Over the past two decades, Kennett Square Borough has become a thriving hamlet of diversity, events and community, but there is growing concern for how it will balance its identity with the weight of its growth and popularity. 

By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

At a little more than one square mile in size, Kennett Square Borough manages to stuff itself with all the ingredients that make up a generally accepted definition of a successful small town. From the time that Genesis Healthcare’s Michael Walker made the decision to locate his company’s headquarters on State Street several decades ago, the Borough has emerged from a sleepy and somewhat sketchy outpost to a thriving partnership of merging entities, people, neighborhoods, events and green spaces, and all of it – every vital action– is attached to the same well-oiled and workable engine.

Driven by the tireless work of its non-profit agencies, volunteers and visionaries, the Borough has become a center of hope and services for the Hispanic population, the marginalized and the working poor. 

Its educational opportunities open the door for young people who would otherwise not see college or a career in their future.

Its calendar is chock full of events that celebrate the mushroom industry and the exploding beer, wine and spirit culture in southeastern Pennsylvania – a roster of jubilation that has placed Kennett Square on the cultural and tourist map in the mid-Atlantic region, and where it is not uncommon to welcome visitors from states near and far.

In partnership with Longwood Gardens, it has become the “quaint, small town” next to one of the world’s great institutions of botanical science and horticulture.

Its neighborhoods are dotted with walking paths and nature trails that connect people to people.

Its main street is lined with popular restaurants and cafes, and Birch Street, once an avenue of neglect, has become one of the top social attractions in town.

It boasts a new, state-of-the-art library that welcomes thousands of visitors every week.

To peel away these layers of success, however, is to find a borough of enormous growth and change, as evidenced by a population growth that has surged from nearly 6,000 in 2020 to 6,500 in 2023 to just shy of 7,000 in 2024. It has experienced a glut of new housing development that has seen condominiums and apartments spring up on the Borough’s eastern and western edges, with additional residential construction now underway. 

Given this evidence, it does not take the wisdom of a soothsayer to state the key issues that are conspiring to change the complexion, the image and the definition of what the Kennett Square Borough is slowly becoming, and indeed, there are some – who chat in cafes and in schools and in neighbor-to-neighbor conversations over hedges – who proclaim that the future is already here.

The truth, simply put, is this: Kennett Square Borough is on the verge of literally drowning in its own popularity. 

To address the dynamics and potential ramifications of this issue, four stakeholders were chosen and interviewed separately: Andrew Froning, a member of the Kennett Square Borough Planning Commission; Kennett Collaborative Executive Director Daniel Embree; Michael Cangi, a member of the Kennett Collaborative Board of Directors; and Kennett Square Mayor Matt Fetick. 

‘This is not a four-year deal, but a 40-year deal’

Andrew Froning grew up in Kennett Township, and for the last 40 years, he and his family have lived in Kennett Square Borough. A member of the Borough’s Historic Architecture Review Board, Froning can easily rewind and roll back images of the Borough’s past, to a time in his childhood when there were two grocery stores on State Street, when medical doctors worked out of their own homes and when industrial companies like National Vulcanized Fiber and the Clark Shoe Company employed hundreds of locals. 

“We were an underdeveloped, residential town with an industrial manufacturing presence,” recalled Froning, who has been a member of the Borough’s Planning Commission for the past five years. “The growth in the mushroom industry began to spur growth, but we also saw people who were wanting to move out to the country from, say, Wilmington or Philadelphia, and found that Kennett Square was livable.

“What also led to the Borough’s growth was that we had political leadership in the past who, over a period of time, were concerned that the Borough was going to run out of money, so they began to let in real estate developers, who gave the Borough money to build and were given the freedom to write their own ordinances according to what they wanted.”

Over the last decade, developers have redesigned the skyline of the Borough and dug deep into its dirt, constructing condominiums and luxury apartment complexes that have revamped former abandoned spaces throughout the Borough, all in an effort to capitalize on the common desire – for those who are able to afford it -- to live in a beautiful, inclusive and walkable town:

• As part of a long-term goal to monetize the once abandoned Ways Lane area, Kennett Pointe and its 53 urbanist townhomes and one- and two-bedroom apartments combine to provide residents with convenient access to shops and other businesses. 
• Located on Millers Hill, The Flats at Kennett offers 175 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments with luxury amenities that include a resort-style outdoor pool, a pool lounge area, outdoor workspaces, a firepit and a 24-hour fitness center.
• On West Cypress Street, Magnolia Place Apartments offers spacious 1 and 2-bedroom layouts and convenient amenities just a short walk from State Street shops and restaurants.
• Recently opened, Kennett Square Apartments offers studio, one- or two-bedroom apartments that combines “classic charm with modern sensibilities.”

The growth of new residences in the Borough does not end there. At their Aug. 21 meeting, the Kennett Township Board of Supervisors approved a preliminary/final land development plan in order to construct a 16.1-acre residential and commercial development on the east side of Walnut Road, which is projected to include seven single-family dwelling units, 72 multi-family attached dwelling units, 104 apartment units, three detached garages and two commercial/retail uses. 

