Historic Bristol looking to lure high-end homes
TOWNS ON THE MOVE: BRISTOL BOROUGH
This is the first in a series on the economic picture of our
Lower Bucks communities.
Advance correspondent BRISTOL BOROUGH - Philadelphia magazine once called Bristol Borough a town with a future, predicting that within a few years, it would be one of the places to live .
In 2010, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission named the one-square-mile borough of 10,000 one of the Classic Towns of Bucks County.
The borough seems to have it all: a rich history; a sparkling geography, sitting as it does on the banks of the Delaware River; restaurants, businesses; the Grundy Museum and Library; and a jewel of an entertainment venue in the Bristol Riverside Theatre.
The fortunes of the town have roller coastered through good times, bad times, and so-so times. Right now, however, there’s promise with a capital “P” in the air. Times have changed since that day nearly a decade ago when the Pennsylvania Economy League practically wrote the borough off DV D finDnCLDO ERRnGRggOH.
1RwDGDyV, ERURugh RIfiCLDOV, fresh from renovating the municipal building, installing new streets and new lighting, and constructing a sparkling new bor-
ough maintenance building - just to name a few accomSOLVhPHnWV - DUH ORRNLnJ WR bUHDN nHw finDnFLDO JURunG DnG add to the tax base by luring developers of high-end homes.
As if to punctuate that goal, the borough council was noWLfiHG UHFHnWOy RI WhH SuUFhDVH RI ODnG DW WhH IRUPHU zLnF works at the north end of Radcliffe Street by Americorp Homes. Initial plans call for the construction of 168 homes on that property. Newtown-based Americorp builds upscale homes in Bucks, Montgomery and Chester counties.
Council President Ralph DiGuiseppe said that Bristol has many amenities that could bring more families into town. There are schools and churches, restaurants and parks and just about everything is within walking distance. The crime rate is low and the town is close to main arteries that lead to Philadelphia, New York and the gersey shore, he said.
“OYHU WhH nHxW fiYH WR 10 yHDUV, RuU JRDO LV WR IRFuV Rn WhH quality of life of our residents,” DiGuiseppe said.
To get a clear picture of where Bristol can go, it is necessary to look at its past and its geography. counded in 1681, it was known as a mill town. After the construction of the Delaware Canal, goods were transported by barge from upstate Pennsylvania to the Delaware River, where they were transferred to ships heading out to Philadelphia and other ports.
In the years after World War I, the town boasted such industries as a shipbuilding facility and an airplane factory, paper factories and a carpet mill. These were among the largest employers in town. With Mill Street serving as the heart of the borough’s business district, Bristol was practiFDOOy VHOI-VuIfiFLHnW.
Over the decades, however, factories shut down, shopping centers and malls replaced the mom-and-pop stores, and the town’s economy declined. In the past few years, hRwHYHU, WhH GRwnWuUn LV UHYHUVLnJ, WhDnNV WR WhH Lnflux of about $7 million in federal and state grants for town improvements, and the housing market is beginning to creep upward, said Councilwoman - and Realtor - Robyn Trunell.
“There’s less inventory and people are more optimistic. Visitors who come to town remark about how lovely it is,” Trunell said.
7hHUH DUH 3,500 hRPHV Ln DnG DSSURxLPDWHOy 64 RI WhHP are for sale. DiGuiseppe said there are already enough “affordable” houses in the borough, meaning houses that run bHWwHHn $150,000 WR $180,000, DnG SODnV IRU PRUH uSVFDOH homes would create a spike in tax revenues.
The numbers also tell a positive story. According to the U.S. Department of Labor and Industry, the average salary hRYHUV DURunG $47,000, uS $12,000 IURP 2000. 7hH FRVW RI OLYLnJ LnGHx - 104.2 - LV VOLJhWOy hLJhHU WhDn WhH nDWLRnDO DYHUDJH, 100. CRunWy UHFRUGV VhRw WhDW WhH DYHUDJH hRPH DVVHVVPHnW LV $16,000, PDNLnJ WhH DYHUDJH UHDO HVWDWH WDx bLOO DbRuW $730.
,I WhHUH’V D finDnFLDO DObDWURVV wHLJhLnJ WhH bRURuJh FRIfers down, it’s the Grundy skating rink, which costs the bRURuJh DbRuW $630,000 D yHDU, unWLO 2025. DLGuLVHSSH said that the borough would be practically debt free if it weren’t for that loan. But things are looking up on that VFRUH, WRR, bHFDuVH RIfiFLDOV MuVW UHfinDnFHG WhH bRnGV through the Delaware Valley Regional cinance agency, which brought the borough’s debt down from $8.9 million to $8.6 million, and bringing an extra $1 million in cash into the treasury.
“We have accomplished a lot in the past eight years and we’ll continue to make progress to make and keep this town a great place to live,” DiGuiseppe said.