Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore: Shops, Restaurants and Projects in Progress

Back

By Max Karasick, Compass real estate agent licensed in PA and NJ

Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore had a big 2026. The Philadelphia Inquirer counted a dozen new businesses in Ardmore by early July, five of them right on Lancaster Avenue. The rebuilt Ardmore station reopened in March, and in May crews broke ground on The Piazza at Ardmore, a five story building with 270 apartments and about 30,000 square feet of retail along the south side of the avenue. Ardmore is in Lower Merion Township, not Philadelphia, so the paper trail runs through township pages and agendas instead of the City's permit map. Everything below is as of October 2026.

What Opened on Lancaster Avenue in 2026?

Food, fitness and a couple of genuinely fun shops. Here's the stroll, using the Inquirer's July 7, 2026 roundup for names and dates.

On the east side of the avenue, Mila's Pup Tienda opened at 18 East Lancaster in March. Yes, a shop for your dog. On the west side, R3 Gaming & Toys opened at 6 West Lancaster this year, and Barizi followed at 29 West Lancaster in May. Keep walking west and two neighbors opened a month apart at 169 and 167 West Lancaster: CorePower Yoga in April, then Just Salad in May. Stretch, then lunch. Convenient.

Next on deck is Pure Green at 56 East Lancaster, which the Inquirer listed as expected in 2027.

The rest of Ardmore's 2026 openings landed a block or two off the avenue, on Cricket Avenue, Greenfield Avenue, Rittenhouse Place and Station Road. Lancaster is the spine, but a lot of the new food went to the side streets.

The Piazza at Ardmore: A Whole Block in Progress

The biggest change is the one you can't miss: a construction site along the south side of Lancaster Avenue from Greenfield Avenue to Ardmore Avenue. Lower Merion Township has a project page for the site, and the Inquirer reported the groundbreaking on May 21, 2026.

Here's what's coming, per that report: 270 apartments around a 19,000 square foot private courtyard, about 30,000 square feet of ground floor retail, about 480 parking spaces with 108 open to the public and an opening scheduled for February 2028. The building replaces a former IHOP and an Acura dealership that moved a block west. As of that report, no retail tenants had been named.

The backstory explains the height. The township approved the project in 2021, and the Inquirer reported in September 2025 that its plans were filed before Lower Merion's 2019 ordinance limiting most buildings to three stories, which is how it gets to five. An earlier version had a grocery store, but it was dropped when the underground parking it needed stopped making financial sense, and a cafe-style dining option is planned instead. The plan also extends West Athens Avenue to Greenfield Avenue and routes traffic toward the back of the site, away from Lancaster.

The Rebuilt Ardmore Station

After years of construction, the station is done. SEPTA reports that service at the rebuilt Ardmore station, 39 Station Avenue, began March 23, 2026, with a ribbon cutting on April 10. The $60.6 million project made the station fully ADA accessible with elevators, ramps and high-level platforms, plus a new inbound station building, outbound shelters, lighting and landscaping.

The station serves SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line and Amtrak Keystone Service. For anyone weighing a place near Lancaster Avenue, that's the headline. Coffee, train, Center City, no parking garage required.

Smaller Fixes on the Street

The business district group itself has been busy. The organization formerly called the Ardmore Initiative now goes by the Downtown Ardmore District, and on September 15, 2026 it announced a $68,000 state grant for five new wayfinding kiosks along Lancaster, Anderson and Cricket avenues, with completion expected by the end of 2026. Its recent projects page lists more than 30 street trees pruned along the avenue in 2025, plus 24 new benches and re-spaced planters. Small stuff, but you notice it on foot.

How to Follow a Lancaster Avenue Project

Lower Merion keeps its own records, and Philadelphia's Atlas map doesn't cover Ardmore. For anything big, start with the Building and Planning Department pages on lowermerion.org, which carry project pages like the Piazza's, then check Board of Commissioners and Planning Commission agendas, where land development plans and zoning relief show up long before a shovel does. For a single storefront, the owner's own announcement or credited local news is usually the first public word.

What This Means for Owning or Renting Nearby

Off the avenue, the blocks mix stone and brick twins, older single homes and small apartment buildings, while Lancaster itself has apartments above storefronts and a few newer mid-rise buildings near the station. The Piazza adds 270 more apartments to that mix when it opens.

As of September 2026, Zillow's Home Value Index put the typical home in ZIP code 19003 at about $526,000, up 2.3% from a year earlier, and Zillow's Observed Rent Index put typical rent there at about $2,408 a month, down 1.5%, according to Zillow Research. Those are ZIP-wide figures, so a twin on a side street and a new apartment over a shop can land far apart.

Before a client buys or leases near the avenue, Max checks Lower Merion agendas for land development near the address. A project like the Piazza shapes construction traffic, parking and views until its planned February 2028 opening, so if a place faces that block, he talks through the schedule up front. He also times the actual walk to the station against the client's commute, and when a client compares Ardmore with a Philadelphia rowhouse, he has the title company confirm the transfer tax for each municipality. The Ardmore guide and Main Line guide cover the bigger picture, the Main Line holiday events piece covers December on Cricket Avenue and Max's process is on the buy page and the rent page.

Maximize Your Move.

Official Sources

FAQ

What's new on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore?

Five new businesses and one very large construction site, as of October 2026. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Mila's Pup Tienda, R3 Gaming & Toys, Barizi, CorePower Yoga and Just Salad opening on Lancaster Avenue in 2026, with Pure Green expected in 2027. The Piazza at Ardmore broke ground in May 2026.

When will The Piazza at Ardmore open?

The Piazza at Ardmore is scheduled to open in February 2028, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer's May 2026 groundbreaking report. The five story building on the south side of Lancaster Avenue between Greenfield and Ardmore avenues plans 270 apartments, about 30,000 square feet of retail and about 480 parking spaces, 108 of them public.

Is the new Ardmore train station open?

Yes. SEPTA reports that service at the rebuilt Ardmore station at 39 Station Avenue began March 23, 2026, with a ribbon cutting on April 10. The $60.6 million project added elevators, ramps and high-level platforms. The station serves SEPTA's Paoli/Thorndale Line and Amtrak's Keystone Service.

Is Ardmore part of Philadelphia?

No. Ardmore's Lancaster Avenue business district is in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, outside the City of Philadelphia. Township rules, permits and agendas apply there. Philadelphia's Atlas map and City rental license don't cover those addresses. Lower Merion's website at lowermerion.org has building and planning information.

How can you check what's being built on Lancaster Avenue in Ardmore?

Start with Lower Merion Township's Building and Planning Department pages, which include project pages for major sites like The Piazza at Ardmore, then check Board of Commissioners and Planning Commission agendas for land development plans. For a single storefront, the owner's announcement or credited local news is usually the first public word.

Put a Number on Your Move

Talk to Max

Request a Home Valuation

Put a Number on Your Move

Talk to Max

Request a Home Valuation