Swedish Invasion

by Amy L. Webb

Ever wonder what happened to that old rail-yard site near Snyder Plaza in South Philly? After all the political wrangling, rezoning efforts and negotiations with national retail chains, development is about to move forward, with stores such as Ikea and Lowe’s Home Improvement scheduled to open this summer.

The site, owned by railroad giant CSX Corp. but controlled by the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority, was a topic of controversy in late 2002 when Councilman Frank DiCicco proposed changing the zoning from port/industrial to commercial -- but only to allow for construction of a new Ikea store. At the time, Mayor John Street opposed the bill. Instead, he backed a proposal by local developer Kenneth Goldenberg to expand on Snyder Plaza, which was built in the late 1980s.

The Goldenberg Group won its bid to develop the rail yard. Greg Reaves, a spokesman for the developer, says the site will be called Columbus Commons and will span 700,000 square feet where Columbus Boulevard and I-95 cross Snyder Avenue. In addition to Ikea and Lowe's, he says the $65 million complex has lined up tenants such as Best Buy, Linens 'n Things and various restaurants.

"We're moving right along," Reaves says. "Columbus Commons is significant to Philadelphia because it will be a strong regional draw, pulling people in from New Jersey and Delaware County."

It's also significant because Ikea plans to house its only store based in a major U.S. city there. Ikea's first U.S. store was built in Plymouth Meeting in 1985 and eventually relocated to Conshohocken. Plans for the South Philly Ikea consist of 310,000 square feet on 21 acres.

Some residents have expressed concern about increased traffic. In Conshohocken, traffic is funneled off the Blue Route to Allen Wood Road to Ikea, but roads are typically jammed to the parking lot. In South Philly, Columbus Avenue already bottlenecks near the Riverview Stadium 17 movie complex going south and around the Wal-Mart and Home Depot shopping areas heading north.

Robert Freedman, Goldenberg Group senior vice president and general counsel, says the company conducted a study on traffic impact last year and met with neighborhood groups. "Our goal is to keep traffic out of the neighborhood streets and on the main roads."

Freedman also says Goldenberg is working with the city to prevent any potential traffic problems before they happen.

"We are upgrading intersections, adding lanes and traffic lights, and putting up navigation signs," Freedman says. "These are significant improvements."

-- Respond to this article in our Forums -- click to jump there