Bryn Mawr’s most distinguished building will soon welcome … students. A local billionaire just bought the longtime headquarters of Bryn Mawr Trust and plans to turn it into a financial literacy center for kids and adults, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.
The circa-1928 Bryn Mawr Trust building at the corner of Lancaster and Bryn Mawr Aves. now houses a WSFS branch and offices. WSFS bought Bryn Mawr Trust in 2022.
While it will continue to house a WSFS branch, offices will be converted to classrooms and programs and exhibits will focus on financial history, acquiring wealth and smart ways to save money, the PBJ reports. A nonprofit, the financial literacy center will serve students from first grade through high school as well as adults.
Real estate investor/developer Michael Karp paid $7.6M for the building and hopes to get the project off the ground in the next year or two, the PBJ reported. Karp expects to first partner with Lower Merion Schools and expand to other schools over time.
A Penn alum, Karp made his fortune as the founder of University City Housing and has long been active in education policy and charter schools.
The sneaker everyone’s wearing is about to get easier to find. On Running has signed for the former Elizabeth Johns Bridal space in Suburban Square, its first store in Pennsyvlania.
After a 15-year run, Elizabeth Johns is relocating its bridal business to Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square. The state’s first On Running store will replace it.
It will also be among On’s biggest. Spanning nearly 9,000 sq. ft., On Running will dwarf the nearby Lululemon, which, at 5,200 sq. ft., is sizable itself.
On Running stores typically feature a whiz-bang “Magic Wall” to help customers find their perfect pairs. The floor-to-ceiling fixture uses AI-powered gait analysis and drawers filled with On’s full inventory of CloudTec cushioned sneakers, allowing for efficient, on-the-spot try-ons.
The arrival of On further cements Suburban’s Square as a hub for fitness enthusiasts. The Square now has six athletic apparel retailers and three fitness facilities, including Life Time, SoulCycle and the soon-to-open Barry’s Bootcamp.
On opened its NYC flagship in 2020 and now has stores around the world, with 12 in the U.S. alone. Only Nike and Adidas sell more sneakers in the U.S.
Rumors are flying – Carlino’s! Talluto’s! a restaurant!– but there’s no word yet on what will take the place of the Wayne Di Bruno Bros., which closed Feb. 11 after a five-year run. A big shoe to fill, the 8,000 sq. ft. Italian emporium is not yet listed by Strafford Shopping Center’s leasing broker, but that’s no surprise. Now owned by Wakefern Food Corp. Di Bruno’s likely had several years left on its lease and may be looking to strike a direct deal with a new tenant who would take over their obligation.
Meanwhile in Suburban Square, about half of Ardmore Farmer’s Market remains empty while owner Kimco Realty seeks to fill the old Di Bruno’s space. It’s being marketed as four smaller spaces in an effort to attract a variety of food purveyors. Open since 2011, Bruno Bros. left the market Feb. 4.
Gateway is getting a glow-up. Beauty behemoth Sephora is putting finishing touches on a new location in Tredyffrin’s bustling Gateway Shopping Center.
The new Sephora will open soon in the former SPENGA fitness space in Gateway Shopping Center.
A kingmaker in the $30 billion high-end beauty industry, Gateway will be the Main Line area’s third Sephora – after Ardmore and the KOP Mall. The grand opening is set for March 13.
Wayne’s new Hoop House is hopping! What started as the home court of Radnor-Riptide basketball has exploded into a full-on community center. For kids, there are basketball and field hockey clinics, leagues, tournaments and summer camps and Just Dance classes by a former Eagles cheerleader. Adult programs include Rhythm Yoga in a dedicated studio and bootcamp classes. Coming soon, Pilates for adults and “Toddler Play Time.” Hoops House’s owner is Devon Prep alum Mike English who launched Riptide Basketball Group in 2023. Riptide’s club and travel hoops teams are based in Radnor but welcome players from all over.
