Hatboro Downtown On The Rebound

HATBORO, PA — He was brought back to give a boost to the borough's downtown development.

Stephen Barth of the Barth Consulting Group was brought back — after working with the town from 2010 to 2018 — by the Hatboro Borough Council to address business concerns and help revitalize a York Road downtown district that saw its activity decline significantly.

"People love this community and they reminisce a lot about the past," Barth said in a presentation on his firm's activities and achievements to the Borough Council and residents at Monday night's meeting.

Barth worked with the borough over a decade ago but was recruited by officials this past year to help get the business community back on track in the wake of the borough building two major luxury apartment complexes on York Road.

It's quite the turnaround for a business district that Barth said suffered when the nearby Willow Grove Park Mall opened and "sucked the life out a downtown Hatboro."

"That was a tipping point moment," he told the council and residents in attendance.

But Barth said business is bouncing back and that the borough's "investments are creating a lot of new revenue and bringing back a lot of high-end businesses."

"You're planting a lot of Oak Tree businesses," he said.

And Barth's statistics backed it up.

He said all of the business additions have brought over 200 new jobs to the borough.

He showcased "eight months of progress" in his presentation:

• Researched & developed preliminary Hatboro’s Economic Study findings for grants
• Met and assisted 110 Local Businesses (nearly 50 percent of the downtown district) on multiple occasions
• Social Media Promotion — 60 unique posts generated over 297,000 post views
• Submitted 8 Monthly Detailed Council Reports
• Created Hatboro’s Downtown Dining Guide
• Prepared 2nd Community Survey Draft

Barth listed numerous current and upcoming openings on the business front and other business upgrades over the past eight months:

• Iron Oven
• Sylvara Labs
• Philly Philly Cheesesteak
• Hatboro Dunkin'
• Sumatra Cafe
• Caravan Food Market
• Casa de Fehu
• The Matcha Spot
• The Steel Penny
• Lewis Paint