Local Analysis – Haverford Township and Havertown

Haverford Township and Havertown

History

According to Wikipedia, Havertown is a residential suburban unincorporated community in Haverford Township. Haverford Township was founded in 1692 and incorporated in 1911. Since 1977 it has been under a home rule charter, although it still operates under a board of commissioners. Haverford Township contains portions of the communities of Haverford, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Drexel Hill and the unincorporated “town” of Havertown. Haverford Township was primarily agricultural until the second decade of the twentieth century. I the beginning of the 20th century much farmland was purchased by wealthy families who built mansions and developed gardens on their new estates. Several golf courses were developed including the Merion Cricket Club, the Llanerch Country Club (located in Hevertown) and the Pennsylvania Railroad Golf Club (later sold for residential development). Golf and Haverford Township have has a long, prestigious association with a total of six men’s major championships and eleven men’s and women’s US Amateur Championships being staged within the township. Havertown is home to many historic sites including the Grange Estate, a mansion that entertained the Revolutionary War figures of George Washington and General Lafayette, Nitre Hall, which supplied the United States with over 800,000 pounds of gunpowder during the war of 1812. Today, Havertown (Haverford Township) along with Upper Darby, Cheltenham and Lower Merion form as a major inner ring of suburbs around Philadelphia. Havertown is decidedly a “white-Collar” town with a large percentage of the workforce employed in a professional capacity. Havertown is notable for being the birthplace of Swell Bubble Gum, which closed its doors in late 2004 and was demolished in 2011. In 2013, the site became the home of the new Haverford YMCA.

Things To Do

Today, there are a multitude of activities open to residents and visitors in Havertown including over 30 outdoor parks and playing fields, the Haverford Free Library, an outdoor skate park and the Haverford Township Stadium, “Proud home of one of the best ice surfaces in the Delaware Valley”. Haverford recently renovated Haverford Reserve which boats a community park for the ultimate recreation experience, with over five miles of trails, wetland, old forests and wildlife habitat along with a state of the art environmental lab. Part of the Haverford Reserve, the Haverford Township Community Recreation & Environmental Center (CREC) includes a double gymnasium, walking track, multi-use rooms and an environmental area:

North Eagle Road and Darby Road are a major north/south collector roads bisecting Havertown and connecting the area to US Route 30 to the northeast, Interstate 476 to the northwest and US Route 1 to the south. The major commercial corridor through Havertown is Darby Road.

Culture

Culturally, Havertown has a lot to offer including hosting both the Haverford Music Festival and the Haverford Spring Fest. The Haverford Music Festival is an all-day, family-oriented music festival which takes place annually in the Oakmont Business District of Havertown since 2011. The festival attracts more than 15,000 people who enjoy over 30 bands on three stages with the festival proceeds benefitting community-based programs within Haverford Township. In the spring, Havertown hosts the Haverford Spring Fest on Brookline Boulevard with last years attendance topping 10,000 and proceeds benefitting community needs:

There is a weekly farmers market called the Oakmont Farmers Market which runs, rain or shine, on Wednesdays from 3 pm to 7 pm between May 20th and September 2nd in the Grace Chapel Parking Lot:

The zip code of Havertown is 19083 and exclusively covers Havertown.

Walkability

Generally speaking, Havertown is a moderately walkable area, especially in the vicinity of Darby Road with walkable with a moderate walkability score of 63 out of 100 on the Walk Score website.

There is easy access to public transportation including to the Norristown High Speed Line at the Township Line, Penfield and Ardmore Stations and to the Septa 115 & 126 bus routes.

Schools

Havertown is served by the School District of Haverford Township. The Haverford Township School District serves approximately 5,475 students who serve approximately 49,000 residents in the township. There are seven schools in the District: Chatham Park, Chestnutwold, Coopertown, Lynwood and Manoa elementary schools, with grades kindergarten through 5, Haverford Middle School, with grades 6-8 and Haverford High School, with grades 9-12:

The School District of Haverford Township / Overview

The Haverford Township School District currently receives a significantly positive ranking of 12 out of 462 for schools in Pennsylvania:
School Digger Rank

Population and Income

According to the 2010 US Census, the total population of Havertown (Zip Code 19083) was 35,878 with 13,197 total households and a median household income of $90,946. In the year 2,000 census, total population was 36,300 with 13,292 total households and a median household income of $73,343 (an increase of 24% between 2000 and 2010).

Housing

See below for housing statistics for Havertown for single family, detached dwellings for the previous three years from TReND. As can be seen, the housing market has fluctuated over the past few years with a net level market trend with 32 settled, $278,000 median sale price, 36 days on market for the previous year, 35 settled, $287,500 median sale price, 32 days on market for one year previous and 23 settled, $285,000 median sale price, 22 days on market for two years previous. Current ratio between median settled price to original list price is 94.69%.:

Crime

According to the Neighborhood Scout website, the crime index in Havertown (58%) which is slightly higher than the national average of 50%: Crime Stats by Neighborhood Scout

In conclusion, Havertown is a very livable town within close proximity to the City of Philadelphia. Originally an agricultural area, its humble beginnings blossomed by the turn of the 20th century into an area of wealthy estates and golf courses. Today, with abundant nearby park and recreational opportunities, music festivals, weekly farmer’s markets and a good supply of homes in a fluctuating but net stable market, Havertown has become an area of choice for many Philadelphians.