MIDDLETOWN TWP. A decade after the Franklin Mint closed, its
round museum building still sits vacant along busy Baltimore Pike in Delaware
County.
Development of the prominent property has been plagued by
opposition from residents, a slow economy, and - most recently - a legal battle
among the developers.
But the plan took a step forward this week when a revised
zoning ordinance won approval from the Middletown Township Council. The site,
with more than 170 acres, could now have 350 townhouses, offices, retail space,
and a hotel.
Its completion could take years. By that time, the site
could become just one piece in a transformation of the heavily traveled Route 1
through Middletown.
Granite Run Mall sold last year, and its new owners plan to
redevelop it into a mix of shopping and housing. Three other townhouse
developments are proposed or under construction along Baltimore Pike, and SEPTA
hopes to extend its Media/Elwyn Line to a Wawa station at the Franklin Mint
development.
In response to traffic congestion and the coming
development, the township plans to use a new local services tax to improve the
crowded intersection at Routes 1 and 452.
Together, these changes give the township an opportunity to
rethink one of its busiest corridors, said Mark Kirchgasser, chairman of the
council. The council will carefully review every plan, he assured residents
this week.
"We want to make sure everything interlocks,"
Kirchgasser said after the zoning-change approval.
Years after forming a "Save Middletown" group to
fight more ambitious plans for the Franklin Mint property, some neighbors still
have concerns. About 20 attended a meeting this week - a small group compared
with the hundreds that packed meetings in the past.
They shared fears of increased traffic in an
already-congested area, the potential for families to move into new housing
developments and add students to the local school district, and the strain that
development could place on emergency services.
Township officials responded that emergency services could
handle the development, and developers for the Franklin Mint property said
their upscale townhouses would attract residents in their 50s and 60s, rather
than families with children.
The latest plan to build additional townhouses on the
Franklin Mint site could be a great fit, said Richard Bickel, director of
planning for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
"It's a challenge [to redevelop] anywhere, but this is
an unusual site, and it's highly visible," Bickel said. "Everybody
goes by on Route 1 and sees it, and they remember the Franklin Mint."
Many roadblocks
A development group, now led by the Springfield-based McKee
Group and Pennrose Properties in Philadelphia, owns land on and near the former
property of the coin and collectibles manufacturer. The group's initial
proposal for the site in 2006 included 1.2 million square feet of retail space,
more than 1,000 residential units, 400,000 square feet of commercial space, a
cinema, and a hotel.
The Save Middletown group campaigned against what they
called "the city." Tony Ieradi, one of the group's organizers, said
he was pleased that years of meetings and compromise led to the downsized
zoning proposal approved in 2012.
Then, the developers disagreed over how to proceed. Their
dispute played out in court last year, as the Pennrose and McKee companies sued
to stop the town from approving plans submitted by a third partner, the Wolfson
Group.
The case was settled in October. Mark Dambly, president of
Pennrose properties and a Middletown resident, said his company and the McKee
Group bought Wolfson's share of the development. He declined to say how much
they spent, though court filings show they offered to pay Wolfson $25 million.
The developers' latest proposal replaced about 350,000
square feet of retail space with additional townhouses.
The change approved Monday would allow up to 350 townhouses
on the site. The construction of those homes and some office space would become
the first phase of the development, said Kevin McLaughlin, senior vice
president of the McKee Group. He said the group still hoped to build up to
500,000 square feet of retail and office space and a 150-room hotel.
Even after years of changing and reducing the scope of
plans, not every resident is pleased. Mary Jo Grove does not think new
development will improve the township. She said the area was less congested 29
years ago when she moved to New Darlington Road, off Baltimore Pike. But she
paused when asked what she would prefer to see in the area.
"A golf course? I don't know."
Source: Philly.com
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