Main Point Books just reeled in two big fish – Governor Josh Shapiro and Nova coaching legend Jay Wright – for a special ticketed event in Villanova next week. Governor Shapiro will discuss his new book with Coach Wright at the Mullen Center for the Performing Arts on Villanova’s campus, Saturday, Feb. 28 at 4 p.m. Tickets are $50 and include a copy of Shapiro’s new book, Where We Keep The Light, which explores Shapiro’s Jewish faith, his family and his career in public service. Doors open at 3 p.m. No walk-ins permitted.
Well, Holy Hoops! Villanova and Notre Dame are finalizing plans to play a men’s and women’s doubleheader in Rome to kick off their 2026-2027 seasons on Nov. 1, which happens to be All Saints Day for Catholics. The um, Holy Wars will be played in a 3,500-seat arena near the Vatican – plenty of space for VIP spectators like, say, a certain Nova alum who recently changed his name to Pope Leo XIV. Just sayin’.
A new space for popups and private parties launches in Berwyn. Like most caterers, Tasty Table brings the party to you – your office, your home, your venue. Now, the Berwyn caterer hopes you’ll come to them. Owners Mary and Matt Soldano just turned the first floor of their catering HQ and kitchen on Leopard Rd. into a sweet little event space.
Caterers Mary and Matt Soldana with their one-month-old, Avila, at their first popup in Berwyn Feb. 14. The couple met as students at Eastern U. and lived in Berwyn for 10 years before moving to Woodbury, NJ to be near family.
With creamy wainscoted walls, new fixtures and farmhouse-style tables, the new dining room, dubbed simply, “The Table” aims to be “elegant and timeless,” the Soldanos tell us. The couple hopes to host and cater bridal and baby showers, rehearsal dinners and celebrations for up to 40 people.
The new space launched with a sold-out popup gourmet dinner on Valentine’s Day. Additional BYOB popups are planned, perhaps as often as one night a week.
In this snow-packed, seemingly endless winter, Bikini Burger offers a taste of summer in downtown Ardmore. The new, no-frills, fresh-never-frozen burger joint has been winning raves since its late fall debut on Rittenhouse Place. Inspired by owner Mia Robertson’s love for the beach, Bikini Burger sells classic burgers from $10, plus turkey, bean and surf & turf varieties, along with old-fashioned shakes, crinkle fries and potato salad.
Bye-bye, Bagel & Co. Hello, Bored Trading Café. The curiously-named eatery just celebrated its grand opening at 43 Cricket Ave., Ardmore. It’s a quick-serve, all-day café specializing in breakfast sammies, small-batch New York-styled bagels, house-roasted coffee drinks, handhelds and salads. Other locations are in Old City and West Chester.
Only about six weeks left to score smashing steals at Saks Fifth Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. The luxury retailer will close April 11 following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by parent company Saks Global in January. Eight Saks Fifth Avenues are closing, plus most of its discount Saks Off 5th stores. Neiman Marcus at the KOP Mall, purchased by Saks Global in 2024, will remain open. The area around Saks on City Ave. is being redeveloped as Bala Plaza, a sprawling complex of retail, residential and office spaces.
Bomba’s Tacos + Bar just got a top-to-bottom facelift at The Grove in Malvern. Now owned by the company behind Cuba Libre and Paladar, the Malvern location sports a new name – Bomba ¡Tacos + Tequila! – and a new vibe. Think vibrant, cheeky neighborhood taco spot.
It’s also doubling down on tequila, the fastest-growing spirit in the U.S. The bar is stocked with 50 tequilas and mezcals. Order them in flights, in Margs, or specialty zero-proof cocktails. Foosball, darts and daily happy hour in the bar.
Haverford College students are questioning their school’s deep ties to U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Class of 83, after his Feb. 10 testimony to Congress in which he admitted frequent interactions with Jeffrey Epstein and a visit to his private island. One of Haverford’s top benefactors, Lutnick has led Haverford’s board of managers and has reportedly donated $65 million to the College. Three campus buildings bear the Lutnick name: the library, a fine arts building, and a tennis and track center. Lutnick also funded the Cantor Fitzgerald Art Gallery on campus.
