Nightlife : Development News

Until recently, Philadelphians with a miniature-golf habit had exactly one option within the city proper: the 18-hole course at Center City's Franklin Square, with its family-friendly vibe and Spirit of '76 theme for tourists.
 
Fortunately, that's no longer the case.
 
Keystone Mini-Golf and Arcade, an indoor facility with nine holes and a grown-up, party-friendly atmosphere, recently opened at 161 Cecil B. Moore Avenue in Olde Kensington. And, in an unrelated venture, an 18-hole glow-in-the-dark putt-putt course known as Adventurer's Mini-Golf is due to open any day now at 38 Jackson Street in South Philly.
 
Both businesses feature arcade games and Skee-Ball, and both offer dedicated party rooms. At Keystone Mini-Golf, which proudly advertises itself as a BYOB facility, the party takes place in a backyard gravel lot, open to the elements and outfitted with picnic tables.
 
Keystone was started by Bucks County natives Bill Cannon and Drew Ferry, who stumbled onto their lightbulb moment after a session at a driving range in Southampton.

"We were walking back to the car and saw a mini-golf course," recalls Ferry. "We thought we could do a little spin on it [in the city], and do it BYO."

The old-school, DIY-style course was put together in about six weeks with the help of Ferry's father, who works in construction. And while Ferry hasn't yet given up his day job as a mover, Keystone's first month went much better than expected.

"It's been amazing," says Cannon. "Yesterday, a guy came in with his girlfriend. Later at night, he came back with a buddy."

On September 21 Keystone is hosting its Inaugural Mini-Golf Open with a $25 buy-in, free beer and prizes. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Bill Cannon and Drew Ferry, Keystone Mini-Golf 
 

"I've always had a deep love for theme bars and Tiki bars," says Tommy Up (née Updegrove), proprietor of Northern Liberties' PYT burger bar and Emmanuelle, a nearby cocktail parlor. "As a kid, we would visit all kinds of interesting themed-out restaurants. I'm sure that played a big role in my love for Tiki culture."
 
With help from his business partner Sarah Brown, Up's lifelong fascination with themed eating and drinking is now just days away from becoming a major aspect of his professional life. The Yachtsman, a classic Polynesian-themed Tiki bar currently rising from the ashes of an old Irish pub on the corner of Frankford Avenue and West Jefferson Street in Fishtown, should be open for business in a week or two.  
 
According to Up, the new establishment had its genesis in a conversation last summer with two Emmanuelle bartenders who also happen to be serious Tiki enthusiasts. That chat eventually led to the signing of a 15-year lease on a century-old building.

When a series of critical structural issues were discovered during the renovation -- and The Yachtsman's budget was nearly blown -- Up and Brown turned to Kickstarter in an effort to recoup their losses. They raised nearly $40,000 in a month.

"In a sense the [success of] the Kickstarter backfired, because we had to double-down and make the bar way better than it was originally going to be," quips Up.
 
The Yachtsman's drink menu will feature 12 cocktails, mostly new takes on Tiki classics. The small space will also be packed with vintage Tiki accoutrements.

"A lot of thought went into doing the job that a Tiki bar is supposed to do," explains Up. "Transport you onto a mini-vacation while you're still inside the city." 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Tommy Up, The Yachtsman
 

If you've already whiled away a pleasant evening or three this summer at the pop-up Spruce Street Harbor Park but haven't yet stopped by the reimagined Eakins Oval at the center of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, you'll want to consider making room in your schedule for a visit.
 
Officially dubbed The Oval, the temporary eight-acre public space sits directly in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art. It popped up last summer, and following a number of spring and fall events, celebrated its seasonal return to the Parkway in mid-July.
 
For the next four weeks (through August 17) the color-saturated urban play space will be home to a huge schedule of free events, activities and community programming. There will be fitness boot camps and yoga classes; Quizzo contests and film screenings; Tai Chi lessons and DJ nights. And along with a monster-sized chess board, a ping-pong table and a mini-golf course (all free!), The Oval also features a rotating cast of food trucks and a beer garden built from reclaimed construction materials.    
 
The Oval's "has been very, very successful," says Colleen Campbell of the Fairmount Park Conservancy. "It's been tremendously well-received."
 
