Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties

HBA Newswatch

May 19, 2008

SPRINGFIELD MALL PLAN FINALLY GETS GO-AHEAD
By Susan L. Serbin, Times Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD – Commissioners approved the final plan for a revitalization of Springfield Mall more than two years after the project was first proposed.
Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), in cooperation with Target, will do a mall makeover to attract and retain customers in a competitive and challenging retail market.
Project attorney Joseph Damico summarized the plan as two reverse subdivisions and two minor waivers.
A 5.3-acre parcel on the northwestern corner will remain open space, and the existing building on 1.3 acres on Sproul Road will be replaced with a free standing bank.
More...

HOUSING POSTS SURPRISING REBOUND IN APRIL
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Construction of new homes posted the biggest increase in more than two years in April, a rare spot of good news amid the worst downturn in housing in more than two decades.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that housing construction rose by 8.2 percent in April to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.03 million units. Building of single-family homes continued to weaken, however. The growth came from a big jump in apartment construction.
Still, the overall gain represented recovery after a steep slump in March building pushed activity to the slowest pace in 17 years.
The surprising rebound was expected to be temporary given the headwinds builders are confronting, from slumping sales to soaring home foreclosures.
More...

LEGISLATION TO HELP MILL’S REVITALIZATION
LAWMAKER: CHANGE ENHANCES KEYSTONE OPPORTUNITY ZONES
By DANIELLE LYNCH, Staff Writer
DOWNINGTOWN — State lawmakers recently passed legislation that will help projects such as the Brandywine Paper Mill revitalization.
State Rep. Curt Schroder, R-155th, of Downingtown, pushed for language in House Bill 2297 that allows the paper mill site to be included in the borough’s Keystone Opportunity Zone. A Keystone Opportunity Zone is a tax-free area targeted for industrial or commercial redevelopment.
Schroder said he worked on the language with the governor’s office and the state Department of Community and Economic Development. And while the bill helps the paper mill site, its provisions are applicable statewide, he said.
House Bill 2297 extends time periods for these tax-free zones and allows for additional sub-zones to be added to the original Keystone Opportunity Zone in Downingtown.
Specifically, the bill gives the option to extend a zone for another seven years. It also allows a 10-year floating extension at the time of new development.
More...

WITH HOUSING DOWN, RENTALS ARE UP
By Al Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Columnist
Megan Berry, a freshman transfer student at the University of the Arts, had been searching for an apartment since February, but couldn't find one she considered reasonably priced and in a safe neighborhood.
"You either find something that is small and high-priced or low-priced but doesn't include utilities and [is] in a neighborhood that isn't very safe," Berry, 22, of Cranford, N.J., said.
Sales of houses continue to cool throughout the Philadelphia region. But the residential rental market is heating up in the city and the suburbs.
"There was a big seasonal pickup in units rented in April," said Joanne Davidow, manager/broker at Prudential Fox & Roach's Rittenhouse office, acknowledging that newly constructed buildings might be "padding" the number of available spaces.
Still, area agents say, demand for apartments, luxury and otherwise, is much stronger than usual - so much so that Center City landlords, especially in more desirable locations, can dictate price.
More...

DEVELOPER WORKS WITH TOWNSHIP
SEVERAL SUBCOMMITTEES REVIEW AND ADJUST GREEN, 600-ACRE PROJECT
By DANIELLE LYNCH, Staff Writer
WALLACE — A developer is working with the township on his plans to build a large residential development with recreational amenities.
Developer and lifelong township resident Albert Greenfield III originally applied for conditional use on the project on Oct. 3, 2007, on behalf of the Valhalla Brandywine Partnership. The Valhalla Brandywine project will span about 600 acres and include a country club, resort spa, residential community and a private golf course.
More...

 

Did you see something we missed? Please forward any news stories we may have missed to kirab@builderpa.com and it will be added to the next issue of Newswatch.