelty stores, restaurants, and maybe even a grocery store would be great when it comes to creating jobs. The 500+ jobs from USM will remain while bringing new businesses to the bottom level, creating more jobs. A franchise like Starbucks would hop on the opportunity knowing that there are about 500 full time workers located right upstairs would would love a cup of coffee multiple times a day. Same goes for sandwich shops. (I would say pizza, but they would be insane to compete against Via's right across the street!) One of the most promising ideas would be to reorganize the space to accommodate current clients while making way for new ones to join. This plan doesn't include all the empty space in the middle, since it is a large space. But my idea would be to build a food court inside while leaving the front properties for retail shopping.
Level it
Probably an idea that will sting the most would be to level the entire grounds and start over. An idea I heard was to build more apartments...no. If that area becomes a living space for future Norristown residents, it should be single-family homes. No twins, no townhouses, no apartments. Logan Street can extend to Markley and Juniper to Johnson Hwy. In between would be single homes lining the street and adding beauty to the area. This should boost existing businesses in the area now that there will be more foot traffic going to these businesses. This gives Norristown what they want. We want more single family homes, but we don't want to be packed in, leaving nowhere to park. Thinking as a developer, it'll never happen. This property most likely is floating somewhere near $10 million in debt. Unless you plan on building about 50-60 $300,000 homes, they will never see their money back.
There are many ideas available for this piece of land. Some ideas are better than others for obvious reasons. The Norristown Project is in favor of anything that will help Norristown not only in the short run, but for generations to come.
There are many development projects happening in Norristown, but this is the one I ask you to pay attention to. If you want to look at Norristown's economy bouncing back, this is the piece of land that could do it.
This blog is based off the article posted by Philly.com a few days ago.
