King of Prussia Gets Rezoned to Allow Mixed-Use Development

[Plan via Plan Philly]

The world's population seems to favor cities, with more than half of people (54%, according to the Population Division of the UN) living in them. This trend echoes all over the world, and is heard in corners of King of Prussia. The Upper Merion Township and King of Prussia District (aka KOP-BID) are rewriting the code to allow for a more active district for the KOP business park, where people will be able to live, work, and otherwise entertain themselves within walking distance.
In the new plan, multi-family residences, retail, street-level activity, and LEED standard bonuses are going to infuse through the next phase of the area.

According to Plan Philly, the KOP District leadership believes this is the way to go. "We believe that the change in zoning from the traditional 1960's suburban office park to a dynamic, mixed-use district will trigger significant investment in the coming years," says Eric T. Goldstein, King of Prussia District Executive Director.

Over 20,000 people work in the current business park, and the idea is to create opportunities to retain this population outside of typical workday hours.

For the next five years, Plan Philly reports that KOP-BID will work to "promote economic development; grow jobs; improve physical conditions; promote the area through marketing and communications; develop zoning and tax strategies; and promote better transportation connections."

Transportation is a big aspect of the issue, of course, and to better connect KOP, the proposal for rail extension is on the table.

The project area at stake is below.