Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties

HBA Newswatch

May 7, 2008

Neighbors wary of plan for rezoning
MIXED-USED DEVELOPMENT ZONE AT TRAIN STATION PITCHED AGAIN
By DAN KRISTIE, Staff Writer
TREDYFFRIN — In a township where residents have repeatedly opposed similar efforts, officials have a plan to place dense zoning around a train station.
This time, township planners are considering whether a stretch of Route 30 between SEPTA’s Strafford and Devon stations
should allow construction of walkable, mixed residential and commercial developments.
Residents haven’t expressed much opposition to this kind of zoning on the Devon-Strafford area’s shopping center properties. But some residents said they are displeased with a proposal allowing this zoning along Meadowbrook and Old Eagle School roads, which are near the Strafford Train Station and contain many single-family homes.
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New HQ's bottom line is green
By GRETCHEN METZ
SADSBURY — Aerzen USA has moved into its “green” headquarters, with straw-bale conference room walls, a geothermal heating and cooling system, and waterless urinals, just for starters.
A manufacturer of industrial blowers, vacuum pumps and compressors, Aerzen is seeking the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification for the building.
Aerzen USA’s parent company, Aerzener Maschinenfabrik, was founded in Germany in 1864. It set up U.S. headquarters 25 years ago.
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Percheron works to turn brownfield green
GROUP TO REDEVELOP 76 ACRES FOR MIXED-USE RIVER STATION PROJECT IN DOWNINGTOWN
By SARAH E. MORAN, Staff Writer
DOWNINGTOWN — The Percheron Group, developers of the 76-acre, $300 million mixed-use River Station project, is working with Environmental Standards Inc. of Valley Forge to assess the site from an environmental standpoint.
River Station is planned for the former Sonoco Products Co. paper plant, part of which is also in East Caln, according to Peter Uhlman, president of the Percheron Group of Malvern.
The proposal includes an Amtrak/SEPTA train station in Downingtown, 250,000 square feet of retail and office space, 180 townhouses, 40,000 square feet of “live-over-work” space and 15 acres of manmade wetlands for recreation.
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Springfield Mall clears renovation hurdle
By Susan L. Serbin, Times Correspondent
SPRINGFIELD — The Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT) has one more township hurdle to clear for Springfield Mall renovations. After receiving a recommendation for approval from the planning commission, PREIT must get the same nod from commissioners.
Seven months after filing the first plan, PREIT is close to the multi-million dollar mall revitalization, which includes a plaza on the Baltimore Pike frontage for restaurants and a pedestrian area. A new Target will be constructed at the east side of the mall after demolition of the former Strawbridge’s. Expansion in the rear with a theater complex and multi-level garage will be a second phase and not included in the current approvals.
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DEP offers energy management workshop
The Department of Environmental Protection will provide a free workshop in Chester County to help business owners find ways to reduce soaring energy costs.
The workshop will be held from 8 a.m. to noon, May 6, at the Penn State - Great Valley Campus, 30 E. Swedesford Road, Malvern.
DEP Secretary Kathleen A. McGinty said the workshop will help employers of all sizes improve energy conservation and efficiency practices in order to improve their bottom line.
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Tredyffrin residents may have incentive to recycle
By Chris Williams
An incentive-based recycling program could be in Tredyffrin's future, at least one supervisor hopes.The program–as the name suggests–would reward residents with vouchers to local retailers based on the amount of recyclables they generate. Increased recycling would help the township also as it receives state grants each year based on the total amount of recycled materials collected.
At a recent board of supervisors meeting, Supervisor Mark DiFeliciantonio articulated the idea to fellow board members.
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Parkesburg briefs
By Karen Neuhauser Ruppert
Rental Space Ordinance amendmentBorough Council unanimously approved an amendment to the Borough's Rental Space Ordinance. (Councilor Mel Keen excused herself from the vote because she owns rental property in the borough, and Council President Dave Jones noted later that Keen had made no recommendations about the contents of the ordinance.)
Included in the amendment are new definitions for clarification, as well as a new permitting process. That process has provisions for rental units being assigned "codes" which will designate how often they must be inspected, and those codes are assigned according to the condition of the unit.
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‘This Old House’ meets ‘The Price Is Right’ on Bloomingdale Ave.
In Wayne, a contentious debate is airing over two properties some want to save and others want demolished
By Sam Strike
No matter the decision, there may be a lawsuit.
No matter what the vote is, there may be a precedent set.
Elected officials in Radnor Township are weighing issues of economics, property rights and the protection of its local historic districts as they consider whether or not to allow the demolition of two houses in one of Wayne’s first neighborhoods.
The township’s Historic and Architectural Review Board (HARB) recently denied a certificate of appropriateness that would give Norcini Builders Inc., equitable owner of 212 and 216 Bloomingdale Ave., the permission they seek to demolish those properties.
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April didn’t shower Radnor with real-estate revenue
Money netted from property sales down half from last year
By Sam Strike
While April has been named “National Open House Month” by real-estate agents, prospective buyers in Radnor Township seemed to have walked in and right out of homes for sale.
Realty Transfer Tax revenue in the township for the month dropped by half compared to April last year.
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Harried homeowners seek out help
By Alan J. Heavens
Inquirer Real Estate Writer
Though foreclosure filings in the Philadelphia region are down so far this year, the faltering economy is pushing many homeowners right to the brink.
"At first, we were seeing mostly subprime borrowers, but with higher food and gas prices and increasing layoffs, we are handling families from across the board," says Donna Turner, director of AHOME, a counseling agency in Millville, N.J., that helps people avert foreclosure.
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