Chester County Real Estate News: August 9th, 2010
Chester County
Slip ramp approved for Turnpike, Route 29
Chester County will finally get its slip ramp, an all-electronic interchange linking Route 29 in Great Valley with the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The announcement was made Wednesday at a gathering of state, county and township officials, transportation experts and the developers who have hundreds of millions of dollars invested in local corporate and retail parks. Located midway between the Downingtown exit (#312) and the Valley Forge exit (#326), the new ramp will provide access to and from such business parks as the Great Valley Corporate Center, the Commons at Great Valley, Atwater and the newly opened Uptown Worthington. Each day about 45,000 to 50,000 vehicles travel the 14-mile stretch of turnpike between Downingtown and Valley Forge, Brimmeier said. By 2025, Turnpike studies estimate 150,000 vehicles a day will use that stretch.
Source: Daily Local; 8/5/2010
East, West Marlborough and Newlin develop regional plan
Three townships in the southwestern part of Chester County are developing a regional comprehensive plan with the goal of preserving agriculture and managing growth. The three townships, East Marlborough, West Marlborough and Newlin, formed an ad hoc regional planning taskforce in the spring of 2009. A draft copy of the Unionville Area Regional Comprehensive Plan was recently posted on East Marlborough‘s website. The proposed plan will be a roadmap for conserving the area‘s natural resources and directing future development and growth in areas that are already developed and business corridors. East Marlborough Township Manager Jane Laslo said Wednesday that the regional planning taskforce hoped to have a public meeting on the draft plan by the end of the year and adopt a plan by mid-2011.
Source: Daily Local; 8/4/2010
West Chester University outlines plans for expansion of student housing
West Chester University officials told local residents that the university plans to expand its student housing operation. Officials said the university just spent $4.2 million to buy College Arms, student housing at High and Rosedale that had been privately owned. Officials said the university will renovate the building and reopen it in 2011. And officials said the university plans to add 240 beds to University Village, university-owned student housing on South Campus in East Bradford. University officials also said $500,000 has been spent to acquire a property at 624 S. High St. for offices. These announcements made some residents uneasy at the university’s Monday night community update meeting. Some said they had been under the impression that the university did not plan to grow its student population. Residents also said they were concerned about the university’s acquisition of College Arms and 624 S. High St. Both of these properties are outside the “superblock,” the area bounded by Rosedale Avenue and New, High and Sharpless streets that traditionally form the border of North Campus. Residents said the university’s recent purchases appear to signal that the university intends to expand beyond the superblock and into borough neighborhoods.
Source: Daily Local; 8/3/2010
Eastern Shore Natural Gas Co. to expand its pipeline
Another natural gas company is expanding its pipeline in the county. Eastern Shore Natural Gas Company, which transports natural gas to customers in Delaware, Maryland and Pennsylvania, has a plan to construct a 16-inch diameter pipeline about 8.3 miles through Lancaster and Chester counties. The new pipeline through West Sadsbury and Salisbury townships will extend Eastern Shore‘s pipeline from Parkesburg to a point west of Honeybrook Borough.
Source: Daily Local; 8/2/2010
DASD forges plan to cut debt
The Downingtown Area School District has crafted a plan to reduce its debt service and how much it pays annually in interest. The district received a Qualified School Construction Bond for $28.3 million in June that is part of the federal stimulus package. The bond is interest free and is appropriated for the district’s new projects — the third middle school, scheduled to open in 2012, and the STEM Academy, slated to open in 2011. During a finance committee meeting Wednesday, Chief Financial Officer Richard Fazio said the district had been saving money for those projects and has some cash on hand; however, he noted that the interest-free bonds are very appealing. Therefore, the district will utilize the QSCB to pay for the construction and use the cash to pay off some of its other debt services that have interest payments.
Source: Daily Local; 7/30/2010
