Millbourne Borough, with an area of less than one-tenth of a square mile, has the distinction of being Pennsylvania’s most densely populated incorporated town, writes Sunny Morgan for Billy Penn at WHYY.

It is home to 1,200 residents.

The borough has struggled economically for years, but times could be changing.

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia decided to build an $85 million state-of-the-art supply center at 6400 Market Street, site of the old Sears building in Millbourne.

The supply center opened last October and with it came hope for an influx of jobs, tax revenue, and even more development.

“We have a couple of acres still empty by the creek side and on the other side of the CHOP project,” Millbourne Mayor Mahabubul Alam Tayub said..

He sees a shopping center as a possibility.

“That would be awesome,” he said.

With CHOP’s arrival, the county reassessed the site’s value at $50.6 million. The previous assessment put it at $1.3 million.

That “gave a little bit of Millbourne better income for the borough,” said Millbourne resident and businessman Erik Wasserstein, “which will give everybody else some relief.”

Wasserstein, owner of Perzan Auto Radio in Millbourne, hopes the new development will lower taxes for his family business.

Read more about this tiny borough in Billy Penn at WHYY..

This 2020 video talks with then-Millbourne Mayor Thomas Kramer about using a land value tax to help the borough’s finances.