Recognized Projects

The following proposed project applications have been recognized by the Delaware Valley Smart Growth Alliance jury as good examples of smart growth development in the region.

Recognized April 2009

KARDON PONDS, Chester County, PA.
A 47-acre brownfields infill site bridging Downingtown Borough and East Caln Township in Chester County, will be redeveloped by Progressive Housing Ventures and Sundown Homes into a mixed-use community of 305 multi-family homes for sale in a variety of sizes and price ranges, 40 live-above-work rental units, 20,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 22-acre public park with parking and trails. The site is located at the head of Struble Trail, a paved 5-mile trail that parallels the Brandywine River and terminates at Marsh Creek state park. The project will triple the lineal footage of paved public trails at the site and will retain and improve a series of existing man-made ponds within the site. Residents will also have pedestrian and bicycle access to Struble Trail, as well as to retail shops and services one block away along Lancaster Avenue, and the R-5 train and SEPTA bus service.

ZURBRUGG MANSION REDEVELOPMENT, Burlington County, NJ.
In Delanco, the Zurbrugg Partnership will take a Frank Furness-designed riverfront mansion dating from 1910, which has fallen into disrepair over the last century, and convert it to 25 affordable housing units for seniors. An existing carriage house on the 2.28-acre property will be renovated as a single-family residence, and 8 new market-rate luxury townhomes (3,000-3,500 square feet) will be added, for a total of 34 units and a unique combination of high-end and affordable housing. Massive beech trees will be retained. The site has easy access to Main Street, the RiverLine rail system, bus service, and County transportation service for seniors. Civic functions which have been held on the property will continue, along with an open space parcel fronting on the Delaware River for passive public use

Recognized January 2009

WEST CHESTER HOTEL OF PENNSYLVANIA, West Chester, PA.
Proposed redevelopment of a vacant commercial site in downtown West Chester into an 8-story, mixed-use building to incorporate a drugstore; branded 100-room full-service hotel including restaurant, meeting and catering rooms; the top 2 floors as one and two-bedroom condominium units.  The location was originally a hotel which ceased operations in the 1940s and burned down in the 1960s.  The project will retain existing façade of first floor restaurant (to be relocated to the new hotel) and will replicate a second floor porch from the original hotel.  Sustainability features include geothermal applications, graywater systems, a green roof and solar panels.  Developer is Zukin Realty.  Shared parking with a new public garage which will provide solar energy panels and accommodations for bicycles and electric cars.  Location is 3 blocks from the Chester County Transit Center and is serviced by 6 public transit agencies.

Recognized July 2008

2.0 UNIVERSITY PLACE, Philadelphia, PA.
New construction of a five-story mixed-use building at 30 North 41st Street, with easy access to subway and bus connections. The 90,000-square-foot building will feature retail tenants on the first floor and office space on the upper floors. Developed by University Place Associates, LP, this is expected to be the City’s first pre-certified Platinum LEED building. Parking will be located underground and away from the streetscape, and will incorporate several car-share spaces. Environmental features include a green roof and a recycled “graywater” system. The building will create 100 temporary and 300 permanent jobs. Groundbreaking is anticipated in late 2008.

Recognized January 2008

777 SOUTH BROAD, Philadelphia, PA.
New construction of a five-story building with 146 one and two-bedroom homes, plus 18,000 square feet of street-level shops and restaurants, at the southern end of the Avenue of the Arts in Center City Philadelphia.  Within easy walking distance of performing arts, the Italian Market and other urban amenities including public transit, the building will be the City’s first LEED “green” certified multifamily mixed-use building, with a roof to reflect UV rays and lower utility costs; locally produced and recycled materials; pervious paving for stormwater absorption; and high-efficiency mechanical systems.  The developer, Dranoff Properties, plans to start construction in 2008 pending approvals and financing. 

WEST PHILADELPHIA EXTENDED-STAY HOTEL, Philadelphia, PA.
The DVSGA recognized and supported a proposal by Campus Apartments, Hersha Hospitality and Tom Lussenhop to combine adaptive re-use of a long-abandoned historic mansion with new construction to create an extended-stay hotel with 120 furnished units with kitchens, ranging from studio to two-bedroom units, a street-level restaurant, plus a new 11-story infill building, all located on the corner of 40th and Pine Streets along West Philadelphia's 40th Street corridor, within within walking distance of the University of Pennsylvania and its hospital system, as well as Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and is adjacent to SEPTA's 40th Street portal, among the busiest transit nodes in the City.  The project would have featured green  roofs and pervious hardscaping, and would have shared parking.  Despite being approved by the City's Historical Commission and City Planning Commission, the Zoning Board of Adjustment declined to review the proposal, and the development team is planning to abandon the project at this site.

