Since opening in December 2012, a ramp on the Pennsylvania Turnpike has contributed to billions of dollars in commercial and residential development throughout the Malvern area, writes Thomas Fitzgerald for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Exit 320, an all E-ZPass interchange that connects to Route 29, has helped drive the expansion of corporate office parks and the construction of new developments in Chester County’s Great Valley.
Vanguard significantly grew its campus for 12,000 employees, and major pharmaceutical and biotech companies such as Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva moved both offices and research labs to the area.
Thousands of people relocated to Malvern and nearby towns to take advantage of new employment opportunities and a shorter commute to Philadelphia and its inner-ring suburbs.
Over a decade after the ramp’s opening, its effects remain evident, even as the real estate market adjusts to a post-pandemic reduction in demand for traditional office space and the heightened need for more residential development.
“This new interchange was explosive in terms of the economic impact in that particular region in a way I’m not even sure we had anticipated,” said Craig R. Shuey, chief operating officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Read more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike aiding in the expansion of Malvern in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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