And although last summer's beach theme was popular with park-goers, this year the design is different. Local artist Candy Coated was commissioned by the Association for Public Art to transform The Oval into a whimsical space with a magic carpet motif.

"It's very fanciful, and it's very bright," explains Campbell. "Aside from our programming, it's just a fun piece of art to interact with."

The Oval is open 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Wednesday - Friday; noon - 7 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Source: Colleen Campbell, Fairmount Park Conservancy
Writer: Dan Eldridge

As part of its increasingly ambitious master plan for the Central Delaware, the Delaware River Waterfront Corporation (DRWC) has announced its latest seasonal project.
 
Dubbed a "summer waterfront installation," the Spruce Street Harbor Park at Penn's Landing Marina will be a two-month-long landscaping and programming pop-up project that will temporarily transform the space into an outdoor oasis.
 
Scheduled to run June 27 through August 31, the installation will feature a boardwalk, an urban beach, fountains, misting areas, a pop-up restaurant and bar, and, perhaps most exciting of all, "a series of floating barges complete with lily pad water gardens," according to a release, "and nets that will suspend visitors over the water."
 
According to DRWC's Jodie Milkman, the Spruce Street Harbor Park was developed as an expansion of the group's most recent seasonal installation, Waterfront Winterfest, which brought a pop-up beer garden and fire pits to the Blue Cross RiverRink last winter. The Winterfest installation was wildly successful -- despite being closed for a record 13 days due to inclement weather, the rink's attendance numbers were still 30 percent higher than last year's.   
 
A $300,000 grant from ArtPlace America, which offers grants to civic organizations and cities to activate public spaces through art, provided a portion of the funds for both installations; according to Milkman, DRWC will match those funds.   
 
And what will happen to the fountains and floating barges once the season comes to an end? There are no guarantees just yet, but Milkman says conversations about repeating both installations are already underway.  

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Jodie Milkman, DRWC
 

If you need a sign that Philly's retail infrastructure is getting back on track, look no further than the stretch of Germantown Avenue that runs through the northwestern neighborhood of Chestnut Hill.

In early April, the Chestnut Hill Business Association (CHBA) announced that five new shops have either recently opened on the avenue or will soon, while a sixth shop has moved into a larger location "to accommodate its rapid expansion," according to a release.
 
The avenue's latest addition, the children's boutique Villavillekula (the name is a Pippi Longstocking reference), celebrated its arrival with an opening reception at the end of March. The Chocolate Hill Candy & Fudge Shop, meanwhile, opened in December and has already proven popular with kids and grownups alike.
 
Also new for the toddler set is a youngsters-only version of the popular Greene Street consignment chain. Known as Greene Street Kids, it'll open sometime this month, as will Greenology, a gardening and organic lifestyle store across from the Chestnut Hill Hotel. Newly launched inside the hotel is Paris Bistro & Jazz Café, the third offering from Chef Al Paris, who also runs the acclaimed Heirloom and Green Soul eateries in the neighborhood. 
 
According to CHBA Executive Director Martha Sharkey, the growth of the neighborhood's retail scene owes a large debt to the organization's retail recruitment program, which launched four years ago. The neighborhood has welcomed 15 new shops and eight new restaurants in that time.  
 
"We are very lucky to have this program," says Sharkey. "For a downtown district, it's always challenging -- with malls, and with other places for people to shop -- to really create a vibrant, thriving community. The retail recruitment has really been essential to us."  
 
The retail recruiter position has recently become available; interested candidates can view the job description here.
 
Source: Martha Sharkey, Chestnut Hill Business Association
Writer: Dan Eldridge

Following a months-long negotiation process with the city's Historical Commission and various preservation groups, Center City's Boyd Theatre might finally be ready to come alive again.  

Roughly two years ago, Florida-headquartered iPic-Gold Class Entertainment first showed interest in developing one of its high-end movie theaters at The Boyd, which opened in late-1928 as a silent film theatre (it closed for good in 2002). And while, in 2008, local preservationists managed to have the Boyd added to the Historical Commission's list of "protected assets," iPic has made a controversial choice: It asked for the Commission's blessing to completely gut the Boyd's auditorium, claiming the project wouldn't otherwise make financial sense. (The building's façade, its marquee and entranceway would all be restored under iPic's plan.) 

