Barnes & Noble Returns to Jenkintown and $1.5M Heads to the Meetinghouse Intersection: Two Wins for the Neighborhood

Two pieces of news this month are worth celebrating if you live in Rydal-Meadowbrook or anywhere near the Jenkintown border. One is a retail revival that brings a beloved bookseller back to the neighborhood. The other is a $1.5 million state investment in safer streets and better transit access at one of our busiest intersections. Together, they signal that Abington Township is investing in the kind of place we want Rydal-Meadowbrook to be -- walkable, vibrant, and connected.

01 Noble Town Center: A Retail Revival at 901 Old York Road

The shopping center at 901 Old York Road in Jenkintown has undergone a striking transformation. Where a shuttered Walgreens once stood, four new retail spaces have been carved out, and the tenant lineup reads like a wish list of neighborhood favorites. Barnes & Noble Booksellers signed a lease in 2025 and is opening at the site, filling the void left when the Willow Grove location closed. For anyone who remembers browsing the shelves at that store, the return of a brick-and-mortar bookstore to the area is a genuine quality-of-life upgrade.

Barnes & Noble is not the only new face at Noble Town Center. Honeygrow opened in August 2025, DIG arrived in September, and Shake Shack opened its doors in October 2025. The roster also includes LaserAway, Ulta Beauty, Salon Republic, and FunCity Trampoline Park. Longtime anchor tenants like Trader Joe's, Ross Dress for Less, and PetSmart remain. It is the kind of mix that makes running errands feel less like a chore and more like a neighborhood outing.

For Rydal-Meadowbrook residents, Noble Town Center is about a five-minute drive or a short SEPTA bus ride from the Rydal station area. The redevelopment is a reminder that walkable, amenity-rich suburban centers are not just a downtown Philadelphia phenomenon. They are happening right here in our corner of Abington Township.

02 $1.5 Million for the Jenkintown Road and Meetinghouse Road Intersection

Earlier this year, State Representative Ben Sanchez announced that Abington Township was awarded $1.5 million through Pennsylvania's Multimodal Transportation Fund for Phase 5 of the Abington-Jenkintown Connections Project. The focus of this phase: the intersection of Jenkintown Road and Meetinghouse Road, a corridor heavily traveled by drivers, pedestrians, and transit riders alike.

The planned improvements include expanding sidewalk connections, improving access to transit stops, enhancing pedestrian safety, and upgrading the intersection itself. For anyone who has crossed Meetinghouse Road on foot or waited at the bus stop at that corner, this is welcome news. The project is a long-running partnership between Abington Township and Jenkintown Borough, with planning dating back to 2017. Phase 5 is the latest and one of the most impactful stages of a sustained effort to make the corridor safer and more accessible.

These two developments are connected in a way that matters for the daily life of our neighborhood. The same intersection that is about to get safer sidewalks and better transit access is the gateway between our residential streets and the newly revitalized Noble Town Center. Safer streets mean easier walks to the train, to the library, and to the shops and restaurants that make this area worth staying in.