Non-Residential Construction Report — Square Feet of Projects

Figure 6 — New Non-Residential Projects by Municipality (Square Feet) 2025

Over the last ten years, the countywide square footage added each year has fluctuated significantly between 500,000 square feet and 1,500,000 square feet. The data show no obvious long term trends, but they do indicate that the COVID pandemic did not have a clear impact on the amount of square footage added.

Figure 7 — New Non-Residential Projects for Chester County (Square Feet) 2016-2025

This chart illustrates the data presented in Figure 2. It highlights that the number of projects usually fluctuates between 500,000 square feet and 1,500,000 a year.

Figure 8 — New Non-Residential Project by Municipality (Square Feet) 2016-2025

Over the last ten years, a total of 10,687,294 square feet of non-residential development has been added countywide. The largest increases were in East Whiteland (903,273 sq. ft), West Goshen (815,427 sq ft), Tredyffrin (786,256 sq. ft.), West Whiteland (689,476 sq. ft.) and West Chester (614,276 sq. ft.). All of these municipalities are along the US Route 2020 corridor which extends east to Philadelphia and south to Wilmington. Five municipalities (New London, Wallace, West Pikeland, Newlin, and Modena), have had no non-residential development. These are diverse communities, but all of them tend to lack a roadway network that would accommodate large trucks or high traffic volumes.

Figure 9 — New Non-Residential Projects by Municipality (Square Feet) 2025

This map shows the total square footage of non-residential development at the municipal level, for just 2025. The municipalities with the largest square footage were Upper Uwchlan (23,555 sq. ft.), East Brandywine (36,704 sq. ft.), Spring City Borough (58,710 sq, ft.), West Chester Borough (81,784 sq. ft), and London Grove (110,950 sq. ft). A total of 47 municipalities had no addition non-residential development in 2025.

Figure 10 — Type of New Non-Residential Projects for Chester County (Number) 2016-2024

This table shows that, over a ten-year period, a total of 461 non-residential projects were added to Chester County. Of these, over half (52%) were Commercial, with Institutional being 31% and Industrial at 13%. Such a distribution would be expected since industrial projects tend to be large scale, while commercial projects are of a more modest scale, ranging from chain stores with a large footprint to small shops with but a few employees.

Figure 11 — Type of New Non-Residential Projects by Municipality (Number) 2024

This table shows that, during 2025, a total of 17 non-residential projects were added to Chester County. The municipalities with the most projects were West Brandywine (4) and Downingtown (3). A total of 46 municipalities had no new projects in 2025.

Figure 12 — Type of New Non-Residential Project for Chester County (Square Feet) 2016-2025

This table shows that, over the past ten years, the largest square footage was Institutional (4,400,659) followed by Commercial (4,278,793). As noted in Figure 10, the number of Institutional projects during this period was 142.5, which would mean that the average project is 30,882 square feet per project. The number of Commercial projects during this period was 238, which would mean that the average project is 17,978 square feet per project. The number of Industrial projects during this period was 62, which would mean that the average project is 23,687 square feet per project. The number of Agricultural projects during this period was 19.5, which would mean that the average project is 41,211 square feet per project.

Figure 13 — New Non-Residential Building for Chester County (% of Square Feet) 2016-2025

This table shows the same data as on Figure 12, expressed as a percent. Over a ten-year period, by percent, Commercial and Institutional account for approximately 40% each. This has generally been the case for most of each of the last ten years.

Figure 14 — Type of New Non-Residential Projects by Municipality (Square Feet) 2025

As this table shows, the municipalities with the largest square footage of non-residential projects in 2025 were: London Britain (110,950 sq. ft.), West Caln (90,820 sq, ft.), Londonderry (81,784 sq. ft.), East Bradford (36,704 sq. ft.), and Modena (23,555 sq. ft.). For all these municipalities, Institutional accounted for most of this square footage. London Britain, West Caln and East Bradford also had Commercial square footage.