"The plan to totally restore [the Boyd] into its original state inside -- to make it either a one-screen movie theatre or a Broadway-type theatre -- those plans are all $30 to $50 million," says Kirk Dorn of Ceisler Media, which manages iPic's PR. "And you couldn't get the revenue from the theatre to produce that ."
 
On February 14, iPic will present its development plan -- two stories consisting of eight small theaters with reserved stadium seating, in-theatre dining and in-theatre waitstaff -- to the city's full commission. An onsite restaurant is also in the picture, and assuming iPic receives a "yes" vote on Valentine's Day, "We're hoping to open sometime in 2015," says iPic general counsel Paul Safron. 

"We're still willing to work with the preservation community," adds Safron. "We're happy to incorporate some of the design concepts and elements if we can."

Update: On February 12, we were informed by Kirk Dorn that the Philadelphia Historical Commission has postponed iPic's full commission hearing for one month; it's now scheduled for March 14. 

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Kirk Dorn, Ceisler Media and Paul Safron, iPic Entertainment 

After spending more than two years on a frustrating search for the ideal urban location in which to open a small-batch craft brewery, Tim Patton finally settled on a historic building with beer in its bones. Now, he’s only a few short months from opening Saint Benjamin Brewery.

Located in South Kensington near the corner of North 5th Street and Cecil B. Moore Avenue, the three-story, 14,000-square-foot building Patton bought for $395,000 was originally home to the Theo Finkenauer Lager Beer Brewery, which went out of business sometime around Prohibition. Technically, the space was home to the brewery's carriage house and stable, so Patton has been spending much of his time lately (not to mention his money; the project is largely self-financed) rehabbing the space. 

"The building itself was actually in very good shape," he says. "This was the first clean and dry building I had actually seen when I was looking at spaces." 

Still, certain infrastructure upgrades were necessary. The former carriage house has been outfitted with new electrical circuits, a sprinkler system, new sewer lines and a two-inch gas line, to name just a few of the recent improvements. And, as Flying Kite reported in April, Patton used crowdsourcing to fund a facade rehab.

The brewery hopes to officially open for business in early spring, distributing beer to pubs in Fishtown, Northern Liberties and Kensington. Saint Benjamin's will also offer the occasional brewery tour and tasting, and customers will be able to fill growlers onsite. 

Patton also has plans to eventually add a brewpub. Unfortunately, that step is still probably another year or two away.

Writer: Dan Eldridge
Source: Tim Patton, Saint Benjamin Brewery

Ever walk a city block in Philly at night and wonder what gives that piece of street a sense of place? All too often, it’s the details that deliver; small fixtures or amenities in the urban realm that cater to the pedestrian user. Over the years, the Center City District has understood the importance of high quality pedestrian features on city blocks, something that hasn’t escaped their priority list to this day. More recently it has installed 124 pedestrian-scale light fixtures in three areas of Center City: Chinatown, Old City and Washington Square West.   
 
In Chinatown, ornamental pagoda lights were installed in the 900 and 1000 blocks of Arch Street plus 10th Street between Arch and Race Streets.  New lights were also added along Eighth Street between Market and Filbert Streets. 
 
In Old City, the CCD added pedestrian lighting to two blocks on Third Street between Market and Race Streets. And in Washington Square West, new lighting was added to the 1000 block of Spruce, and on 11th and 12th Streets, between Spruce and Pine Streets.
 
These recent improvements are the latest in a series of lighting installments the CCD has been implementing since 1996.  In all, $24 million has been spent and 2,179 ornamental lights have gone up, mostly around Rittenhouse, Washington and Logan Squares.  With 2/3 of all blocks finished in the district, CCD is always strategizing on where to implement the next round of lighting improvements.   “Our goal is to finish the balance of the blocks in the CCD,” explains Paul Levy, President and CEO of Center City District.
 
The purpose of the program has always been to “add vibrancy to the streetscape, improve safety and encourage people to visit businesses and restaurants,” says Levy.  Lighting is particularly important in fostering the ’24-hour downtown’ that Center City already is, a status Levy and others want to maintain and strengthen. 
 