For a Borough with a per capita income measured at $43,677 as recently as 2022, this new construction has been accused of catering to a transient population who can afford to live there. In contrast, the Borough has been criticized for not investing its time in finding – and developing -- adequate housing solutions for its low- to moderate-income individuals and families – including the majority of the Borough’s Hispanic sector, who makes up 35 percent of its’ population, who cannot come up with the money to pay for a $1,500-a-month one-bedroom apartment or a three-bedroom space that can be theirs for $2,525 a month.

These rates are clearly against the grain of a 2022 community survey that Kennett Collaborative sent to residents regarding the planned development of the long-proposed former NVF site. Of the 815 responses that were received, 60 percent of the English-speaking respondents said that an affordable cost of a home in the Borough would be between $350,000 and $500,000, but 40 percent of Spanish-speaking respondents put the maximum amount at about $150,000.

Similarly, maximum affordable monthly rent for about 60 percent of English-speaking respondents was between $1,250 and $2,000, but between $600 and $1,000 for Spanish-speaking respondents.

According to a recent housing market trend report, homes in the Borough were selling for a median price of $500,000 as recently as September. 

In general terms – and as specified in the current Kennett Square Borough Comprehensive Plan -- housing is considered affordable if the household spends 30 percent or less of its gross monthly income on housing costs, and that any household paying more is categorized as “cost burdened.” When added up, based on the American Community Survey data from 2006-2010, an estimated 45 percent of households in the Borough were cost burdened, a number that has spiked even higher in recent years. 

Froning said that if the cost of housing in the Borough continues over time – with no viable options for affordable housing – a valuable asset to the community will be forced to leave.

“In the Planning Commission, we talk all the time about how the Kennett Square Borough needs housing for people who can afford to pay a lot of money,” he said. “You also need housing for people who are in the middle-class. You also need housing for college graduates who want to come to a popular town and work, and you also need to have housing for our agricultural workers. 

“We are not taking advantage of all of our talent because we’re making it impossible for some folks to live here. We’re not doing enough to make their life better so that they can contribute more. There are a million things they could be doing if they weren’t struggling to make ends meet and find a place to live.”

In order to best change the paradigm of density and affordable housing, Froning said that the Borough needs to develop short- and long-term plans to encourage the building of smaller and affordable units. 

“I tell Borough Council that addressing this problem is not a four-year deal, but a 40-year deal,” he said. “Whatever we do as a borough, we need to think long term as well as a short term. Let’s think about not only what we’re doing next, but what is expected to happen down the road, because if we don’t, we stick someone else with our problems.” 

When will the building stop? Froning is not confident that he sees a clear ending.

“The borough has been forced to deal with these factors over the past few years,” he said. “How do we manage increases in density? How do we manage overcrowding and housing? How do we deal with parking? How do we promote accessory building units (ADUs) to give us more density without reverting to large-scale development?  

“If ‘a better’ Kennett Square Borough means less density, less population and less traffic, it’s not going to get better. The trend is not there. There is too much financial stake for developers who see a market in building in the vicinity of State Street. What we’ve been attempting to do is to ask, ‘How do we keep Kennett Square on a human scale?’”

The business of selling Kennett Square

On any given weekend – and often on weeknights – the police barriers placed at the edges of Kennett Borough have become a telltale sign that a large-scale festival is taking place along State Street, or along the revitalized Birch Street or at Anson B. Nixon Park, or that the cafes and restaurants are promoting al fresco dining on selected Thursday evenings.

For every naysayer who points directly at the Borough’s streets teeming with shoppers, festival goers and fine diners as the very reason how Kennett Square Borough got this crowded, there are likely several others who rejoice in all the attention.

While Square Roots Collective and its many partnering agencies have joined forces in the past several years to facilitate projects throughout Kennett Square related to social equity, affordable housing, municipal services, infrastructure, trails and transportation, the primary role of Kennett Collaborative is, quite simply, to sell the town. 

Judging by the overflow throngs of visitors to top events like The Kennett Brewfest and Winterfest and the Kennett Square Holiday Village Market, they are doing a great job. The organization’s calendar of events is a nearly non-stop carousel of activities and must-visits that has pulled in locals and out-of-towners and converted Kennett Square Borough from a small town to a destination point, and for many of those visitors, attending a festival is only one stop in an extended day in the Borough, where they enjoy boutiques, specialty shops, art galleries, cafes and restaurants.

There is also proof that crowds are arriving from well beyond the Borough’s borders. A percentage breakdown of visitors to a recent Kennett Collaborative festival showed that 20 percent live in Kennett Square, 50 percent arrived from elsewhere in the county and state, and 30 percent came from Delaware and other states, including Maryland, New Jersey and New York. 

