One of the country’s largest news organizations spotlighted the New Hope-Lambertville area and its existing and growing popularity among the wealthy and celebrities.
The newspaper ran a weekend feature by Steven Kurutz titled “How Sleepy Bucks County Became a Celebrity Hot Spot” that focused on how big names like the Hadids, Bradley Cooper, and Paul Simon have called the area home.
The story features the River House at Odette’s, Bucks County Playhouse, Stockton Market, George Nakashima Woodworkers, Witch Shop Gypsy Heaven, MagiKava Teahouse and Love Saves the Day, Ditto Vintage, Albucker Gallery, Rago Arts and Auction Center, Farley’s Bookshop, Ferry Market, Logan Inn, and other local businesses.
The article gives an out-of-towners overview of the transformation of the area into a celebrity enclave. It uses Yolanda Hadid’s purchase of a Solebury Township farm in 2017 to be near her daughters, Gigi and Bella Hadid as framing for the jump in popularity.
The presence of celebrities like Zayn Malik and occasional sightings of Leonardo DiCaprio are used to underscore the area’s status as a celebrity enclave.
As the New York Times notes, the influx of affluent residents and visitors has spurred changes to the local business community. There has been a growth in luxury hotels and residential properties are evolving into lavish estates. Local businesses are adapting too, with upscale shops and gourmet eateries springing up to cater to the demographic.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewHopeFreePress.com
While the transformation brings economic benefits, like increased real estate values and a boom in tourism, it also raises concerns among long-time residents about changes to local culture.
Over the past 20 years, there has been a growing outcry over the cost of living and the displacement of local storefronts by high-end businesses in the area.
“Places like Love Saves the Day are what make New Hope funky,” Lori Stagnitto, the founder of Facebook page Save New Hope’s History and Funky Soul, told The Philadelphia Inquirer last year.
“New Hope is a 250-year-old patchwork quilt of buildings that together tell a beautiful story,” she told the newspaper. “But now the story is all about developers ripping out buildings and replacing them with synthetics.”
“Young people are being priced out by the gentrification of everything,” painter Hope Gaburo was quoted as saying.
In recent years, the closure of The Raven and it being taken down to be used as an off-site parking lot River House at Odette’s marked a shift for the community that has been at the forefront of catering for LGBTQ+ tourists and locals.
In Philadelphia Magazine in October, Maureen Coulter wrote about the growing cost of living in the area, boom in tourism, and numerous celebrities visiting the area.
According to Zillow, the average home price in New Hope stands at $841,123, which significantly higher than the Bucks County average of $483,059, and above the national average reported by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis of $420,400.
As local residents will know, the New Hope-Lambertville area has been a destination and even a home for many celebrities and high-powered executives for many decades.
While the New York Times article makes Bucks County sound like a “sleepy” rural area, the county is just outside of the 100 largest in the nation and ranks 74 in highest-income counties. Hunterdon County is on the smaller side, but both counties are just a short trip to Philadelphia, New York City, and Baltimore. Airports, rail stations, and ports are just a short trip from local resident’s front doors.
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