Expect other parts of Chinatown and undeveloped areas within Center City to continue seeing pedestrian lighting improvements as development occurs.  “Since most of the remaining (unfinished) blocks are in areas where new development is still occurring, we usually partner with developers when they complete their projects,” says Levy, who says CCD's efforts to cover all blocks will be complete within five years. 

Source: Paul Levy, President and CEO of Center City District
Writer: Greg Meckstroth

Thanks to the work of Marcie Turney and Valerie Safran, Midtown Village is quickly becoming a dining destination. Earlier this year, we told you about their newest restaurant, Jamonera, which is a Spanish-style tapas bar on 13th St., just south of Chestnut. Now, this gastronomical blitz is extending to Locust St. in Midtown, as the casual Italian restaurant Spiga opened this past weekend. Spiga is co-owned by Anthony Masapollo, who is also know for Le Castagne in Rittenhouse and La Famiglia in Old City, and the executive chef is Brian Wilson.

Masapollo is elated to be a part of the Midtown Village community. “We sat outside El Vez, and I thought to myself, ‘this is where I want to be’,” says Masapollo. He adds that he loves the community feeling in Midtown. He made sure to join the Midtown Village Merchants Association last week. The partner is also planning on working with other businesses, such as the 12th St. Gym, to do outreach. Masapollo says that another perk of being in the neighborhood is that it connects Le Castagne and La Famiglia by providing a midpoint. 

Spiga, which translates to stalk or stem, can best be described as a casual Italian restaurant. Chef Wilson’s menu items include pasta, pizza, burgers, and steak, fish, and pork chop from the eatery’s two wood-burning grills. Masapollo is especially proud of the wood-fired grills. “It’s like cooking outdoors,” he says. For those with wheat allergies, gluten-free items are also available. Patrons are encouraged to share menu items. Spiga also has a bar on the premises, which serves up wine and cocktails. 

The restaurant is located at 1305 Locust St., which is convenient to PATCO, the Broad St. Subway, and a parking lot. Before Spiga, the location housed a few LGBT-themed lounges, the last of which was JR’s Lounge. Masapollo says he and his business partners had been looking to create Spiga for quite a while. He says they first set their sights on the Locust St. location last summer. 

Spiga seats 70 people between the main dining room and the bar. They are generally open until 10 PM on weeknights and 11 p.m. on weekends, although they are closed on Mondays and close early on Sundays. In addition to Masapollo and Wilson, Skip DiMassa and Giuseppe Sena are co-owners. Entrees generally cost between $12 and $30, while some appetizers cost as little as $4. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Anthony Masapollo

Photo courtesy of Spiga

Do you SEPTA?

Yes, you heard right, SEPTA is now a verb. This is one of many messages SEPTA pushes in its new video campaign "I SEPTA Philly," which features SEPTA riders under the age of 35 discussing how safe, clean, simple to use, sustainable, and affordable SEPTA is. The campaign recognizes that young adults are generally opting to ride mass transit more often and live in cities, as well as the city's rising population of young people.

I SEPTA Philly consists of a mix of on-the-street interviews and submitted videos. Many of the on-the-street interviews were conducted at 15th and Market Sts. and the 40th St. trolley portal. The effort kicked off in early-April, and is expected to last until September. Riders who produce their own videos are entered into a contest to win free SEPTA passes, concert tickets, and even a trip to a music festival in Las Vegas. I SEPTA was created in conjunction with a few radio stations, including KYW Newsradio and Radio 104.5.

Rich DiLullo, SEPTA’s recently retired marketing director who created the campaign, is ecstatic about the chance to market SEPTA to a demographic that studies have shown cares about mass transit. The agency is looking to "increase the awareness of SEPTA and its positive attributes among the younger generations," says DiLullo. He adds that SEPTA is especially eager to reach young adults who grew up in the suburbs with "helicopter parents," or those who chaperoned their children everywhere. DiLullo hopes that I SEPTA can encourage these young adults to be comfortable about riding SEPTA. 

The campaign currently features about 50 SEPTA riders between the ages of 18 and 34. The riders are a racially diverse bunch, although it seems like many of them live in Philadelphia, and not in the suburbs. Once again, this is likely SEPTA recognizing the re-localization trend that resulted in the city’s recent population uptick. DiLullo says he hopes to get about 15 more young adult participants in I SEPTA. SEPTA also maintains a Youth Advisory Counsel, which represents college students in the 18-34 bracket. 