BORDENTOWN WATERFRONT COMMUNITY, Burlington County, NJ.
A 123-acre site along Route 130, just 8 miles south of Trenton, this site includes 6,000 feet of Delaware River frontage and a portion of Newbold Island.  Conceptual plans call for a mix of uses – 3, 4 and 5-story buildings along a main street and buildings along the waterfront with retail at street level and housing or offices above, including nearly 700 multi-family ownership and rental units, commercial and retail spaces, and a variety of public uses and amenities including a proposed RiverLine transit stop, riverfront promenade and boardwalk, and variety of public walkways and bikeways.   Development will preserve wetlands, buffers and eagle foraging buffers.  The site was formerly used for industrial and dredging uses; redevelopment will remediate contamination.  The project will also create one of the first pieces of the Delaware River Heritage Trail.  This plan has received preliminary recognition only as it is several years away from development by a team led by Buckingham Partners

VOORHEES TOWN CENTER, Voorhees Township, Camden County, NJ.
The languishing Echelon Mall will be reduced to half its former square footage, creating a new mixed-use town center.  The main boulevard will be lined on both sides by new apartments and condominium units above street-level stores, businesses and restaurants, plus additional commercial space and community clubhouse.  The homes will be a mix of for-sale condominiums and rental apartments, including affordable housing, mostly above structured parking.  The site is less than two miles away from two PATCO stations, including one accessible by bus.  A team of the Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust and Dewey Commercial Investments will start construction in 2008.

MOUNTAIN MANOR, Smithfield Township, Monroe County, PA.
This plan has received preliminary recognition only. Mountain Manor is a new community proposed by LTS Development, LLC, adjacent to the existing village of Marshalls Creek, in a fast-growing area attracting many commuters from New York. The 418-acre site is located less than 4 miles from I-80 and is proposed for 857 homes of varying sizes and price points, with pedestrian-friendly streets, trails and interconnected public spaces including Marshalls Falls Park and existing neighborhoods. The community would feature a dense village center with flats, townhomes and live/work homes, as well as traditional neighborhoods with homes on narrow lots, alley-accessed garages, and larger single-family homes on periphery, as well as 400,000+ square feet of commercial space with a mix of restaurants, shops, business and medical offices. The development will also provide a new library, town hall and community center to serve new and existing residents in Smithfield Township, and LTS Development is currently in talks with the Monroe County Transit Authority to provide bus service to the site; NJ Transit already planning to re-establish Scranton-to-New York train service on route with a stop two miles away in Delaware Water Gap.

ELLIS PRESERVE TOWN CENTER, Newtown Square, Delaware County, PA.
This plan has received preliminary recognition only. The community is proposed by BPG Properties, Ltd., as a 210-acre mixed-use community located along existing SEPTA bus lines and within a few miles of the Paoli train station. The proposal calls for 582,000 square feet of office space; 419,000 square feet of retail/commercial space including entertainment, shops, restaurants and a hotel; 200 ownership and rental housing units including some second-story units over retail uses; all centered on a 15-acre town green. The location at the heart of Newtown Square, at the intersection of Routes 252 (Newtown Square Road) and Route 3 (West Chester Pike), has been designated by the township’s 2001 Comprehensive Plan as an ideal location for mixed-use development. BPG Properties also plans to retain historic and cultural buildings and integrate them into the overall plan. Several office and office-research buildings already exist on the site, and a new medical office building will open this summer. The plan includes connections to surrounding neighborhoods through pedestrian trails and road systems, and possible bike trails. In order for development to proceed, BPG Properties is seeking changes to existing zoning regulations, which predated the Comprehensive Plan enactment.

WYOMISSING SQUARE,  Wyomissing, Berks County, PA. 
This 13-acre mixed-use urban infill redevelopment site, by Brickstone Realty Corporation and Bozzuto Development Company, will convert a 330,000-square-foot abandoned industrial building into 248 market-rate apartments, plus 31,000 square feet of retail space and a new 135-room hotel. The site is close to existing outlet retail shops and within walking distance of several transit stops, downtown West Reading, and the Reading Medical Center.  An existing restaurant will be augmented with banquet space, and underground parking will serve the residential uses.  A separate 60,000-square-foot office building will be renovated and retained with existing tenants.  The development will revitalize an existing brownfields site and provide an economic catalyst to the surrounding area.  Work is now underway, with the hotel, apartments and retail shops expected to open in Summer 2009.
 
