Marple debates development of Don Guanella open space
Packed hearing draws hundreds of residents
After months of speculation and meetings the public and township commissioners got their first official look at plans for the former Don Guanella Village, and what was presented by the developers wasn’t much different than what has already been circulating.
Hundreds of residents packed the auditorium at Marple Newtown High School for the hearing.
Sproul Road Developers, LLC showed off the mixeduse plans for their proposed Town Center at Marple Preserve, 47 acres area of commercial and recreational use on the 213-acre plot of land off Route 320 at the former longtime home of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia’s Don Guanella School. There also was a hint at an alternative development plan that would add 232 housing units in the residential portions of the land, the so-called “byright” plan that would not require a zoning change.
Developers’ favored plan, the one they presented Monday night, as submitted to the township for review, would build on 38 acres for commercial space, basically the imprint of the old Don Guanella School, and nine of the 175 acres of open space to create soccer fields and other active recreation.
The Marple Newtown High School auditorium was filled Monday evening with hundreds of community members, some with lawn signs protesting the plans as a way for a private developer to get big bucks while leaving them to stuck with the traffic. The signs spoke louder than the crowd, which was mostly quiet for the 70-minute presentation.
There were five presenters who discussed the plan, ranging from the site plans to traffic, the economic impact to the local governing authorities and how to finance the 166 acres of undeveloped land that will remain open space.
“We think Marple needs innovative development,” said Carlino Commercial Development Principal Peter Miller. “There has not been any creative, thoughtful, state-of-the-art development in Marple for quite a while. The feedback we’ve gotten from many of your neighbors and friends is that they’re tired of driving … outside the county to have dinner with family and friends.
“This project requires a certain level of size and scale to accomplish the objectives.”
Miller references spots like the town center complexes in King of Prussia and Exton as being go-to spots of mixed-use development that people head for when they go out.
If Sproul Road Developers gets the variance changes they need for their proposed town center, there will be more than 300,000 square feet of retail space as part of the development, including a Wegmans supermarket. A senior living center and a self-storage facility will also be on the property, which are said to be low-impact uses.
Developers tout their plan as not adding any strain to Marple Newtown Schools because there is no family residences set for the property. However, a backup plan would add more than 200 residential homes on the back portions of the lot, which are already zoned residential. Planner Tim Cassidy said because of how that area is already zoned, there wouldn’t be a need to get variances, but, “the people who move in there will ultimately not want public access to all of the lands that aren’t developed.”
“They would more than likely end up being owned and managed by a homeowners association at primary use of a residence,” said Cassidy. With residential in the back and keeping the front area right along Sproul Road developed in its institutionalzoned area, it would be a 135-acre project, over three times the proposed mixeduse plan the town center would provide. Knowing this, it would be a blow to community members who are against development of the open space.