According to DiLullo, Philadelphians over the age of 34 are more likely to have fixed transportation patterns. Conversely, younger adults are less likely to be stereotypical 9-5 commuters because of classes and part-time jobs. It also makes sense that adults between 18 and 34 would be more likely to use mass transit for recreation and shopping. 

This website could be “a real wonderful commentary on Philadelphia,” says DiLullo. 

Source: Rich DiLullo, SEPTA
Writer: Andy Sharpe

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to knock down pins and lose pounds at the same time? If so, you might want to head over to East Falls starting next month. This is when Sweat Fitness will open their first fitness center and BYOB bowling alley in One Falls Center on Henry Ave. This will soon be Philadelphia’s first combination gym and bowling alley and Sweat Fitness’ 10th location in the city and its suburbs. It will be called Sweat Fitness and Frames.

Sweat Fitness hopes to intertwine bowling and working out, according to Scott Caplan, the owner of the gym. To do this, Caplan plans to allow members who use any Sweat gym to bowl for free during off-peak hours, which fall on weekdays in the bowling sphere. The facility will feature 10 bowling lanes with room for private parties. Exercisers can unwind not just from a round of bowling, but also with a drink. Indeed, unlike many bowling alleys, Sweat Fitness and Frames will be BYOB.

While bowling is a unique bedfellow to fitness, Caplan previously owned the Stripes bowling alley at 40th and Locust Sts. in West Philly. Stripes closed in April 2010, but Caplan’s affinity for bowling did not go away. Caplan explains that bowling helps “solidify” relationships, which is important because “fitness is a very social business.” 

Caplan hopes that Fitness and Frames will become an integral part of the East Falls community. For one thing, Sweat will take advantage of a free shuttle that carries Philadelphia University students between their school and housing around One Falls Center. He’s also encountered strong support for the gym alley among the East Falls Development Corporation (EFDC) and other community groups. “So far they’ve been very happy to have us,” says Caplan, who adds that Sweat has become a “focal point” in other communities. 

If Sweat Fitness and Frames proves successful, the gym may open additional bowling fitness centers in the future. Caplan divulges that Sweat is looking to open a few more fitness facilities in the Delaware Valley in 2013, although no word yet if they’ll offer bowling.  

If you’re interested in joining Sweat’s upcoming East Falls location, Caplan says there are still around a hundred pre-sale membership slots available. While the owner can’t give an exact date as to when Sweat Fitness and Frames will open, he says it will likely be in late-April. This means only a month until you can enjoy a vigorous work-out, a round of bowling, and a frosty drink in one location.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Scott Caplan, Sweat Fitness  

Illustration Courtesy of Sweat Fitness

Germantown is a neighborhood that is characterized by the remnants of its past colliding with the challenges of its present. It is definitely one of the most famous historic sections of Philly, right behind Old City in the eyes of many. Yet, this storied history comes with the backdrop of crime, poverty, trash, and neighborhood division on many blocks. This neighborhood division has been manifested by the corrupt Germantown Settlement, which was a social service and community development agency that ran out of money, and a tiff over retail development on Chelten Avenue. 

It's why Germantown residents are even more motivated to redevelop and cultivate a sense of community. In fact, the Germantown United CDC (GUCDC) was formed toward the end of last year to reinstate transparency to the neighborhood. The CDC is currently in the process of selecting its Board, and serves the racially, economically, and religiously diverse area from Chew Ave. to the north, Wissahickon Ave. to the south, Wayne Junction Station to the east, and Johnson St. to the west. 

John Churchville, the president of GUCDC, is passionate about making a difference. "I'd have to say that our first priority is to establish our trustworthiness as an organization in Germantown," says a motivated Churchville. He says this means reaching out to local businesses, residents, civic associations, and developers. The president also detects a hardy sense of optimism among those who are interested in serving on GUCDC’s Board. 

Once GUCDC becomes more entrenched in the neighborhood, one of its priorities will be re-utilizing the historic Germantown Town Hall. Churchville says that the re-use of Town Hall will be a personal commitment of his. He wants to take advantage of the Civil War-era building’s location across from Germantown High School by turning it into a building of learning that will feature post-secondary level science, technology, and math and high-school level "green entrepreneur" training. The building is up for sale by the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC). 