STAFFORD PARK, Stafford Township, Ocean County, NJ.
On a brownfields parcel surrounded by 17,000 acres of protected pinelands at the intersection of Route 72 and the Garden State Parkway, The Walters Group proposes a 370-acre mixed use development including retail, office, and residential uses.  The residential portion will include 565 age-restricted residential units and 112 affordable housing units (17% of the total) with sidewalks, pedestrian paths, alleys, pocket parks and a clubhouse facility. The site will also include the relocation of 25,000 square feet of office currently on the site, and 650,000 square feet of retail space including a 90,000-square-foot “main street” retail component directly linked to residential components.  Every building will be LEED-certified.  Most commercial buildings will have rooftop solar panels.  The site contains 75 acres of landfills which will be cleaned up and converted to retail uses. The site is served by the Ocean Ride bus line and NJ Transit with daily service from Stafford to Atlantic City and Lakewood. Site work began in Spring 2007 .  Construction is underway, with several stores opening in Summer 2008.  The development team is also testing the feasibility of installing wind turbines and a solar farm.

BREWERYTOWN MASTER PLAN, Philadelphia, PA.  
Westrum Development Company has assembled approximately 16 acres, a mix of abandoned lots, vacant factories and former stables, to create a masterplanned mixed-use community in this infill corridor adjacent to Fairmount Park. The masterplan provides new market-rate and affordable housing components - townhomes, stacked townhomes, condos, and loft-style apartments, totaling 595 units, with an average overall density of 37 units per acre. The retail component will include a 50,000-square-foot supermarket with residential apartments above.   Another development converting the old Acme warehouse will offer 61 loft-style apartments for low-income tenants; 15 units of infill housing and rehabbed properties in the surrounding neighborhood will be sold as affordable units.   The project includes the renovation of several historic buildings into loft-style residential space while preserving their original exteriors. Nearly all new construction will utilize rear-entry garages. Many existing and proposed restaurant and retail establishments will be within walking distance. Demolition work began in 2007 and home construction is anticipated to start in 2008.

THE DREYCOTT, Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, PA.
This infill condominium project by Arcadia Land Company and Cornerstone Communities, proposes 44 residential units with a net density of 25+ units per acre; 1,670 square feet of office space at street level; and a gallery exhibition space. All parking will be underground, including shared parking for an adjacent office building. The site is adjacent to the Haverford Station of the R-5 line and to the commercial hub of Haverford, and the developer will provide pedestrian connections to both. Construction is expected to start in Summer 2008.

UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER AT PRINCETON ADAPTIVE RE-USE, Mercer County, NJ.
The Princeton Healthcare System proposes an adaptive re-use of its current acute care hospital and several medical office buildings. The new uses will include 280 new housing units with a net density of 67 units per acre, including studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units, of which 20% will be below market rate; and space for small businesses. The existing parking garage will be retained. The project will also feature a 25,000-square-foot building for retail, medical and office uses, including a fitness center and a community center, and a 70,000-square-foot park. All uses will be connected via pedestrian pathways, colonnades and plazas. The site is located adjacent to New Jersey Transit bus services; less than a half-mile from Princeton rail line connector to the New Jersey Transit Northeast Corridor Rail Line; and within easy walking distance of retail businesses, services, community facilities, public plazas, and the Princeton University campus.  Redevelopment will commence in several years after the hospital vacates the site and moves to a new location.

TOWNE CENTER AT HADDON, Haddon Township, Camden County, NJ.
This mixed-used redevelopment of a brownfields site is located across the street from PATCO’s Westmont Hi-Speedline station. The six-acre site will offer 25,000 square feet of street-level retail space along Haddon Avenue (some for lease, some ownership) and 198 for-sale residential units with an average density of 30 units per acre, including 72 loft-style condominiums with parking underground; 60 mid-rise condominiums; 40 garden units; and 26 townhomes. The site has been cleared and is undergoing environmental remediation, and the developer, Fieldstone Associates, hopes to start construction in 2008.

THE VILLAGE AT VALLEY FORGE, Upper Merion Township, Montgomery County, PA.
Located at the intersection of Routes 202, 422, 76 and 276, and identified as one of four “suburban growth centers” by the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, this former golf course site will be transformed into a mixed-use urban-style community by Realen Properties. The 136-acre site is planned for 2,000 units of high-density housing – multi-family apartments, flats, lofts and townhomes, in a range of sizes and styles, for both rental and ownership. The “main street” core will offer retail and office uses at the street level with residential above, on-street parking and several parking structures. The site is masterplanned to include two hotels, and one million square feet of commercial, recreational and entertainment uses, including a movie theater. At least 25 acres of open spaces are planned for use by the larger community, including an amphitheater than can be converted to an ice rink, public art, and walking and biking trails, some connecting to the Schuylkill River Trail and the Chester Valley Trail.   Construction commenced in September of 2007 with a grand opening of the first phase of the project scheduled for early Fall 2009.