A new lease on life for another nearly-vacant Tredyffrin office building. A leafy, two-story, five-building office park at 435 Devon Park Drive is being converted into Buttonwood Apartments. Most will be garden-style studios and one-bedroom units priced at $1,700 to $1,925, which is lower than prevailing rates for new apartments in the area. The Buttonwood aims to attract nurses, firefighters and service workers – people who work in the area but can’t afford to live there, according to development partner Eli Kahn. The first residents are expected to move in this spring.
Remember that horrific drowning of a 3-year-old in Chesterbrook’s Wilson Farm Park on Labor Day night 2024? Tredyffrin Township has advanced plans to put gates around its tot lots to prevent future tragedies. Under a nanny’s care at the time, the boy wandered off the Wilson Park playground and drowned in the nearby pond.
Main Line Sound & Video is expanding its footprint in Wayne. The home entertainment pros are moving into the former home of La Technique personal training next door. It’s the company’s first major renovation since it opened in Eagle Village Shops in 2003.
Life just got a little sweeter for gluten-free folks in Bryn Mawr. Flakely, the stellar GF bakery in Manayunk, is now open under powder-pink awnings at 1007 W. Lancaster, former home to Grand Middle East hookah lounge.
Flakely’s owner is Lila Colello (center below), a pastry chef with celiac disease who spent years perfecting her GF croissants, buns and bagels.
Cup of Dreams Coffee & Tea is leaving Paoli Village Shoppes at the end of the month. Owner Jian Zhou tells us her lease is up and she’s looking to buy a property for her café that would double as her personal home. Bubble teas and ice cream are half off before Zhou turns the lights off for good Feb. 28.
Leaning into its colonial past, Chesterbrook’s Duportail House wants to be more than a party venue. A new nonprofit led by history-minded locals and regional partners has announced plans to convert the circa-1740 event venue into The Tredyffrin Heritage Center at Duportail.
Timed to Chester County’s preparations for America 250, the project welcomes public support and includes a digital kiosk for tourists, wayfinding signage and ADA improvements.
“These improvements will help visitors to view this site not just as an event venue set on beautiful grounds but as a nationally significant historic landmark where important Revolutionary War history unfolded,” explained Tredyffrin Heritage Center Board Chair Jim McKinley in a statement. Interested in supporting the cause? Contact [email protected].
From hell to hope. In 2022, the horror flick, “Hayride to Hell,” was filmed at Sugartown Strawberries in Malvern. Four years later, the farm is hosting quite the opposite, a “Hayride for Hope.”
Inspired by the Buddhist monks’ recent 2,300-sq. mile “Walk for Peace” and the tragic violence in Minneapolis, the Saturday, Feb. 21, 1 p.m. hayride is free and open to the public. (Dogs, too!) The ride begins at Sugartown Strawberries’ market at 1 p.m., travels to St. Francis in the Fields Episcopal Church for inspirational words, and returns to the farm for a bonfire, warm beverages and uplifting music. “It’s an opportunity for like-minded folks to gather and support one another during these trying times,” says Sugartown Strawberries owner “Farmer Bob” Lange. A food donation for the Chester County Food Bank is requested.
Old Navy has exited St. David’s Square. A sister brand to Gap, the value-priced clothier opened in former Bed, Bath & Beyond space in 2019 but never seemed to click with shoppers. HomeSense, which took the other half of the BB&B space, seems far busier. Still no word on what might take Old Navy’s place – we’ve asked.
Stop in to say good-bye and score steep bargains at Wayne’s Lovebirds boutique. The upscale women’s boutique at 105 E. Lancaster Ave. will close for good in the next week or so. Grace Sloan has operated the store for 6 years. All inventory is 50% off.
