Township eyesore will make way for The Birches

NEWTOWN TOWNSHIP – Another township eyesore will soon be disappearing from the landscape.

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the final development and financial security agreements for The Birches, an assisted living facility to be built on a 9.6acre tract at the intersection of Durham and Eagle roads across from the Corner Bakery Café.

Michael McCormick, director of development for the Blue Bell-based Heritage Senior Living, which will manage the facility, said that demolition will begin soon.

According to McCormick, it will take about three months to tear down several boarded-up and dilapidated houses, which the supervisors repeatedly have labeled “an eyesore.”

“We’re going to start cleaning up the site immediately,” he told the board. “There are some asbestos materials and old tires there.”

“I’m looking forward to seeing those old houses coming down,” Chairman Gallagher said.

The planned 87,000 square foot two-story facility would contain 120 beds in 90 units. Half of the complex would be designated for assisted care with the remaining half for patients suffering from dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.

The style of the building would mimic a Bucks County farmhouse with a stone façade, dormers, shutters and a high porch.