Home Care In Swarthmore, PA

Swarthmore College is expected to tap the $4 trillion municipal bond market for more than $125 million of debt, hoping to lure buyers with its top-tier credit rating.

The Swarthmore Borough Authority will issue tax-exempt bonds in a competitive auction Thursday. The proceeds will fund capital projects on the Pennsylvania campus and will be used to refinance outstanding debt, according to preliminary bond documents. Improvements include the renovation of Martin Hall, an academic building that houses the school’s computer science and media studies departments.

Both Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings granted Swarthmore their highest rating of AAA, a rare distinction among colleges. S&P currently designates 29 of about 450 colleges and universities as AAA, the company said. Other educational institutions that boast the rating include the nation’s wealthiest schools like Harvard University, Yale University and the University of Texas.

“We assessed Swarthmore’s enterprise risk profile as extremely strong, characterized by a history of solid demand including very solid selectivity, matriculation and retention rates, and student quality,” S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Phillip Pena wrote in a report.

Swarthmore bucks a broader trend in higher education in which some small-private schools have struggled to retain students amid cheaper public alternatives. Private schools that have strong endowments and prestigious reputations, like Swarthmore, are more insulated from the pressures.

Read More: Colleges Dangle Tuition Deals to Head Off Harsh Economic Reality

“The sector has really turned into the haves and have nots,” said Dora Lee, director of research at Belle Haven Investments. “The pressure in the higher education sector have really hit institutions that have weak enrollment and small endowments hard. But institutions that have that endowment cushion — and have distinguished themselves academically — have had significantly less challenges.”

S&P has a stable outlook on the credit indicating the rating is unlikely to change in the near term. That reflects the company’s expectation that “Swarthmore will maintain steady enrollment and its excellent demand characteristics,” analysts wrote in the report.

Its $2.7 billion endowment and ultra-selective application process set it apart. Last fall, the school accepted roughly 1,000 of its 14,707 applicants — amounting to a roughly 7% acceptance rate.

Representatives for Swarthmore referred questions about the deal to Linda Fan, a partner at the Yuba Group, which serves as the financial advisor on the transaction. Fan said she anticipates that the bonds will price well.

The total cost to attend Swarthmore during the 2022-2023 academic year amounted to $77,354 including tuition, fees, housing and food expenses. That is about 14% increase in the last five years, according to bond documents. Peer institutions such as Yale and Columbia University — who also received AAA ratings from S&P — charged more than $80,000 last year.

Moody’s credit analysts pointed to the school’s “exceptional wealth” relative to its operating expenses, in a June report evaluating the credit.

“The college competes with other highly selective and well-endowed institutions, driving the need for capital investment and a premier student experience,” Moody’s analysts wrote.

And though inflation and interest rates remain high “projects need to get done,” Susan Shaffer, vice president at Moody’s said.

Population: 6,401

Cost of living: 113

Median home price: $237,000

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College perk: Residents have access to all of Swarthmore College’s libraries with a local library card.

When Linton Stables, 67, first moved to the tiny borough of Swarthmore, he was a tad wary. “I’ll be honest: I’m a city person, and this is a suburb,” says Stables, a former New York City architect who retired in 2014. But it didn’t take him long to warm up to this college town. Five years later, he’s president of the Swarthmore Senior Citizen Association and has a half-acre of land to garden. “It’s a bucolic, pretty town,” he says.

It doesn’t hurt that for all of its small-town charm, Swarthmore is a 20-minute train ride to Philadelphia, where you can take in museums, theater and every kind of cuisine. The train goes to Philly’s 30th Street Station, and from there, New York City and Washington, D.C., are less than two hours away by train (in opposite directions).

The town itself is walkable, with plenty of sidewalks and more than two dozen lushly forested trails. “You can’t live anywhere in Swarthmore that’s more than a 10-minute walk to town,” says Carrie Piccard, a local real estate agent since 2003. Add in free public transit for seniors, and “having a car just isn’t a necessity,” says mayor Marty Spiegel.

Swarthmore College, one of the nation’s leading liberal arts colleges, occupies about a third of the town, and with more than 4,000 different kinds of plants stretching across 300 acres, it’s also a designated arboretum. The school has long welcomed town residents by making virtually all of its happenings—concerts, lectures, sporting events and more—open to the public.

Stables says the local retirement community—a mix of longtime residents and recent settlers—is an active one. The seniors’ association has frequent meetups and is a nexus for volunteering. Retirees can spend time helping maintain the campus’s arboretum, working for the library and tutoring at local schools. Plus, the senior association has an Aging-in-Place Committee dedicated to making sure Swarthmore’s seniors have all the resources they need, in addition to advocating for the city’s buildings and downtown to become more accessible.

