Someone bought the ‘Delco Shack,’ but don’t expect new tenants at this Springfield oddity

Joe Vaccone recently bought a one-room Springfield property that lacks running water, a functioning sewage system, and the township’s approval for anyone to live in it.

The 52-year-old Realtor is ecstatic about his purchase.

Vaccone now owns the “Delco Shack,” a 17-foot-by-17-foot redbrick building perched next to the Springfield Mall that’s spent the better part of two decades with a seemingly perpetual “For Sale” sign outside.

But is the father of four really planning on moving into a 250-square-foot former AT&T facility overlooking Baltimore Pike?

Don’t count on it. For $150,000, Vaccone says he’s purchased an advertising gold mine.

Among the 76,000 members of the Facebook group “Meanwhile in Delco,” the Shack is something of a local legend.

When exactly the Shack received its moniker is murky. A July posting to Facebook, however, declares the name official, beating out alternatives like “Fort Delco” and suggestions that Wawa should have snatched up the site for its next location.

Property records show the building was constructed for commercial use in 1951. Vaccone said it spent most of that time housing AT&T’s long-distance phone lines. As that technology phased out, an individual buyer purchased it in 2006 but struggled to sell the lot for years. Vaccone scooped it up this past January.

Passersby will still see a “For Sale” sign outside the Shack. This sign, however, belongs to Vaccone and features his name and telephone number.

Keeping an unoccupied property on the market is a common advertising strategy in commercial real estate, according to Vaccone. If someone calls Vaccone interested in the Delco Shack, he said, perhaps they’ll like to hear about his other properties in nearby Swarthmore and Wallingford — ones with functioning toilets and electrical service.

“A lot of listings are already taken, they’re sold,” Vaccone said. “They leave signs on there forever, hoping people will call up on them.”

And sitting in the center of one of Pennsylvania’s most populous counties, the Delco Shack is passed by an estimated 100,000 cars per week, Vaccone said. With potential buyers coming in from major highways like I-476 and I-95, or heading toward nearby Media, he’s leaning on an age-old mantra: location, location, location.

“It’s always packed,” Vaccone said, “people going both ways.”

While he sees his purchase as primarily an investment, Vaccone is still proud to have nabbed a piece of Delco lore.

“Everybody wonders what the heck is in there,” Vaccone said. “Every time it’s listed online, this Facebook group posts and it gets thousands of likes and comments. It’s this ongoing joke.”

Vaccone is now in on the joke, too. Recently he installed a 25-foot flagpole outside the Shack. Flying high above are two flags — one belonging to the U.S., and the other (unofficially) to Delco.

Thanks to Vaccone, when a good gust of wind comes south past the Carraba’s Italian Grill and whips between the Macy’s and the Extra Space Storage warehouse, the word “DELCO” will now billow against the Southeastern Pennsylvania sky.

“Not a Location But a Lifestyle,” reads the Delco flag. When squinting, its bold-faced font and orange and yellow color scheme even call to mind a certain hoagie-centric convenience store chain.

That’s the work of Aaron Marshall, founder of Decals by Aaron, the company that designs and prints the Delco flag.

The 47-year-old Brookhaven resident is an old friend of Vaccone’s — “everyone knows everyone” in Delco, Marshall says. He was thrilled to see one of his creations in Springfield.

Marshall runs a vinyl lettering business, where he began printing Delco merch six years ago and quickly learned of the county’s rabid pride.

The first day the company offered its Delco T-shirts for sale, it sold 150 within hours, Marshall said. A line of swag including hats, mugs, towels, and magnets soon followed.

Marshall likens interest in the Shack to other iconic Delco-isms, like summers down at the Wildwood RV campgrounds and Kate Winslet’s wooder-y drawl on Mare of Easttown.

Keeping with that spirit, Vaccone will continue to fly Marshall’s flag while he waits to see whether his $150,000 billboard pays off. The Realtor will also consider the Shack’s long-term future.

Vaccone said he may execute a construction plan drafted by the Shack’s previous owner, one that would see it transformed into an office or a storage facility complete with a five-car parking lot. Or he could simply sell to the next-highest bidder, should someone make an offer.

But for now, Vaccone is doing the most Delco thing imaginable — taking very public pride in something that can be a little rough around the edges.

“My intention was to proudly fly the American flag as a symbol of patriotism,” Vaccone said, “and to raise the Delco flag to put the location on the map.”