“We are a small and quaint town, and we use those adjectives in the way we promote the Kennett Square Borough,” said Kennett Collaborative Executive Director Daniel Embree, who pointed to Historic Kennett Square, an organization that served as an early pioneer in the mission. “Kennett Square is on the border of many other entities. It is the intersection of Pennsylvania and Delaware, the intersection of the suburbs of Philadelphia and horse country, and it takes the best of those things and brings them together.”

Embree said that what has stimulated the growing number of attractions in the Borough is due in part to a strong sense of camaraderie between various agencies.

“This is where the term ‘collaborative’ comes into play,” he said. “One of the things that makes Kennett Square unique is that there is not just one economic driver, but several. As an example, the Mushroom Festival Committee works with so many other organizations to make the festival draw tens of thousands of visitors every year. We have become a culture of people wanting to build their community, to be involved, to volunteer, to attend and to care about what is happening.

“It has become the culture of our community to create places and spaces.”

‘You have to champion the changes that you want to see’

After spending 15 years living in Philadelphia, Mike Cangi moved back to his hometown of Kennett Square in 2021, where he lives with his wife Katie and their four small children in a home on Broad Street. As a boy growing up in the Borough, he enjoyed friendships with a rainbow coalition of boys and girls of different ethnicities and religions, and it was common to see them riding their bicycles to pick-up games in then empty lots.

“It was a tight-knit community growing up, and now Katie and I have the opportunity to give our kids the same experiences,” said Cangi, who serves on the Board of Directors for Kennett Collaborative. “I think that Kennett Square offers a unique lifestyle that combines an incredible mix of culture, great schools, diversity and a small-town vibe that continues to get better.”

While he champions the many benefits of raising his family in the Borough, Cangi is very understanding of those who are witnessing a “domino effect” of progress that has turned a once small town into a tourist attraction, which has led to increased popularity, a rush to fulfill a finite  supply-and-demand housing ratio that ultimately ends with an oversaturated area, limited only to those who can readily afford it. 

“There are challenges all over the place, but I see them as opportunities for us to make Kennett Square that much better,” Cangi said. “From an economic perspective, we have to embrace the businesses who are here and adapt to a new reality. There is no NVF anymore, and no Genesis here, so we are no longer just a small town supported by big businesses.

“I have met people in town who don’t want the new construction and the traffic and while I understand their feelings, my question back to them is, ‘Then what is Kennett Square Borough? Are we just supported by the local mushroom industry?’ If we were, our town would look a little more similar to some of the smaller towns outside of Kennett Square, and the truth is that a lot of these other towns want to be Kennett Square.”

Last year, Cangi was one of the leading voices that led to the reopening of the Kennett YMCA pool last year, which he calls a key asset to the Borough and has served on the board of Kennett Collaborative for the past year. He said that the challenges that Kennett Square Borough continues to face must be met by those willing to take them on one at a time, in public forums that can facilitate ideas and change.

“These conversations are on-going, and these conversations are not being ignored,” he said. “We have placed ourselves in the area of challenges that many towns and cities are now facing – to get to a point where you need to plan for the next generation of growth. It’s going to take a concerned group of citizens and a Borough Council that has a vision for what the next few decades will look like.

“You have to champion the changes that you want to see. You have to participate in order to make this town the town you want it to be.”

Peering into the crystal ball

Now in his fourth term as the Mayor of Kennett Square – Matt Fetick resembles every small-town mayor in America, whose burdens of responsibility include figuring out the big equation: how to achieve prosperity while also keeping a vice grip hold on preserving identity.

Over the 15 years of his time in office, Fetick has seen the surging popularity of the town he governs become a gift and a challenge, and the degree to which the changing face of the Borough comes up with a long-term plan falls on him and other elected and appointed officials. 

Peering into the crystal ball future of the Kennett Square Borough, Fetick drew attention to the very component of the town that has served as its lead influencer, which he predicts will become its chief economic driver.

“We are not going to go back to being a manufacturing town, but what I see as a consistent draw is tourism,” he said. “People come to Kennett Square when they want to explore the Brandywine Valley. Tourism and the hospitality industry provide job opportunities.

“Tourism is what sustains small towns, and it is what leads to a thriving downtown. Do I think that our main street will be a tourist destination? I sure do. It does bring traffic, but it also brings workforce opportunities. When you look at restaurants and hotels and gift shops, there are entry level job opportunities and the possibility of creating management opportunities.”

Fetick also provided reassurance that the out-of-control growth that some have forecasted for the Borough will soon reach a saturation point, but while the availability of space for additional residential, condominium and apartment construction will certainly diminish, he said that the intangibles of the Borough – accolades that cannot be measured in square footage or in monetary value -- remain the hallmarks of its appeal and popularity.  

“What makes small town living so attractive is the ability to walk from destination to destination, whether it is to engage with friends or try a new restaurant,” Fetick said. “When you look specifically at the Kennett Square Borough, I think we have a lot of great things going for us – access to events, the promotion of our many cultures, our sense of unity and the celebration of our diversity.

“When your town is based around a feeling of acceptance of others, like Kennett Square does inspired by its Quaker heritage, it’s a town that becomes more attractive than ever.”

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].