Montco Planning Commission Honors Glenside Commercial District

The Montgomery County Planning Commission honored five projects and their creators yesterday at the annual Montgomery Awards ceremony. The program recognizes the best in planning and design and revitalization in the county.

The Glenside Commercial District was honored with a revitalization award; the other category is land development.

The Glenside Commercial District received a 2012 Montgomery Award for streetscape enhancements that have revitalized the Easton Road corridor, which runs through the heart of Glenside. This project has helped reinvigorate a popular, walkable, aesthetically pleasing neighborhood where residents and visitors are excited to shop and support local businesses.  The improvements run the length of the Easton Road corridor between Arcadia University and the Glenside train station, with the addition of Wesley Plaza to the east. 

The creation of Wesley Plaza and the Easton Road streetscape improvements, which include new paver block sidewalks, granite curbs, street furniture, street trees and wayfinding signage, have helped attract at least ten new businesses to Glenside over the years.  This corridor is now home to several special events throughout the year, bringing new patrons, an increase in commercial activity, and new jobs to the area.  These changes have also helped to leverage the operation of a seasonal farmers’ market, located at the train station’s parking lot off of Easton Road. 

Cheltenham’s dedication to this project, as well as its outreach to business owners and local institutions, has helped make downtown Glenside a focal point of the surrounding neighborhoods.  This successful project adds new liveliness to the Glenside community, attracting new businesses and providing an enjoyable destination for residents and visitors.  

Other winners this year include:

• Cold Point Manor, Whitemarsh
• Germantown Academy, Phase 1, Whitemarsh
• Cynwyd Heritage Trail, Lower Merion
• Cannon Square, Lansdale