BELL POINT, Sussex County, DE.
The Lewes Investment Company has proposed Bell Point for the “Five Points” intersection of SR-1 and SR-9, recently identified by DelDOT and Delaware Strategies for State Policies as the appropriate location for a major mixed-use center. The proposed project is within walking distance of the mixed-use Villages of Five Points, and within 3 miles of the historic town of Lewes. The 108-acre urban-style plan will include single-family, townhomes and mid-rise residential uses, as well as office, retail, and open space, all featuring sidewalks and street trees. Single-family homes will have porches in front and garages de-emphasized. The development team worked with the Delaware State Housing Agency to incorporate 20% of affordable housing, to be dispersed within and undistinguishable from the market-rate units. The average density for this project will be 7 units per acre, compared to surrounding areas of 1-3 units per acre. When completed, Bell Point will be one of few new developments in Sussex County with bus service, connecting project to major employment centers and all towns in Southern Delaware. NOTE: Due to the preliminary nature of the plans, recognition is conceptual only; the development team will be submitting final plans to the DVSGA for review.

PEMBROKE NORTH, Radnor Township, Delaware County, PA.
Pembroke North, developed by Razak Company, Philadelphia, is the first multi-family housing project registered for LEED certification in the Philadelphia region. The infill brownfield site is adjacent to the Wayne business district, with existing commercial, residential and transportation uses. With 54 units ranging in size from 1,250-2,500 square feet, Pembroke North will exceed the density of the surrounding area, dominated by single-family homes. The project’s energy-efficient and environmentally responsible features include a ground-source heat pump system, on-demand water heaters, certified building materials such as FSC lumber and low-VOC finishes, and many others. The project will feature underground parking, walkway connections to the business corridor, and easy access to civic spaces, banks, grocery stores, restaurants, and the St. David’s train station. Pembroke North is currently under construction and will deliver its first homes in Spring 2008.

BRYN EYRE, Borough of New Morgan, Berks County, PA
Bryn Eyre, proposed by Arcadia Land company, will be a mixed-use “new urbanist” town located on a 2,582-acre brownfields site directly adjacent to the Morgantown interchange of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The land, identified in the Berks County 2020 Plan as the largest growth area for new development, will encompass 12,500 residential units, ranging from single-family homes and townhomes to duplexes, twins, and condominium units; 3 elementary schools and a middle school; 3.2 million square feet of office space; 1.5 million square feet of retail space; and 600,000 square feet of light industrial space. Approximately 935 acres of the site will be undeveloped and left as open space, including a 150-acre park serving the entire region and preservation of a 130-acre lake. Construction is expected to start in 2009.

THE CROSSINGS AT AMBLER, Borough of Ambler, Montgomery County, PA
The Crossings at Ambler, proposed by Westrum Development Company, will offer loft-style condominiums within walking distance of the SEPTA R-5 regional rail station and Ambler's Main Street retail area. The 9.4-acre brownfields infill site will be developed into loft homes with a net density of 30+ per acre. An old boiler house adjacent to the site will be converted by a separate developer to 38,000 square feet of office space.  The company hopes to receive its final approvals and start construction in 2008.

SADSBURY PARK, Sadsbury Township , Chester County, PA
Sadsbury Park is a Traditional Neighborhood Design (TND) proposed for a parcel within walking distance of historic Sadsburyville, at the intersection of Old Wilmington Road and Lincoln Highway (Business Route 30) west of Coatesville. The project will encompass 461 homes - a mix of 174 rear-access single-family detached; 78 front-access single-family detached; 140 rear-access townhomes, and 69 multi-family homes, with a total net density of 6 units per acre. The TND features a grid street system, homes with garages in the back, a sidewalk and trail system, and creatively-designed opened spaces for recreation. Housing prices are expected to be among the most affordable in Chester County. The developer, Arcadia Land Company, expects to break ground in 2008.

GREEN STREET MEWS, Borough of Downingtown, Chester County, PA
Green Street Mews, developed by Progressive Housing Ventures of Malvern, comprises 30 condominium townhomes on a 1.65-acre former industrial site at the intersection of Green Street and Jefferson Avenue. The site is less than one mile to a SEPTA train station with convenient access by walking or biking via sidewalk, and within short walking distance of retail and restaurants in and around Lancaster Avenue . The development features 30 back-to-back townhomes with a density of about 18 units per acre, and a new "pocket park" with a looped trail path.  The homes are priced for moderate income families and first-time homebuyers and have been selling briskly.  The developer, Progressive Housing Ventures, will soon start a similar and larger community nearby.  See www.greenstreetmews.com

SPRING ARTS POINT, Philadelphia, PA
Spring Arts Point is a 3-acre urban infill mixed-use project on a previously vacant brownfield site.  The project will encompass one full block and portions of 3 adjacent blocks, all within a 5-minute walk of the Broad Street Subway station at Spring Garden Street.  The net density is 22 units per acre, with 15 condominium units in two mid-rise buildings with ground-floor retail, and 53 townhomes.  All units include parking at the rear.  New Urban Ventures broke ground in 2005 and homes have been selling since 2007.