A SAVVY shoutout to Village Wellness which just celebrated 10 years in Berwyn. Soulful owner and acupuncturist Lance Isakov has created uniquely welcoming healing oasis for whatever ails your body, mind or spirit. The community enjoys affordable group or solo acupuncture sessions and can tap into a diverse array of holistic healing modalities including Reiki, Astrology, naturopathic nutrition, shamanic energy medicine, integrative and Thai message and cranio-sacral therapy.
Looking to expand your social circle as you give back to the community? Great Valley Women’s Club is accepting new members who are in a “more mature and casual age of life.” Committed to local businesses and camaraderie, the nonprofit GVWC hosts luncheons, special-interest clubs and fashion shows and awards scholarships to area students. Contact [email protected].
And finally, call us homers but we’ll be pulling hard for Archbishop Carroll as it competes for the Catholic League crown Sunday at the Palestra. We have a few reasons, all with the last name, Eberz. Senior Alexis Eberz and her sophomore sister, Kayla, combined for 36 of Carroll’s 50 points in the team’s PCL semifinal win on Monday. Denied the past two years, only Cardinal O’Hara stands in the way of a Carroll coronation. Alexis Eberz will take her talents to Villanova U. in the fall. Here’s hoping at least one of her sisters – twins Kayla and Kelsey both play for Carroll – follows her in a few years.
Embattled Rock Hill Farm might one day be subdivided – but not in the way its owner/developer originally envisioned
The main entrance to Rock Hill Farm in Willistown.
In zip codes where land conservation is practically a state religion, a band of Willistown and Easttown neighbors have been fighting for years to “save Rock Hill Farm” (to quote the group’s ubiquitous lawn signs).
The campaign began more than five years ago, shortly after developer Brian O’Neill bought the idyllic 246-acre tract from the widow of Tristram Colket, Jr., scion of the founder of Campbell’s Soup.
O’Neill had paid $25.5 million to secure one of the last undeveloped parcels in Willistown, land he’d long admired. In short order, he shared plans to live in the grand manor house and build 22 luxury homes on remaining acreage.
To say O’Neill’s plan was not warmly received would be an understatement.
Waged with impassioned public meetings, an active Facebook page, the engagement of experts to attest to the tract’s ecological value, and those pervasive lawn signs, the neighbors’ battle has since moved to court, where a Chester County judge has yet to rule on O’Neill’s appeal of a township denial of his subdivision application.
Hundreds of these loan signs dot the landscape in Willistown and Easttown.
But that doesn’t mean the needle isn’t moving.
On the tract’s northeastern front at least, all is not quiet.
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After hearing public comment, Willistown supervisors last Thursday voted unanimously to OK the township’s potential purchase of 24 scenic acres at 185 Grubb Mill Rd., known by locals as the “pizza slice.”
While officials won’t publicly name their price – and that price cannot exceed the parcel’s appraised value – we’re hearing Willistown could pay O’Neill upwards of $4 million. That money would come from the township’s Open Space Fund created by referendum in 1999. (Residents voted to set aside a small portion of Earned Income Tax revenues to protect Willistown’s natural, scenic and recreational resources.)
An informed source also tells us O’Neill set the parcel’s value at $8 million and could receive a tidy charity write-off in the sale.
At the public hearing required before township’s vote, Save Rock Hill Farm spokesperson Emma Allinson questioned the purchase. “We cannot either support nor oppose the sale … without a clear and complete plan for the entire [Rock Hill Farm] property,” she told supervisors. While her group appreciated the township’s conservation efforts, she said, she wondered about potential concessions to the developer in connection with the sale. “Why should the community agree to something on one portion of the property that could compromise the remainder? Why is the township not presenting this with an approvable plan beside it? … Developers try to divide and conquer. ..We want to fight for open space, not compromise for it.”
Former longtime Willistown supervisor Bob Lange also weighed in on the purchase. “We’ve got to get what we can get and when we can get it,” he told supervisors. But Lange also feared the influx of funds would be “helping [O’Neill] continue on his merry way of building and developing and moving on.” He pushed for the township to “think outside the box” for ways to save the entire farm, including floating a bond or exercising eminent domain.
