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BY MENGHAN JIN

In print | Published September 2, 2010

The economic downturn put an abrupt halt to a project that planned to bring an inn, a restaurant and the college bookstore to the Swarthmore town center.

However, after the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania granted $2 million towards the completion of the project in late April, the planning process is currently back up and running.

Since 1999, the college and the borough have been exploring the idea of building an inn because no such establishment exists in the Ville.

“Right now, if people come to visit you as a student at Swarthmore, there really aren’t that many places in the area to stay,” State Senator Ted Erickson, supporter of the inn project, said. “There are a few motels out on Baltimore Pike, but that’s about it.”

Several developments with this project were made during the early 2000s, but after the financial crisis hit the college, plans were cut short as funding became difficult to come by, Vice President for Facilities and Services Stu Hain said.

With the help and support of State Representative Bryan Lentz, Senator Erickson, PA Governor Ed Rendell and a $2 million grant, plans are finally beginning to take shape.

“We had to work with the governor’s office and the legislative offices and they were terrific,” Hain said. “The meetings were informative… and in the end, will be really helpful if we actually finally get the money.”

In late April, Governor Ed Rendell authorized the release of the $2 million grant towards the inn project, but the State Budget Office still has to negotiate a series of special conditions for the project before the money is actually awarded, Gary Tuma, the governor’s press secretary, said.

“The governor sees value in the project, so he wants to provide funding for the project, but obviously with state resources, we want to be careful that we’re not wasting the money or spending it on a project that is going to have problems down the road,” Tuma said.

According to Tuma, if all goes well, the project is estimated to create over 100 new jobs during the operation of all three establishments.

Increases in tax revenues, transportation improvements and an enhanced connection between the college and the commercial areas are also anticipated.

While $1 million in funding will come from the governor’s office, the other half of the grant will come from Lentz and Erickson, who both plan on continuing to support the project.

“I’ll continue to be a champion of it,” Lentz said. “I think it’s a good thing for Swarthmore, for Delaware County and for the college and the community.”

Stu Hain sees benefits for both the college and the town with the introduction of an inn. “From the college’s perspective, it’ll give parents, alumni and prospective students’ parents a place to stay on campus which is just really important since it’s such a beautiful campus,” Hain said. “It will also give people in the town for their families who visit them a nice place to stay.”

According to Hain, a lot of work still has to be completed before construction begins, including land planning, zoning reviews and finding a private developer.

Even after plans are finalized, the borough council will have to approve of the project. But since town and gown relations run strong, Hain is optimistic that the borough will accept the finalized plan.

Swarthmore Borough Mayor Rick Lowe also sees great potential in this project for the bettering of both the college and the town.

“I’m optimistic that they can come up with a plan that … most of the people in the town can get excited about,” he said. “We’re eager to see what plan they come up with and to work with them and let the process run its course.”

With the planning process for the inn underway, other issues also arose about potential problems the inn will bring.

Discussions between the college and residents of the town brought up some concerns with increased traffic in the town.

“We clearly need to do a traffic study because lots of people will need to be convinced that we aren’t going to create a big traffic jam,” Hain said.

With traffic issues being resolved, both Hain and Lowe expressed the importance of communication between the college and the town for the success of this project.

“It’s been terrific working with the town,” Hain said. “Conversations are forthright and opinions get expressed and I think the working relationship is terrific.”

The inn is likely to be located between the train station and PPR along South Chester Road.
The location of the restaurant and bookstore, which will be moved from campus into the town of Swarthmore, will be determined once a developer is hired.

Hain predicts the completion of the project to occur sometime in the year 2014.

“Finishing the construction could be somewhere between three and a half to four years away,” Hain said.

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