Radnor cool to latest plan for former Wyeth site

After scrapping a controversial plan for a hotel, apartments, and retail space on one of the region's most desirable sites, BioMed Realty Trust has returned to Radnor Township with a counterproposal.

But officials and residents of the Main Line community say the new plan - for an office park near the heavily traveled intersection of the Blue Route and Lancaster Avenue - is even worse.

"The dismay that I feel, it comes from the fact that this is a very sophisticated community and we should be able to come up with a better solution for this site," Commissioner Elaine Schaefer said at last Monday's meeting when the plan was presented. She said the latest designs were reminiscent of a 1970s office building.

For its part, BioMed Realty Trust, a national firm with headquarters in California, might not be willing to opt for another solution.

"I really can't say yes or no because it's a hypothetical," said Michael Devine, a senior director of leasing and development for BioMed.

At the Monday-night meeting, residents and commissioners raised questions about the potential traffic impact on an already congested area.

BioMed has been working for years to redevelop the site. A plan to build 320 apartments, a hotel, retail space, and offices was the subject of contentious meetings last year. When township discussions stalled, BioMed abandoned the plan.

Some commissioners now hope to entice BioMed to rethink its plan – again.

Radnor, where median home values are near $600,000, has some of the most valuable real estate in the region. About a fifth of its land is commercial, and the township is close to built out.

The BioMed project, on the former Wyeth property, represents one of Radnor's largest development opportunities in recent years. But at the center of the debate is a fear that too much development could harm the affluent Delaware County community.

William Spingler, president of the Board of Commissioners, said the proposed 550,000-square-foot office park would bring too much traffic at peak commuting times to the King of Prussia Road site, just across from Radnor High School.

He said he was open to the prospect of apartments and a hotel on the property because traffic would come and go at different hours.

"I think it's better for the township," he said.

Some residents disagreed, saying both BioMed plans would cause headaches.

The biggest concern is "how the increased car traffic will impact the community," said Diane Edbril, who has spoken out against BioMed's current and previous plans. She and some of her neighbors have suggested a senior-living facility or hotel and banquet center as alternative projects.

BioMed has a right to build offices on its property, but its proposal "missed the mark," Township Manager Robert Zienkowski said at last week's meeting.

Commissioner Richard Booker said he feared the plan was simply a stalking horse to make a zoning change – which he also opposes – look more appealing.

"I think we're in the midst of it right now, and we don't know what the outcome will be," Booker said.

Devine said BioMed was seeking only to get feedback on the proposed office park, which would serve roughly 1,500 workers.

"When it's completed, this office plan is going to be a best-in-class corporate campus, and that's really what we're focused on," he said.

The commissioners could vote by the end of the month on the office park plan. They could reject it by arguing that the complex is larger than should be allowed on the site, or that its proposed subsurface parking garage is not permitted. But that would also mean risking a court battle with BioMed.

Instead, the commissioners hope a planning consultant will quickly develop an outline for what could work at the site other than offices – and that BioMed will listen.

It could be the township's last chance to have a say in what is built.

"This is one of the best locations in the suburbs, so we ought to do something creative and something innovative," Spingler said. "We're going to give it one last shot and we're not going to spend two or three years talking about it because BioMed's not going to wait two or three years."

Source: Philly.com