We've got an Ardmore pot to stir....don't get all agitated now, but some hard questions have to be asked, and the answers shouldn't be danced around....Yes,we're in an Ardmore state of mind....

We aren't sure how we are feeling, because we are wondering: What are we all working so hard for? Will we really ever see a true community vision in any of our lifetimes if at all? Have we come a long way baby only to take two steps back?

When it comes to Ardmore redevelopment, who is this revitalization for really?

Who is really listening? Who really cares? Are the citizens merely being placated? What about the train station? What about the overall height and density of redevelopment projects? With Bryn Mawr showing more moderation then ever expected and Arc Wheeler bailing on the Transit Oriented Development project for Daylesford/Paoli, are we on the right path? Do we need to pay someone to do yet another study, or can someone just listen and act upon community consensus? Is everything going to be torn up at once, or will we be able to get phased development? Phasing that allows us to proceed in steps with the option of reducing the plan if we as a community feel we are at desired look, feel, density, and so on?

What about the Community Space we were promised? You know a Community Multi Purpose Space that could be used for community groups to hold meetings, a potential location for things like Main Line School Night classes, day care,classical and other music concerts, theater, yoga, ballet, whatever the community needs?

Will the majority of the community be listened to and will we get this promised community space, or will this be a promise broken? If one of the first redevelopment promises is now being back peddled on, what else will fall by the wayside? And if we don't get that space is it fair? If we don't get this promised community space is that being done to appease select factions in the Ardmore community at the expense of everyone else? This space is win-win for community and business, so really, who wouldn't want it? A "no" on this argument just doesn't hold water does it?

Why are some commissioners so certain that a high end super market like Whole Foods is the answer to community woes? Can everyone, including people of modest means afford Whole Foods as their primary grocery store? Is this retail theory of "less for more"? And Whole Foods would need what? Around 30,000 square feet of space? Hmmm, were they really looking at Ardmore a few years ago in the days of Plan B? Does that mean there really might have been an entity in mind and "Plan B" wasn't just the undefined rabbit being pulled out of the hat?

Is a grocery store the best thing being considered as a potential for the Cricket Lot? When you go to the grocery store do you put your food in the car and do more shopping or do you run right home so meat and dairy don't spoil, or do you let the ice cream melt? Grocery shopping is in and out....like going to the gym. You go to your desitnation, you leave your destination, you get in your car and leave. After all, you don't hang around waiting for Mr. Latte and go for a massage and do other miscellaneous shopping with perishables in the car!

Would the Cricket Lot be a good space for lower heights and a combination of mixed use and green space? Remember the Strategic Realty idea ?

(In case y'all are interested, here is the new Ardmore page on LMT's new website)

So when we're discussing Ardmore and supermarkets, if it is so desired as a community prize, why not put it where it fits? Why not put it at Ardmore West? Wouldn't there be room? Why wouldn't the owners of that strip shopping center relic from days gone by like the idea of a little zip to jazz up a very tired strip mall? It's a better location isn't it? And couldn't you get a decent number of square feet from about half of the existing Ardmore West? Why is Ardmore West so sacrosanct? It is at the other gateway into or out of Ardmore, and we ask you what exactly is attrative about it? What about the BlockBuster and Citizen Bank's concrete bunker at Woodside and Lancaster? We've learned the hard way that everything has a price tag, so why not better utilize those spaces if the property owners are amenable? Isn't that a way to bring some of these independent third party property owners into the Ardmore redevelopment project?

And what about the train station? Given the political climate, shouldn't they get busy with that? After all, there are no guarantees that those funds will remain allocated forever are there?

But in the end when we're done all the talking, what will have happened? Are we all merely talking in circles? Will the small businesses here today be able to survive this?

Ardmore doesn't exist in a bubble. Why won't anyone discuss how parts of Ardmore relate to each other and how Ardmore relates to other communities? How many living units do we really need? How many "luxury" condos do we need? What is wrong with moderation? (As in count up all the new development already completed, near completion, approved, and on the boards that have nothing to do with the redevelopment plan and THEN come up with a number of new housing units.)

Lots of questions, and we're sure someone will have something to say about our comments. But you know what? We are trying to remain true to the perspectives of many. We are community based, which means we are occasionally politically incorrect.

So what. People out there: it's your Ardmore too. We need to hear from you, so we're asking for input again that our group representatives can take to Ardmore Ad Hoc meetings as well as being able to take the ideas, comments, concerns, wishes, and dreams to the township in general.

We also strongly suggest that all interested parties attent our upcoming meeting being hosted with ArdWood Civic:

Dear SAC Members,

Mark your calendar for our next meeting which will be held on Tuesday, February 19th at 6:30 PM at the Household of Faith and Deliverance Church located at the corner of Linwood and Athens Avenue in Ardmore. SAC will be meeting with Ed Lipkin, the developer chosen by the Township for the Ardmore Transit Center/Ardmore Revitalization project. Please make an effort to come to this meeting - it is your opportunity to express your concerns and your needs, ask questions, and engage in dialog with Mr. Lipkin. This meeting will be held jointly with the ArdWood Civic Association.

Sincerely,

The Save Ardmore Coalition

So....are we afraid that we could be headed back to an earlier unhappy Ardmore era of the recent past, only we are all being more polite about it? Is this redevelopment too political to succeed?

And on last word: what about that blight designation? The eminent domain law loophole? Do we need the blight designation? Why not reverse it? After all, if certain former commissioners are rumored to be involved in some capacity of the Ardmore redevelopment project, shouldn't we err on the side of caution?