Because of its small size, the housing market can be tight, but residents say the situation is improving. Housing ranges from spacious, gracious old homes for $500,000 and up to condos and town houses in the $120,000 to $220,000 range. Swarthmore’s city government recently lifted a zoning law that prevented more than a few unrelated people from living together in a family home—originally intended to prevent a dozen students from cramming into a house. “That means more of us can do the Golden Girls thing and live with our friends,” Stables says. Although the town itself lacks major medical facilities, some of the best hospitals in the world, including the four-star Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, are located a half an hour away in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania is tax-friendly for retirees. Social Security benefits, retirement plan withdrawals and pensions are exempt from taxes.

For population figures, we used the most recent U.S. Census Bureau data. Cost-of-living data comes from the Council for Community and Economic Research (100 represents the national median). Median home prices were provided by Redfin, Zillow and local associations of Realtors.

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This tight-knit community has a personality strongly influenced by the college that changed it in 1864.

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Originally named Westdale for its most famous native, painter Benjamin West, Swarthmore became Swarthmore when Quakers founded Swarthmore College in 1864. The borough — incorporated in 1893 — was fully built out by the 1930s, according to historic-home aficionado Scott Laughlin of BHHS Fox & Roach.

The borough’s social life changed for the better when the Inn at Swarthmore (10 South Chester Road), built by the college, opened across Chester Road from downtown in 2016. The 40-room hotel features the Broad Table Tavern restaurant and a bar that holds the borough’s first liquor license. “The inn has done a great job of bringing the college into the community,” says Becky Hanson, a lifelong Swarthmorean who’s an agent at D. Patrick Welsh Real Estate (16 Park Avenue), founded and owned by her husband.

Many Swarthmore faculty members call Swarthmore home, though rising house prices threaten to drive some of them out of town. The borough definitely has an academic vibe: Streets are named for other colleges and universities, and the Swarthmore Public Library (121 Park Avenue) has the highest per-capita use of any library in Delaware County. In non-pandemic times, residents can also borrow books from Swarthmore College’s libraries for a $20 yearly fee. Swarthmore’s housing stock is rich with a variety of styles.

The town, long a liberal island in a (no longer) conservative county, is also home to the country’s third-oldest co-op grocery store. The Swarthmore Co-Op (341 Dartmouth Avenue), which began as a health-food outlet in Hanson’s grandmother’s basement in 1932, carries a full range of groceries.

$250,000+

204 Michigan Avenue. A classic, well-maintained 1950s split-level with enclosed rear porch and side deck, move-in ready or ready to upgrade — your choice. 3 BR, 1/1 BA, 1,540 sq. ft. RE/MAX Hometown, 610-566-1340.

$500,000+

207 Riverview Road. This renovated twin comes with a two-bedroom apartment over its detached garage, so your tenants can pay your mortgage for you. 4 BR, 2 BA, 1,825 sq. ft. Keller Williams Real Estate, 610-363-4300.

$800,000+

2 North Chester Road. A rare new-construction house next to the Regional Rail station gives you the chance to select fixtures, finishes and fittings. 4 BR, 2/1 BA, 2,750 sq. ft. BHHS Fox & Roach Realtors, 610-431-1100.

Published as “Living in Swarthmore” in the February 2022 issue ofPhiladelphia magazine

Tessa Marie Images

Lori Knauer and Jill Bennett Gaieski, the two attorneys behind the wine bar, bring small plates and top vintages to the Main Line.

Lori Knauer and Jill Bennett Gaieski figured that, if they were going to bring a wine bar to a dry town, it would be wise to attend Vinexpo New York. So, in February 2018, they had business cards made identifying themselves as the proprietors of a nonexistent business and showed up at Manhattan’s Javits Center to look around.

Three years later, the two resourceful attorneys are proprietors of Village Vine, a 50-seat hot spot in Swarthmore’s tiny downtown area. Now a year old, it’s a smash with locals and those who don’t mind traveling a bit to taste a diverse collection of wines and sample executive chef Chris Galbraith’s small-plate menu. It’s poised to serve in the vanguard of what many hope will be a commercial boom in the borough, which has long clung to its status as an eccentric residential enclave but has recently been flirting with a more updated identity. “There are multiple factions in town,” says Gaieski, who serves on the borough council. “You have one made up of people who want to see progress, and there are some who want things to stay the old way.”

In mid-April, Wallingford-based developer Jason Kilpatrick was dining outside with his family at Village Vine when he glanced across the street at the community garden he’d curated and pondered how perfect the whole scenario was. “Swarthmore is ready to catapult ahead,” he says. “It’s going to move forward. People here want to work together. It’s like being at a dance and hearing the best song—and then the next song begins, and it’s even better.”

Kilpatrick owns 52 property units in town. He estimates that about 40 are residential and the rest are small businesses like Hobbs Coffee, Dance Happy Designs and the Poco Loco boutique. He’s a primary engine in what he calls Swarthmore’s renaissance. Its leaders expect the next decade to bring a burgeoning retail, dining and residential presence. Although the area isn’t big enough to handle a downtown presence the size of Media or West Chester, it can certainly be more robust and energetic.

Unfailingly positive, Kilpatrick speaks about “bending the universe.” He prefers not to focus on anyone who may be upset about the planned growth. Some Swarthmore residents would prefer that things stay the same—dry and quiet. But the number of people who want to see at least moderate change is growing.

