Upper Darby Township, PA

The World in One Place

A Diverse Township that Has Mastered Balancing Old World Charm with a Progressive Vision

Upper Darby Township is a vibrant community where diversity is celebrated, and history is honored. Bordering the city of Philadelphia, this flourishing township is home to approximately 85,000 people, with more than 100 languages spoken throughout the community. 30%of residents are also immigrant or first generation Americans, adding to the rich cultural mosaic.

“Our motto is ‘the world in one place,’” says Mayor Ed Brown. “That really encompasses the essence and the beauty of Upper Darby. There’s a whole lot of cultures and colors and hues and we all come from different perspectives, but we do a good job of getting along and appreciating the differences and the similarities that we all have.”

Where History Meets Progress

Upper Darby is also a community that blends historical preservation with progressive growth. This is exemplified by the Swedish Cabin, dating back to the 1600s and among the oldest original structures in the country.

Looking ahead, the township is preparing to welcome a new campus for Delaware County Community College, set to open in early 2026. “We have a lot of history and a lot of brand new, beautiful things happening,” emphasizes Rita LaRue, Director of Community and Economic Development.

Accessibility is another key feature of the township. She notes, “The 69th Street Transportation Center is the second busiest in all of SEPTA’s vast railways and stops, and we have a great network of trolleys. It’s very easy to get to, and get around, Upper Darby.”

Breathing New Life Into 69th Street

Recently, Upper Darby partnered with the Urban Land Institute to host a technical assistance panel, bringing community stakeholders together to help reimagine the iconic 69th Street corridor, and explore how this vital area of the community can continue to evolve.

“The 69th Street shopping district is legendary, it’s been around for decades. Before there were even malls, people would shop there to find just about everything they needed,” touts Mayor Brown. “We’re trying to bring it up to the 21st Century but also keep the integrity of what people remember.”

Anchoring that vision is the Tower Theater, currently owned by Live Nation, and awaiting a new chapter. “It is a world famous venue that has been around for decades,” he reports. “It’s not currently being utilized, but we want to bring world class acts back to the Tower Theater and have that as a focal point of our downtown area. And we want to have restaurants and eclectic shops where people can go and get things that are unique to their culture.”

Built more than 100 years ago, this bustling corridor was designed as a mixed use development, with retail on the main floor, and office or residential above, a concept that many municipalities are trying to incorporate today. And just steps away are apartment buildings and houses. “So, what we have built in at Upper Darby is foot traffic and people who want to come to 69th Street multiple times a week,” LaRue describes.

Upper Darby is also working with large property owners like Ashkenazy Acquisition Corporation to accelerate revitalization.

“Ashkenazy owns a lot of the retail boxes on 69th Street, which in this day and age, is actually an advantage for us, because we can work for them on a holistic plan,” she conveys. “Instead of trying to work with 20 different property owners, we’re maybe dealing with five, which is actually going to increase how quickly we can move.”

Bringing leisure type attractions, such as Topgolf, into the corridor is another potential idea. “Also important to us is public spaces,” LaRue stresses. “We don’t want a downtown that is all concrete. We’d like a nice mix of sit down restaurants and then grab and go options. Aunt Susie’s Pie and Coffee is an up and coming brand in the region that we’d love to have. It’s a walk up, and then the customers can go sit in one of our public spaces that we would like to see downtown.”

Community and Commerce

Upper Darby’s comprehensive plan calls for the connection of neighborhood business corridors to the residential areas they serve. “There are several in Upper Darby,” LaRue outlines. “There’s Ferne Boulevard where the small businesses have banded together and helped develop that area. There’s another corridor, Long Lane, where we’ve just invested Community Development Block funds in renovating the parking lot so that people have better accessibility and so that the business owners can have loading zones.”

Backed by a $3.8 million Business Development program, the township is concentrating on its commercial corridors and looking for ways to revive underutilized areas. “We’ve had conversations and met with developers about their vacant properties and how these properties can best serve our residents with housing and new businesses, with focus on that mixed use approach to development,” explains CAO Crandall Jones. “One of the things we are looking at, not only in the 69th Street area, is creating a bit more evening commerce as well in various areas across the township.”

Although the township is fairly built out, plans are underway with a local developer, regarding a 14 acre site. LaRue recounts, “We are talking to him about having a mixed use development. There would be apartments and some single family townhomes and a grocery store, and some amenities there, as well as pathways. Our green space is important to us, and we want that integrated into every development.”

This potential neighborhood is near the recently renovated Drexeline Town Center, now boasting a new ShopRite Supermarket, and a variety of services and restaurants. A pediatric services hub operated by the Children’s Hospital of Pennsylvania, as well as the Delaware County Department of Human Services offices will also be located in the area.

“That’s going to create an ecosystem of providers for pediatric services,” LaRue says. “Typically you’ll see dentists and specialty doctors come in. So we’re really excited about that.”

Another important corridor is Garrett Road and Lansdowne Avenue, close to where the new Delaware County Community College campus will be situated. This area is home to a YMCA, a bank, and Barclay Square Shopping Center, where a new arts center, SPARC, run by the Upper Darby Arts & Education Foundation will be established. A new Upper Darby Community Center is also planned for the area.

“We’re really focusing on the quality of life for the residents, especially the ones that live within walking or biking distance, and then creating those specialty destinations,” LaRue expands.

Growth and Community Improvement

Infrastructure remains a top concern in Upper Darby, where much of the development dates back to the early 1900s. “We’re a town with some aging infrastructure,” LaRue acknowledges. “Deferred maintenance is an issue everywhere. But to attract investors, developers, and retail, they have to know that they’re hooked up to good sewer systems and they have good roads.”

Jones shares that millions of dollars from American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds have already been directed to improve aging infrastructure. “There’s been millions of dollars of investment in sewer and stormwater as a result of those funds, and we’re still leveraging those today to continue to do infrastructure projects as well,” he says.

Along with these investments, a Safe Streets for All study is being conducted in Upper Darby Township, examining safety improvements and exploring the need for increased lighting, and traffic calming initiatives.

Leadership with Heart and Purpose

For Mayor Brown, the most rewarding part of his job comes down to community connection “When people appreciate the work that we’re doing and the effort that we’re putting in, that makes it worth it,” he imparts. “I have a dynamic team here, and we’re really working hard, and that goes from top to bottom. We really believe in serving the community with every fiber of our being.”

He takes his role personally, whether he’s at a community event or doing his grocery shopping. “I want them to feel like the mayor is serving them and that they can reach out and communicate and ask questions and get clarity,” he asserts. “That’s very rewarding for me. And I realize being the first Black mayor of a very diverse township comes with its own set of responsibilities and care. I won’t be the last, so I want to really do a good job and set the bar high.”

The mayor’s vision for the future of Upper Darby is grounded in meaningful change and lasting impact. “Whenever my tenure is done, we want to leave this township in a better place than we found it,” he says. This includes strengthening the township’s finances, investing in economic development, preserving local history, and introducing new amenities. From the smallest details to the largest investments, Upper Darby Township remains committed to a high quality of life, shaping a future that is inclusive, forward thinking, and built to last.

AT A GLANCE

Who: Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania

What: A thriving township 30 minutes from Philadelphia

Where: Delaware County Pennsylvania

Website: www.upperdarby.org