A Lasting Impression
Inspired by its late founder, Eadeh Enterprises continues to stand apart as a property management firm devoted to helping others and bettering the communities it serves.
by Matt Cosentino

It would be easy to sum up Ernest Eadeh’s life by focusing on his many accomplishments in the business world. That’s particularly true regarding his role in establishing Eadeh Enterprises, a company that continues to transform real estate leasing and construction projects across the Main Line and surrounding areas, more than a decade after his passing.
 
As much as professional success meant to him, he was even more interested in uplifting local communities; devoting time and resources to countless philanthropic causes; and sharing his knowledge with as many people as possible, strangers included, even when it didn’t benefit him directly.
 
His legacy lives on in the people he left behind. His wife and two daughters remain deeply involved in Eadeh Enterprises. In addition, the company’s current president, Stacey Ballard, was personally mentored by him. Together, they ensure that his memory lives on by remaining true to the principles he held so dearly.
 
“A lot of our staff has worked here for 20-plus years, so they really care about our tenants and they care about our community,” Ballard says. “Ernest was the big driving force in that. Our involvement in the community has been paramount to our success. It’s about giving back, and it’s also about trying to create an environment that people want to live in and work in.”
 
When she was introduced to Eadeh, Ballard was a graduate student at Villanova University looking for a part-time job. The trajectory of her life soon changed. She joined Eadeh Enterprises and handled whatever task was put in front of her, whether it was driving a truck, shoveling bricks, or weeding a construction site. Eventually, she moved into more administrative roles and even sat in on important meetings with Eadeh.
 
“I really learned every aspect of real estate management and construction, which are the two main things that we do,” she says. “Ernest later told me, ‘You should always know how to do every role in your company.’ He needed to know so in case somebody left, he wasn’t left high and dry. I really embrace that, and I’ve always at least had a good understanding of what everybody does.”
 
That made Ballard the sensible choice to lead the company when Eadeh passed in 2010. His wife and two daughters remain the owners and oversee strategic planning, while Ballard directs the staff and handles day-to-day operations.
 
“Since that time, we have been an office predominantly run by women in a predominantly male field,” she says. “It definitely has given us a different perspective in how we approach our business and how we approach small-business folks who are trying to get started. I know we take a chance on people probably a lot more frequently than other landlords might.
 
“This past year we adopted the tagline, ‘Not your typical landlord,’ and we’re really not,” she continues. “We’re much more hands on. People have my cell phone number or they can call the office and talk to a live person. We try to go above and beyond what is expected of us in the lease.”
 
For retail clients, who account for about 40 percent of Eadeh Enterprises’ business, that means access to construction services to reconfigure the space if need be, or getting connected to key professionals such as architects, plumbers, and electricians. Ballard raves about the company’s in-house marketing expert, Lily Tooher, who assists clients in launching social media campaigns and drawing traffic to their stores or restaurants.
 
“There are a lot of great landlords out there—we’re not the only ones,” Ballard says. “But there are a lot of landlords that are huge corporations and they don’t care if you even open your doors or make one sandwich in your restaurant. They want to get paid rent every month and they don’t want any problems. I feel like we’re more invested in our tenants’ success.
 
“Where we can help is by going the extra mile,” she continues, “even with things we’re not responsible for, like a broken toilet. A lot of times, the owner might be really good at the business, but might not know a plumber to call. It’s easier for us to send someone down so people can do what they do best and run their business, so they can pay rent and they can pay themselves and their staff, so they can create a life and create a presence in our community. That matters.”
 
Eadeh Enterprises also does 20 percent of its business in office space, 20 percent in warehousing, and 20 percent in residential, from apartment buildings to spaces above stores to mobile home parks. Ballard adds, “We try to treat a high-end apartment building and our mobile home park the same, because everyone deserves to live in a nice, safe, clean place. If they have problems, no matter where they live, we try to address them very quickly.”
 
The company’s commitment to the community is further demonstrated by projects such as the Berwyn Farmers Market, which it helped to create at the Bronze Plaza where its offices are located. The concept, which was spearheaded by Carlo Luciano and the Culinary Harvest team, has been a major hit and welcomes dozens of outstanding food vendors every week from spring through fall.
 
Eadeh Enterprises is also involved in events such as the Berwyn Tree Lighting and Berwyn Summer Fest, and supports numerous nonprofits either through Rotary or its own organization. Put all of those endeavors together and it’s understandable why Ballard calls herself “the luckiest person in the world” to work where she does.
 
“I guess developers and real estate people get a reputation for being greedy and money hungry and not caring about others, but I take a lot of pride in the fact that we actually do take the community’s needs and wants into consideration,” she says. “Ernest set that example, and we are inspired all the time by his genius.”
 
Eadeh Enterprises
511 Old Lancaster Road, Suite 8 
Berwyn, PA 19312
(610) 647-1776
eadeh.com
 
Photo by Jody Robinson
 
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, January 2024.
 

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