“There might be an old guard. But there’s a hip new flavor coming to town,” Kilpatrick says.

Knauer and Gaieski certainly aren’t in favor of stasis. Each halted a successful law career to open a restaurant, hanging with it during the worst of times. A central Pennsylvania native, Knauer spent 10 years working for a firm in Philadelphia, then 20-plus as a corporate counsel for DuPont. Gaieski grew up in Florida. After a stint with the state attorney’s office in that state, she worked for the Philadelphia district attorney and a few area firms before earning a doctorate in anthropology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she worked as a genetic anthropologist.

The two friends studied at the Wine School of Philadelphia before applying for one of just two liquor licenses Swarthmore residents had approved in a 2016 referendum. They got it in October 2019. It wasn’t easy, but their legal acumen helped. “The bottom line was we just decided to keep going and get the license,” Knauer says.

Like the town in which it resides, Village Vine is eclectic. The walls are covered with paintings by artists of all kinds—some for sale. Gaieski decoupaged the bar with a menagerie of clippings from The Swarthmorean, the town’s weekly paper, creating a discussion topic for patrons. Inside, there’s room for about 35 people, and there are several table configurations on the street outside. Knauer and Gaieski envision Village Vine as a community focal point built around food and wine. “Our mission is to introduce people to lesser-known regions that produce wine,” Gaieski says. “We want to tell the stories behind the production.”

The two women financed Village Vine with their own savings. They want a strong restaurant presence, with tastings, classes and other wine-centered events. “I look forward to doing what we wanted to do before the pandemic,” Knauer says. “We haven’t had a chance to do everything we want.”

And if it happens to mesh with a Swarthmore that features other restaurants and appropriate shopping, that’s great. “But I don’t want a CVS on the corner,” Gaieski says.

The University of Pennsylvania moved up slightly in U.S. News & World Report's latest rankings of the best colleges in the country, tying Johns Hopkins University for seventh.

Penn, which ranked No. 8 last year, was ranked 18th for best value, with a tuition of $63,452. The Ivy League university's Wharton School again topped the business programs. Its nursing program also ranked No. 1.

Princeton University topped the rankings for the fifth straight year.

Villanova University was the only other Philadelphia-area school to crack the top 100, falling two spots from last year into a tie for No. 51. Drexel University just missed, at No. 105, but it jumped 28 spots from last year. Temple University fell 18 spots into a tie for No. 121.

Thomas Jefferson University, which tied Rutgers University Camden for No. 127, continued its ascent. Last year, Jefferson was ranked No. 148; two years ago, it was No. 176. La Salle University ranked No. 202.

Swarthmore College ranked No. 4 among the best liberal arts colleges, dropping from No. 3 last year. It also had the fourth best value among liberal arts colleges, with a tuition of $59,328.

Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts was named the best liberal arts college in the country. Haverford College and Bryn Mawr College also ranked among the top 50, at Nos. 18 and 31, respectively.

The rankings, which have been put out since 1983, are designed to help students identify the best institutions for their educational pursuits. The publication provides details on admission requirements, student-faculty ratios, tuition costs, financial aid and campus size.

U.S. News assesses more than 1,500 schools on 17 measures of academic quality, including graduation rates, faculty resources, financial resources and student success. Its analysis is the most prestigious of the various college rankings put out by media outlets, but the publication also has been criticized for overvaluing wealth, reputation and exclusivity.

Last week, Forbes released its annual list of the top colleges. Penn ranked 10th, falling for the second consecutive year.

Here's a look at the best universities in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and the nation, per U.S. News. For the state lists, the universities' overall rankings are in parentheses.

1. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (7)2. Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (22)T-3. Lehigh University, Bethlehem (51)T-3. Villanova University, Villanova (51)5. University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh (61)6. Penn State University, University Park (77)7. Drexel University, Philadelphia (105)8. Temple University, Philadelphia (121)9. Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia (127)10. Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (151)

1. Princeton University, Princeton (1)2. Rutgers University, New Brunswick (55)3. Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken (83)4. New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark (97)5. Rutgers University, Newark (115)6. Rutgers University, Camden (127)7. Seton Hall University, South Orange (137)8. Montclair State University, Montclair (182)9. Stockton University, Galloway (182)10. Rowan University, Glassboro (194)

1. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey2. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MassachusettsT-3. Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts T-3. Stanford University, Stanford, CaliforniaT-3. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut6. University of Chicago, Chicago, IllinoisT-7. Johns Hopkins, Baltimore MarylandT-7. University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania9. California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CaliforniaT-10. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina T-10. Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois

Last week, Princeton announced it will cover attendance costs for students with households that earn less than $100,000 annually. The Ivy League school also plans to provide greater financial aid to other students, too.

Princeton previously covered the full cost of attendance for students whose household incomes were less than $65,000. It charged $8,500 for students whose incomes were between $65,000 and $95,000.

Brian A. Saunders PhillyVoice Staff

[email protected]

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