County to acquire land to add to park

NORRISTOWN » A land acquisition in the works could make Green Lane Park even bigger.

The Montgomery County Commissioners voted unanimously last month to acquire just over an acre of property in Upper Frederick Township near the park, and start the process of integrating it.

During their July 21 meeting, Fabry told the commissioners that the property in question is two parcels totaling roughly 1.1 acres last operated as the Deep Creek Learning Center, with addresses of 2109 Deep Creek Road and 2115 Perkiomen Avenue. The Deep Creek Learning Center is a K-through-12th-grade private school now located on Cressman Road in Schwenksville, according to the school’s website DeepCreekLearningCenter.org.

“The school has been growing and expanding, so they reached out to us to see if we would be interested in this property,” said Donna Fabry, county senior trails and open space planner.

The property includes a farmhouse building with additions that had been housing the school, according to Fabry, and the property is located “at the base of Green Lane Park” and surrounded by other county-owned property and a network of trails that run into the park, plus tie to the Perkiomen Trail that runs across the county.

“The property was flooded last September, as part of Hurricane Ida, so we had the property appraised at preflood and post-flood valuations,” she said.

Doing so yielded valuations of $325,000 pre-flood and $218,000 post-flood, and the school itself had an independent appraisal done that produced a value of $475,000, which Fabry called “kind of a big discrepancy.”

“The reason for that increase was due to market conditions, as well as different valuations in how the flood stigma was appraised,” she said.

Count officials then contacted the property owner and made an offer for $290,000 for the property,

which the owner accepted as part of their a move to a new facility, so both sides are currently searching for the title and aiming to go to settlement sometime in August, pending approval from the commissioners.

“After that, we’ll be demolishing the structures that are located on the property now, and then working with our parks staff to convert this into a trailhead, for those trail users heading south on the Perkiomen Trail,” she said.

Commissioners chairwoman Val Arkoosh then made a motion authorizing the county to enter an agreement of sale to purchase of the property for $290,000, and that the county cover the required transaction fees, provided the property is found to have clear title and subject to approval by the county solicitor.

“Sounds like a great opportunity,” Arkoosh said, and the commissioners then voted unanimously to approve.

The Montgomery County commissioners next meet at 10 a.m. on Aug. 18 at the commissioners’ boardroom, 425 Swede St. in Norristown. For more information visit www. Montcopa.org.