$1 million donation toward Willows mansion renovation announced

RADNOR » Plans to renovate the Willows mansion got a boost with a $1 million donation from an anonymous donor.

Christina Perrone, one of the residents who founded the new nonprofit Willows Park Preserve which is dedicated to restoring the 107year old mansion and running it, announced the gift at a Board of Commissioners meeting Monday.

The BOC also heard a presentation by consultants Barton Partners, Urban Partners and RETTEW regarding renovation of the mansion and business plan recommendations.

Mark Evans, with Barton Partners, said they had designed a three-phase plan for renovations of mansion, with phase one consisting of health and safety needs, phase two giving it more amenities, and phase three to add the Pond View Room, a glass enclosed room overlooking the pond that would allow the Willows mansion to compete with other venues in the area for the lucrative wedding business. That room would also be open to the public year round during park hours, Perrone said.

With the $1 million matching gift from an “angel donor” the township would need to spend $2.75 million to make the phase three plan a reality, Perrone said.

Other parts of the plan include adding 43 more parking spaces and a path from the parking lot to the house, along with outdoor lighting. Also, new terraces would be added and another staircase for safety reasons. Either an elevator or a lift could be installed for ADA compliance.

With phase two, the interior walls between the living room, billiard room and dining room would be removed to create an open floor plan. Also, a rain garden would be installed for stormwater control.

But phase 3 “is where we believe this mansion becomes the crown jewel of Radnor Township,” said Evans.

Jim Hartling, with Urban Planners, said larger events, such as weddings and corporate use could take place 20 to 30 times a year. The BOC would need to decide whether to give Radnor residents a discount to book it and how much that

The third phase would allow the Willows to compete with other “top facilities” in the area.

Commissioner Elaine Schaefer said the presentation was “beautiful.”

But she added, the BOC “can’t ignore the financial reality.” She asked whether the stages could be done at different times.

Evans said that would increase the costs.

Schaefer was also concerned that the numbers did not include ongoing payments for a bond issue that the township might need to take out to pay for the renovations.