Wednesday, June 24, 2015

Plans proposed for Mrs. Smith's Pie site in Pottstown



A developer has proposed plans for an undeveloped portion of a property where Mrs. Smith’s once made her pies in Pottstown, Pa.

Cornell Ventures is seeking to construct Hanover Square, which would have two mixed-use buildings.


It would sit on a part of the site at Industrial Boulevard and Hanover Street where Mrs. Smith’s Bakeries churned out its famous Mrs. Smith’s Pies at the former pie factory that shuttered years ago.

The factory began a phased closing in 1998, devastating the Montgomery County community when 300 people eventually lost their jobs.

A group of local investors bought the site in 2002 with plans to transform it into an outlet retail complex. But the Great Recession and the construction of another outlet center nearby on Route 422 in Limerick, Pa., among other factors, kept the retail project from coming together.

The investors eventually lost control of the property and it was taken over by Susquehanna Bank.

An entity affiliated with Cornell Ventures bought the property in 2009 from the bank and came up with a new plan for the site. The first part of the redevelopment began five years ago when Cornell Ventures built a townhouse community on a portion of the property.

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