After hearing from a parade of residents, supervisors took the vote that deemed the parcel “suitable” for public preservation. If purchased – a separate authorization vote would be taken after another public hearing – the tract would be preserved for “passive recreational use.” Thursday’s vote doesn’t mean a sale is imminent but it does suggest officials and the developer have been negotiating behind the scenes. Neither would tell us who first floated the idea to buy the 24 acre tract.
The potential township purchase of those acres isn’t all that’s happening in Rock Hill Farm world.
A crown jewel of the property – its sumptuous manor house – could also change hands.
Compass Realty teams led by Karen Strid and Lavinia Smerconish have begun quietly marketing Rock Hill Farm’s circa-1900 mansion to luxury buyers.
The manor house at Rock Hill Farm in Willistown.
The ten-bedroom Colonial mansion sits on 14 pristine acres and was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. In addition to drop-dead views, the estate features three greenhouses, a tea house, pool house, three barns and five secondary dwellings.
Asking price: $11.5 million.
While the manor house is not in MLS listings, a holiday party was held on-site to showcase the mansion.
Years ago, O’Neill told us he not only wanted to build luxury homes at Rock Hill Farm, he also planned to live there himself and would ensconce his children and their families in the estate’s secondary homes. In effect, he’d create a Kennedyesque family compound at Rock Hill Farm.
O’Neill’s willingness to entertain a possible sale of the manor house and its secondary dwellings suggests he may be rethinking his plans. His neighbors haven’t exactly rolled out the welcome wagon.
We reached O’Neill by phone to discuss both potential transactions but he politely declined comment.
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New $60M luxury hotel with rooftop bar is under roof in Radnor
Construction crews affix The Brandywine to the building’s façade this week. The new hotel sits perpendicular to King of Prussia Road. The Radnor stop on the SEPTA’s Norristown High Speed Line is next door.
The Radnor Hotel is about to get some competition. The Brandywine, a new 120-room upscale hotel is set to open less than a mile away in the coming months.
An artist’s rendering of The Brandywine at 165 King of Prussia Rd. in Radnor.
The Brandywine expects to host business travelers to Radnor Financial Center, Penn Medicine, Main Line Health, nearby life sciences buildings and corporate campuses, along with tourists and families visiting local universities for campus tours, graduations and parents’ weekends. The hotel is slated to open in time to capture summer business from the PGA Championship at Aronimink, America 250 celebrations, the FIFA World Cup and the MLB All-Star Game.
Two on-site restaurants will be inspired by the Main Line’s historic ties to the Pennsylvania Railroad.
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Named for the first president of the PA Railroad, ground-floor Merrick’s Tavern (below) will offer classic American fare in a refined, approachable setting. Merrick’s bar will lean into bourbon and rye, along with local beers and “thoughtfully imagined cocktails,” according to a news release.
Open year round on the top floor, Pomelo Rooftop Terrace will offer sunset views, creative cocktails from “nature’s apothecary” and a globally-inspired locally-sourced menu.
A rendering of Pomelo Rooftop Terrace.
The hotel’s owner is Brandywine Realty Trust, which already has a 2.1+ million square-foot office and lab presence in Radnor’s bustling corporate corridor.
The Brandywine will be the first hotel in PA to operate under the Marriott Bonvoy Tribute Portfolio. Mariott touts its Tribute properties as “distinctive” and “boutique” with “vibrant social scenes,” “striking design moments” and “noteworthy art installations.” Some rooms will have private patios with garden views.
A rendering of a King Room at The Brandywine.
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Radnor takes first legal step to acquire Valley Forge Military land for public use – but, amid crossed wires, this deal is FAR from done.
Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation attorney Phil Rosenzweig informs Radnor commissioners at their Feb. 9 meeting that the VFMA land it seeks is not for sale.
