August 2007 - December 2008Pictured here is 30-34 E. Lancaster Avenue before and after an ambitious first-floor facade renovation by the team behind J.R. Monaghan's Pub & Grille, which deserves enormous credit for filling the enormous black hole left behind by the dingy All Natural Market. The first-floor renovation was so successful that it's difficult today to imagine how abysmal the building looked less than a year ago without consulting a photograph. However, it would be unfair not to note that a good many facade renovations in Ardmore would not have happened without 50-50 matching grants provided by its Business Improvement District, the Ardmore Initiative, where I previously interned. The ability of BIDs, downtown development corporations, and other Main Street programs to leverage state and federal grant funds to encourage redevelopment can provide a crucial starting point for small town revitalization.
Original Image: "036-30 E Lancaster Ave." 2007. Lower Merion/Narberth Buildings. Lowermerionhistory.org. Lower Merion Historical Society. 15 Dec. 2008. http://lowermerionhistory.org/buildings/data/buildings/images/originals/LancasterSouthSideE036-30_4208.JPG
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