Borough kicks off revitalization plan with $2.3M mixed-use project

Officials marked the start of a new economic development plan for Perkasie with a groundbreaking for a $2.3 million mixed-use project at the former site of the American House Hotel on the corner of Seventh and Market streets.

“This is a very rare event where you get to rebuild a downtown,” said Stephen Barth, economic development director for Perkasie. “This was the kickoff to the borough’s entire revitalization. The No. 1 priority was the development of this corner.”

Starting Monday, construction begins on a three-story building with retail space on the first floor and 10 high-end apartments on the upper floors and an elevator. The 8,446-square-foot-lot is widely known in the borough as the site of a massive fire on June 27, 1988, that destroyed the American House Hotel and several nearby businesses, officials said.

Since then, the corner has been vacant.

Construction on The American House at Perkasie should be finished by the end of the year.

Joe Mack of North Wales is the construction manager and owner of the property.

MileStone Bank of Doylestown, which is changing its name to Covenant Bank, financed the project, Barth said.

“Everyone has been a very good neighbor to us,” said Peter Stampfl, partner with reAlliance Real Estate Development of Doylestown, the architectural firm that designed the project. “That is something that will help us make our project run smoother.”

Since the project is in the center of town and an underutilized site, the project became very attractive to the firm, Stampfl said.

Overall, officials see the project as producing positive economic growth for the borough.

The building had once been a hotel and popular restaurant but now, officials are hoping a new generation will have a space for their memories of growing up, said Joe Ferry, president of the Perkasie Town Improvement Association, which helps organize efforts to rebuild the downtown.

“I think it will help restore what the town used to be after the fire of ’88,” said Andrea Coaxum, borough manager. “It’s a difficult piece to develop. To get someone to bring back the architectural features is very exciting. It’s going to bring in new retail opportunities and new residents.”

Though she could not confirm any tenants, there are nice businesses interested in the space, she said.

Furthering the borough’s economic development growth, officials will break ground Aug. 1 for a project next to the American House site. The vacant 6,211-square-foot lot will get a three-story building with retail space on the first floor and a total of six apartments on the second and third floors.

Borough officials also are looking to redeveloping additional blocks once these two projects are complete.

“There are a lot of existing businesses here; the borough worked with the Bucks County Planning Commission to reinvent the town center,” Stampfl said. “They are in the process of consolidating the businesses from a zoning standpoint.”

Perkasie will continue to repurpose old buildings and also sees more residential growth, with as many as 300 housing units coming online in the next few years.

Source: LVB