When Radnor Township unveiled plans to buy or seize land at Valley Forge Military for public recreation in January, officials repeatedly stated that the land was for sale. They wouldn’t be taking land the military college wasn’t eager to unload anyway. It would just be a matter of negotiating the details, they said.
Well, whoa, Nelly.
Better put that horse back in the barn.
Turns out the land isn’t for sale and apparently never was.
That was the February Surprise dropped by Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation attorney Phil Rosenzweig at Radnor Board of Commissioners’ last meeting.
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“I need to start by correcting a material misimpression that you all seem to be operating under: that this land is for sale,” Rosenzweig began. “That is not a correct statement. Just because there had been an offer from Rockwell Development for the land does not mean it was for sale.”
That offer – revealed for the first time as $20M for 17+ acres – was rejected because VFMAF simply wasn’t selling, Rosenzweig said. Unlike the military academy, which will close in May, Valley Forge Military College isn’t going anywhere, he said. Its 100 cadets, potentially 120 next year, need the tract’s mess hall, gym and training facilities. “They’re mission critical,” Rosensweig stated.
A map shared at the Radnor commissioner’s meeting shows the 17 acres the township porposes to buy or seize for a public park and rec center.
“Now I know how Greenland feels,” Valley Forge Military Academy Foundation chair Tom English told the Philadelphia Business Journal after the commissioners meeting.
That wasn’t the only nugget Rosenzweig dropped on commissioners that night. He also said the parcel was more valuable than Commissioners might think, perhaps approaching $1M per acre. He hinted that the upcoming sale of 33 VFMA acres to Eastern University would be priced in that ballpark.
If Radnor exercises eminent domain, the court-negotiated price might be higher than they bargained for, Rosenzweig seemed to be saying without actually saying it.
He also hinted that should Radnor downsize its targeted parcel to land that wouldn’t interfere with the college program, it might be better received.
But despite Rosenzweig’s revelations and pleas for caution, commissioners unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that would permit the eminent domain seizure. They expect to hold a final approval vote in March.
In the meantime, Radnor commissioners were scheduled to meet with VFMAC officials for the first time this week. “I suspect that we’ll quickly determine if there is a deal to be had,” Commissioner Jack Larkin, whose ward includes VFMAC, tells SAVVY.
In related news, the proposed charter school on VFMA grounds is back on the table.
Valley Forge Public Service Academy (VFPSA) charter school had pulled its application when the township proposed acquiring the land because it wasn’t sure which acres Radnor was targeting. When the VFPSA board learned the township wasn’t including Shannon Hall, the charter’s school’s proposed main academic building, in its park plan, the board decided to re-submit its application, board spokesperson Kimberly Blake tells SAVVY.
According to Blake, her board wants to work cooperatively with township officials and seeks clarification on exactly what land Radnor has earmarked, car and foot traffic patterns, and whether its students would have use of the campus gym, another building integral to its charter school plans.
“We’re still working to amend our charter and make our application as strong as it can be but it’s difficult to get parents to pre-enroll and support us in the absence of a lot of information,” Blake said.
The board had hoped to open the charter school next fall but Blake acknowledged “a time crunch” to receive the necessary approvals from Radnor Township School Board.
“We’re trying to create a school program that ultimately gives back to Radnor Township because many graduating students will join the police or fire departments right in Radnor.”
VFPSA would also welcome students from neighboring school districts. It would launch with grade 6 and eventually enroll students through high school. Seniors would graduate with “industry-recognized credentials” for jobs as first responders, law enforcement and military service, she said.
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SAVVY, as always, unmatched, ML comprehensive news corraled and delivered in a timely, succinct, and so readable. Congrats and love your brand of consistency, excellence and truly “breaking” news, views, tips and happenings.
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So kind of you to say, Carole. It’s been a busy few months on the Main Line, that’s for sure!!!
Absolutely brilliant what Michael Karp is doing for our educational community! Talk about paying it forward… literally!
So many stories in this issue. Thank you Savvy Mainline for keeping us informed with so many changes and announcements happening around our towns.