The Village at Valley Forge will add a mixed-use component to complement adjacent  King of Prussia Mall, the largest retail center on the East Coast.

The Village at Valley Forge Brings Mixed-Use to King of Prussia

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA -- Land — 125 acres of undeveloped golf course.  Location — directly adjacent to the second largest retail center in the United States with one of the most successful malls in the U.S..  This combination of factors is so rare, it almost sounds more like a wish list than a reality.  But The Village at Valley Forge (www.vavf.com) in King of Prussia is actually a dream come true for the property owners Northwestern Mutual and Realen Properties.  Assisting with the development and leasing of this rare tract of premium land will be a firm that’s made its name in the industry as a “town center” consultant and manager, Divaris Real Estate, Inc. (“DRE” www.divaris.com).  Master planning, architectural design and mixed-use project planning and consulting is being provided by StreetSense (www.streetsense.com).  StreetSense specializes in mixed-use projects and has created the master plan and concept for the Village.

            “The site has extraordinary supporting infrastructure and is adjacent to one of the largest malls in the U.S.,” said Dennis Maloomian, president of Realen Properties.  “You add to that the flexibility of the zoning, and the blessing of the municipalities and ‘the stars have all lined up’ for an extraordinary project.”

The Village at Valley Forge concept is a mixed-use, lifestyle environment conceived as a village with its own town center.  Plans include high-end retail, new-to-market specialty shops, signature restaurants, lifestyle retailers, entertainment destinations, residential housing, office space, hospitality and structured parking. 

            The property is located between the Valley Forge National Historical Park and the King of Prussia Mall—the second largest retail center in the United States, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers.  It encompasses The Plaza at King of Prussia, The Court at King of Prussia and The Pavilion.  The mall alone features nearly 3 million square feet, with anchor tenants Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Sears, JCPenney, Macy’s, and Bloomingdale’s.

            After the timeline was established for The Village to open in 2008, the search began for an organization that could advise on the retail component and secure the kind of tenants the developers had envisioned.  According to Maloomian, the ownership decided on DRE due to their recent and relevant experience with similar developments such as The Town Center of Virginia Beach.  “They’re professional, effective, we value their advice, they have very relevant experience with other projects that are similar.  It’s been a real pleasure [to work with DRE]. 

“StreetSense was added to the team because of its in-depth knowledge and experience with mixed-use town center projects.  They have a deep and broad knowledge of the complex planning, design issues and development challenges associated with mixed-use development,” Maloomian said.

            The Village at Valley Forge will take on an urban grid street.  Green space and water elements will be incorporated while the master plan allows for a subtle transition between the residential and commercial components.  Each section of The Village will be designed by a select team of architects and planners charged with specific aspects of the development.

The Village at Valley Forge is the first of its kind in the greater Philadelphia area.  In addition to the new-to-the-market tenants that will anchor the Village's town center, shoppers and residents alike will get to experience a state-of-the-art, stadium-seating arts cinema complex; a comedy club; a mix of celebrity chef-owned or themed signature restaurants; and an outdoor amphitheater that will feature concerts and performances and, in the winter, will transition into an ice skating rink.  Resting above or adjacent to these retailers will be up to 3,000 residential units of varying styles, sizes (townhouses, condos and apartments) and price-points -- all helping to create a tightly knit, pedestrian-oriented, main street community.  Plus, visitors to the area will have a choice of where to hang their hats in either of two four- to five-star hotels with up to 500 rooms.  Hotel patrons will enjoy the full complement of amenities generally associated with luxury hospitality, including meeting and conference space, ballrooms and onsite fitness and spa resort-style amenities.

“To put that number and that variety of residential opportunities together with the retail, entertainment, goods and services and office space in the heart of one of the nation’s most important employment centers is the essence of smart growth and the antithesis of suburban sprawl,” said Maloomian.

To ensure that all of these new retail possibilities complimented the stores at the King of Prussia Mall, Northwestern and Realen commissioned a demographic analysis of the area.  The data concluded that the King of Prussia market would accommodate an additional 2 million square feet of retail that wasn’t already available in the mall.  Given this information, DRE drew up a marketing plan centered around 1 million square feet that would complement what the mall already housed, thereby creating “a greater draw for the region than either property would individually,” according to Maloomian.

A large property, adjacent to America’s second largest mall, would have to have exceptional access and visibility.  The Village is nestled at the intersection of Interstate-76, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 202 and Route 422.  The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has spent over $300 million in road improvements in and around the area, making it highly accessible to customer traffic from as far away as 100 miles.

Northwestern and Realen ultimately see The Village at Valley Forge project not only as an opportunity to add a convenient retail/residential combination to the King of Prussia area, but also as a future example of how to stem suburban sprawl.  “I think that’s the biggest contribution we’re making.  We’re serving as a model of responsible development,” said Maloomian.  “Because of the critical mass, the mixed uses and the scale of the streets, landscaping and parks, we’re really going to create an exciting, vibrant neighborhood for the region.”