Drexeline Shopping Center, an Upper Darby, PA retail center built in the 1950’s, will undergo a $120 million renovation, according to property owner MCB Real Estate.
The new center will feature a redesign for current tenants like ShopRite, Crozer-Keystone Medical Center, PNC and Wells Fargo, and the addition of a Wawa Superstore, new office building, improved parking, pedestrian walkways, and a six-story self storage facility that looks like an office building.
According to MCB, Drexeline Shopping Center’s annual economic impact is about $37 million, and it supports about 350 jobs. Upper Darby Township Mayor Thomas Micozzie believes that once the property is redeveloped, that annual impact will surpass $100 million, and will support 600 direct jobs.
“They will have to apply for a zoning variance,” said Jeff Gentile, the township’s director of licenses and inspections. “They would have to show compliance with a flood plain and go before the county’s planning commission before it comes back to Upper Darby for final review. Then it will be brought to council for land development approval and building code review.”
Thomas Judge, Jr., Upper Darby’s Chief Administrative Officer, said earlier this month that no plans or applications have been filed with the township to date.