HBA Newswatch
March 14, 2008
MCCOOL ACQUIRES SCHOOL SITE
By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer
WEST CHESTER — One of the largest and choicest parcels of land in the borough — the former Bishop Shanahan High School/Collegium Charter School site — has just been acquired by McCool Properties LLC.
The family-owned real estate development company reached an agreement with the Archdiocese of Philadelphia for the building at 521-523 W. Gay St. this week.
“We are excited about the development opportunities of this site and corresponding future fiscal, economic and housing benefits for the borough,” the developer said in a statement.
On Thursday, Chris McCool was joined by his father, Ray McCool, and son, Andrew McCool, outside the building to reflect on their latest acquisition and their plans for a residential, possibly townhouse, development.
As one of the highest points in the borough and with zoning that allows buildings up to 35 feet in height, Chris McCool speculated that the homes could have great views.
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KENNETT TWP. PRESERVES 82 ACRES
By Rick Marts
Three years of patience, planning, and fund raising by the Kennett Township Land Trust finally paid off for the area's citizens in the form of the township's first nature preserve, called the Stateline Woods Nature Preserve. On leap day 2008, Feb. 29, the Land Trust settled on its acquisition of 82 acres from the owners of the Halsted/Melody property located between Old Kennett Road and the Delaware state line, near the intersection of Old Kennett and Merrybell Lane. Land Trust Executive Director Gwen Lacy said, "Settlement occurred three years to the day after we first walked the property with its owners to brainstorm how to preserve this natural resource."
The land was not there for the taking, however. Other, more commercial interests seemed to have first dibs on the property. A developer had a deal with the property owners to buy the land and build 21 homes, each in the million-dollar range. But locally, there was pressure to preserve this land from development.
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CHESTER COUNTY FARING WELL IN LOUSY ECONOMY
By John Meussner
While the housing market has reached what seems to be a stand still, with many buyers and sellers in limbo, little has been released within the media or by real estate professionals in the way of positive news. Many see the downside, the foreclosures, the credit crunch, rising unemployment rates, and corporate bankruptcies.
What is often overlooked are the positives, the investment opportunities, falling interest rates, and the cheap money that can be taken advantage of by qualified borrowers to make a better future for themselves and their families. Fortunately for residents of Chester County, the current market is much more lenient than in other places, and allows even greater opportunity than some surrounding, depreciating markets.
Our county is an oddity in the current American market, with many of our neighboring counties seeing their homes decline in value as the economy stumbles; our properties continue to increase in value.
Although the days of 10 percent appreciation each year are a distant memory, we are still seeing steady growth as both commercial and residential property is developed on a daily basis.
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