$100M Phoenixville Passenger Rail Project Taking Shape

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — Financial details are being ironed out in the Phoenixville passenger rail project, which aims to extend's SEPTA Manayunk/Norristown line to three new stations in King of Prussia, Schuylkill Township, and the Steel City.

Phoenixville Borough Council voted 7-0 Tuesday night to appoint someone to a financing review committee, which will be comprised of representatives from several area municipalities. The committee will finalize a plan to finance the project, estimated to be $100 million.

The project is still in the development stages and there are innumerable approvals to go. For one, it's not yet clear to what level neighboring municipalities are invested in the project. None have shown the initiative of Phoenixville.

"We hope that we will be able to work on a system of three stations but it is not critical that we do so," developer Danny DeMutis, a leader of the project, said. "If necessary we probably could work out an express from Phoenixville without the new stations."

The good news for rail advocates: SEPTA and the project planners have a "good working relationship," DeMutis told Borough Council. And while progress may seem slow to the public, and while many remain dubious that a proposal that has been repeatedly raised over a period of so many years will ever actually come to fruition, important hurdles continue to be leapt.

In the coming weeks and months, the Phoenixville Mayor's Task Force will pitch a plan to all impacted municipalities and school districts to create a new Transit Revitalization Investment District (TRID). The financing review committee, to which Phoenixville elected a representative Tuesday, will then discuss and ultimately suggest three new "tax increment districts" which would contribute funding.

Municipalities and schools would then have a chance to vote to create the TRID.

On Tuesday night, DeMutis also addressed the economic impact of the rail, which advocates previously lauded as a "new Main Line."

"The main beneficiary will be the existing homeowner, who will see their home values increase without the potential for increased taxes," he said.

Officials are hopeful the property value increase will include a three-mile swath surrounding each station, with the greatest increase occurring within three-quarters of a mile.

Public meetings to gain input from local residents are planned for the coming months.

Catch up on the latest coverage of the Phoenixville rail project:

• Task Force Confident Phoenixville Passenger Rail Will Happen
• Phoenixville Rail Project Taking Shape; 3 New Stations Proposed
• Phoenixville Mayor's Task Force Approved