4 Places in Delaware County That Have Completely Changed

The old Granite Run Mall is a mixed-use destination. The former Don Guanella property is public parkland. Chester's waterfront has a major sports campus. And the new “Philadelphia” cruise terminal is actually in Tinicum Township.

Those are four real changes you can see today. The details matter, especially when a project has a public plan that is still being carried out.

Watch my Delaware County video: 4 places that changed around Delco.

What happened to Granite Run Mall?

If you grew up around central Delco, Granite Run was the mall. It opened in 1974 and closed in 2015. BET Investments then redeveloped the property along Baltimore Pike into the Promenade at Granite Run.

This is in Middletown Township, even though people often associate it with nearby Media and the property uses a Media mailing address. That distinction is worth keeping straight if you are researching a specific home nearby.

The old enclosed-mall layout gave way to a combination of outdoor retail, restaurants, entertainment, medical uses and apartments. The project team described a plan for 400 apartments; that figure is a development vision, not a claim that 400 units were occupied on the date of this article. The Inquirer reported in July 2026 that the retail space was nearly fully leased and apartments were not far behind.

It is a different use of the land, not just a new tenant sign on the old mall. And if the building in your memory is still the old Granite Run, walking through the Promenade feels a little strange. I get it.

Is Delco Woods open to the public?

Yes. The county says hiking trails at Delco Woods are open during daylight hours. Public access is from the Reed Road parking lot, which holds about 40 cars; the county says there is currently no public access from Sproul Road.

The 213-acre park in Marple Township occupies the former Don Guanella property. Delaware County describes it as home to the county's largest undeveloped forest and says preserving nearly 175 acres of natural land is its signature priority.

The county presented a master plan in 2025, and improvements are continuing. Native planting and streambank work appear on the county's park page. A master plan shows the direction of a park; it does not mean every proposed facility has already been built.

For now, the clearest change is also the simplest: a large former institutional property is county-owned parkland that people can actually visit.

What is WSFS Bank Sportsplex in Chester?

It is the Philadelphia Union's sports and recreation campus on Chester's waterfront, between Subaru Park and the Union Power Plant office building. The Union opened it in July 2025 and reported a completed project cost of $100 million.

According to the Union, the complex spans 32 acres and includes 170,000 square feet of indoor and support space, plus seven outdoor fields. The campus brings the club's first team, Union II, its academy and academy school into one area beside the stadium. It also includes facilities for community use.

The size is interesting. The bigger change is how one part of Chester's waterfront now connects a major league stadium, training, youth development and recreation on a single campus. Earlier announcements used a lower projected cost; the $100 million figure comes from the club's completed-facility announcement.

Is the new Philadelphia cruise terminal in Delaware County?

Yes. Its branding says Philadelphia, and PhilaPort lists its mailing address as 4 Atlantic Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19153. But the site itself is in Tinicum Township, Delaware County, beside Philadelphia International Airport.

Cruise service returned in April 2026. PhilaPort and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings then celebrated the opening of the permanent terminal on August 27, 2026. The site was previously known as the Hog Island Dock Terminal Facility.

PhilaPort's original agreement announcement described a seven-year berthing arrangement through March 31, 2033, with an initial commitment of 41 sailings per year. That is an agreement term, not a guarantee about any particular year's final sailing count.

Tinicum has long been connected to the airport. Now this section of its waterfront also serves as a regional departure point for cruises. And it is a useful Delco reminder: a Philadelphia postal address does not settle which municipality a property is in.

What do these changes mean if you're moving around Delaware County?

They show why I don't treat “Delco” as one interchangeable place. A former mall in Middletown, preserved woods in Marple, a sports campus in Chester and a cruise terminal in Tinicum create different day-to-day contexts. None of these projects, by itself, tells you what a nearby house is worth or whether you would enjoy living there.

If you are comparing homes, start with the actual address and municipality. Then look at the commute you would make, the streets you would use, the amenities you would visit and the property's own costs and condition. Visit the area yourself at the times that matter to you. A regional headline is a starting point for a better question, not the answer to where you should live.

If you are coming from outside the region, my Philadelphia and suburbs relocation page is a useful place to start comparing locations before you focus on individual listings.

I'm Tom Fior, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty and The Steven Eckell Team. I grew up in Havertown and help people buy and sell across Delaware County and Philadelphia. This is the kind of local detail I bring into a real estate conversation.

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