Spotlight on Upper Main Line, Pennsylvania
The Main Line is a group of suburbs located in the west of Philadelphia along Lancaster Avenue (U.S. Route 30). Originally know as the historic Pennsylvania Railroad, the railroad connected Philadelphia’s wealthiest communities from downtown Philadelphia to Harrisburg and eventually to Pittsburgh. Today, the Main Line is a line of communities extending northwest from City of Philadelphia to Malvern. It is split into lower Main Line, the historic communities of Bala Cynwyd up to Bryn Mawr. The Upper Main Line stretches from Villanova, which straddles in Montgomery county and Delaware County. It extends across Montgomery county and Delaware county, and ultimately to Malvern, Chester county.
The area attracts numerous major institutions. Founded in 1985, Main Line Health is a regional multi-specialty physician group with over 10,000 employees and 2,000 physicians on staff serving portions of Philadelphia and the Main Line area. This health system contains four acute care hospitals, one treatment center for drug and alcohol recovery and one home health service center. Other major Main Line employers include Vanguard Group, QVC, Siemens Medical Solution USA and Giant Food.
There are some real estate developments at the Main Line. Narberth Place is a 12-unit luxury condos for seniors. The developer Main Line rebuild transformed the former United Methodist Church of Narberth into high-end condominiums. Narberth Place includes six units in the church itself, three in the manor house and three in the former parsonage. The Church was constructed in 1929 with stone veneer and stained glass windows original design. In the interior, the property features modern amenities including courtyards, fireplaces, and lofts.
Numerous different modes of transportation serve along the Main Line. The SEPTA Paoli/Thorndale rail line has stops in almost all of the Main Line communities. This railroad provides resident direct access to downtown Philadelphia and eventually extends connection to the entire Philadelphia metropolitan area. Located in the heart of Main Line, Suburban Square is an upscale shopping center and notable as the country’s first open-air shopping center.
This area has numerous nationally ranked public and private school, as well as several prestigious universities including Bryn Mawr College and Haverford College. Villanova University athletics teams are known as the Wildcats, a member of the NCAA Division I, competing in the Big East Conference. In 2009, Villanova’s football team won the NCAA Division I-AA championship.
The featured properties in this month’s rent survey represent six communities in the Upper Main Line from Wayne to Malvern built between 1927 and 2014. Average occupancy rates for these communities range from 88% to 97%. Average rental rates per square foot range from $1.30 to $2.64, with average unit sizes ranging from 422 to 1,496 square feet. Common area amenities include on-site laundry facility, fitness center, tennis court, playground, swimming pool and barbecue and fire pit. Unit amenities feature hardwood flooring to private balconies/patios, in unit washer/dryer and fireplace. Residents pay application fee ranging from $45 to $60 and post security deposits from $250 to $500. Pets are allowed in the communities with some breed restrictions; residents pay pet deposits of $200 to $500, and a monthly pet rent of $20 to $50.