For generations, the Pia family has been cultivating valuable mushroom crops from the unpleasantness of compost, and their more recent venture into real estate is similarly transforming industrial wasteland into a hub of residential and commercial activity.

The now-Pia-owned Kennett Realty Group’s Magnolia Place, Magnolia Green and soon-to-come remake of Cannery Row are a big component of Kennett Square’s revitalization, according to a Philly.com report.

The four-story brick Magnolia Place features Victory Brewing Co.’s second brewpub — a 250-seater — and 33 apartments above, while the surrounding Magnolia Green showcases 79 homes and townhomes. Plans for Cannery Row call for four buildings with 20,000 square feet of retail, office and restaurant space at ground level, 13 two-story apartments above and a bark park. Completion is anticipated in April 2017.

It’s an exciting process for Michael Pia Jr., the great-grandson of Italian immigrant John Pia and the family’s second generation real estate magnate. The Pias’ South Mill Mushroom Sales is a national top 3 mushroom producer, and their Kaolin Mushroom Farms compost supply operation is also big business. Now, with townhomes selling around half a million dollars apiece, Kennett Square Realty isn’t doing too shabby either.

Read more about the Pias’ venture into real estate and the future surrounding Magnolia Place on Philly.com here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of development in and around Magnolia Place here.