Another GUCDC priority will be to clean up the Chelten and Germantown Ave. business corridors. The corridors form perpendicular Main Streets feature a diverse selection of small businesses, but are pockmarked by trash and other quality-of-life problems. The CDC has already held clean-ups along Chelten, and has proven its intimate concern with the avenue since its days speaking out against the new shopping center at Chelten and Pulaski. 

It’s not hard to guess that GUCDC sees Germantown’s history playing a vital role in the area’s future. Barbara Hogue, the executive director at Historic Germantown, is hoping to assist in this effort. She says her organization has submitted a grant application to the Pew Charitable Trust for "the interpretation of the enduring search for freedom in Germantown." If they receive the grant, Hogue foresees Historic Germantown working setting up pop-up exhibits at vacant storefronts and organizing lectures at local coffee shops in an event commemorating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. 

GUCDC held a forum last week to examine CDC best practices in Philadelphia and New York and strategize ways to make a community like Germantown more livable. The forum was keynoted by Colvin Grannum, president of Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant Restoration Corporation. Other speakers were Econsult economist Steve Mullin, Rick Sauer with the Philadelphia Association of Economic Development Corporations, Historic Germantown’s Hogue, Sandy Salzman at New Kensington CDC, and Andy Frishkoff with Local Initiatives Support Corporation. 

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Sources: John Churchville, Germantown United CDC and Barbara Hogue, Historic Germantown 

Photo courtesy of Dana Scherer

2011 was the year for public space and parks in Philadelphia, with the opening of Penn Park, The Porch at 30th St. Station, and the Race St. Pier. Mt. Airy USA (MAUSA) is looking to bring that trend northwest for 2012. MAUSA, in conjunction with community groups and other stakeholders, has been studying what to do with the open space next to the Lovett Library for months. They have formulated a "conceptual plan" for an open, child-friendly performance space that will complement their efforts to transform Germantown Ave. into a more livable and walkable corridor.

The community made it clear during three public meetings that any outdoor area at Lovett should preserve the open space and support performances, according to Anuj Gupta, the Executive Director at MAUSA. Locals were also quite passionate about maintaining "the green orientation of this space," says Gupta. He says more trees will be planted, but the space as planned will function as an open amphitheater. MAUSA has reached out to the Curtis Institute of Music to see if they'd be interested in allowing their students to perform outside Lovett. 

Gupta says the proposed park will be tyke-friendly and sustainable, accommodating a story-time circle and nature play for young children. MAUSA may partner with a local arboretum on the nature play. Gupta hopes to better control the stormwater that flows off Lovett's roof through use of a rain garden. Along with the rain garden, native plant species will be used.

This public space proposal comes on the heels of a successful summer movie series on the grounds of the Lovett. Gupta brags that 130 to 150 people coalesced at the library during the course of the eight-week movie series. Trolley Car Diner provided concessions, and all movies were family-friendly. Gupta foresees the upcoming public space making this a tradition. 

A number of community and city groups have been involved in the planning for Mt. Airy's newest public space. The Community Design Collaborative (CDC) provided complimentary design services. The Free Library of Philadelphia has provided its support and assistance. East and West Mt. Airy Neighbors (EMAN and WMAN) have both been intimately involved in the community engagement process. Even the local religious community hasn't been left out, as Gupta lauds the Neighborhood Interfaith Movement for being a partner.

MAUSA hopes that this public space jibes with corridor improvements along Germantown Ave. People should "have an incentive to walk from Cresheim Valley [Drive] to Washington Lane," says Gupta with hopeful inflection. He says there is currently little activity on the stretch of the Avenue around the library. Gupta also states that there is no designed park in Northwest Philadelphia, although he says Chestnut Hill's Pastorius Park comes close. He says Lovett can hold the area's first designed park. 

Anuj Gupta estimates that MAUSA's "final conceptual plan" will be ready for public consumption in May. He hopes to hold a ceremony replete with performances at Lovett's grounds to present the plan. While the community has been split on what to do with the space, it looks like MAUSA worked hard to run with the local consensus views. It might just be a few months until Mt. Airy proves that 2012 is the year of the public space in the Northwest.   

Writer: Andy Sharpe
Source: Anuj Gupta, Mt. Airy USA