It’s Been 40 Years Since Grays Ferry Has Had New Retail

Sure, there have been plenty of developments in this city, as in many others, that haven’t worked out, but Grays Ferry may be in a class by itself in terms of waiting for things to turn around. There’s just nothing there aside from the depressing strip mall at 29th and Grays Ferry with its anchor Pathmark and the Radio Shack you shouldn’t patronize unless you want to buy the wrong cable for your computer.

Last week Carlino Development and Lamm Realty groups announced their intention to build a retail mall at 3000 Grays Ferry Avenue. The mall will supposedly have Bottom Dollar Food and Rite Aid as anchors. However, the two groups have owned the land since 2007, so it’s hard to get excited by the latest plan.

“Like many others, we had economic setbacks to surmount,” Al Williams, Lamm director of government affairs and community liaison, told press. “However, we’re full steam ahead now.”

The South Philly Review also noted that neighbors are excited for the upcoming Toll Bros. development in Grays Ferry, which is slated to have retail on the first floor. But everyone is cautious, even the caption writers for newspapers like the Review: “Workers will likely transform the uplifted earth and its surroundings into two stores by the end of the year.” Emphasis ours–and the history of Philadelphia.

• Bottom Dollar, Rite Aid to anchor mall project [South Philly Review]