2019 Was A Historic Year For New Housing In Montgomery County

NORRISTOWN, PA — Once again, Montgomery County saw a historic year in new housing construction in 2019, according to a newly published study of last year's developments from the county Planning Commission.

The 2,941 new units constructed last year is more than any year since 2007, officials said. It's the second year in a row with a new high mark, following 2018's 2,683 new units.

The municipality with the most new projects in 2019 was, by far, Upper Moreland. The township accounted for 522 of the county's new units in 2019, much of it concentrated within a business park and adjacent to the Willow Grove SEPTA station.

More than half of all the county's new construction occurred in Upper Moreland and the next four highest municipalities. 2019 saw 310 in Upper Merion including Moore Park KOP, 261 in East Norriton, 244 in Lower Merion, and 221 in Lansdale.

With growth has come concomitant concerns over traffic and sustainability. The county recently launched a new plan called "Montco Pikes" which takes aim at gathering comprehensive information on six key county roadways in order to create a vision for the future. The roads are Easton Road, Butler Pike, Germantown Pike, Sumneytown Pike, Geryville Pike, and Swamp Pike.

The plan aims to provide guidance on where to add additional travel lanes, as well as sidewalks, bike lanes, walkability and other improvements.

Officials said that 92 percent of all new units in 2019 were built in "growth areas," parts of the county identified in the comprehensive plan as having the needed infrastructure, and lack of rural resources, to support more housing.

While the eastern part of the county continues to see the bulk of new construction, county officials point to increased demand for affordability from new millennial homeowners spurring demand in the more rural western parts of the county.