Redevelopment Of North Broad Property Approved In Doylestown Twp.

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA ? Plans to bring senior and veteran affordable housing to the township have received final approval from Doylestown Township.

In a unanimous decision, the board of supervisors approved plans in late November by Arcadia Development and Pennrose Bricks and Mortar to redevelop 280 North Broad Street, a parcel of land located in both the township and Doylestown Borough, with an affordable housing use along with a cluster of market-rate townhomes.

Under the plan, the back portion of the site located in the township will be developed with 18 townhouse units and an affordable age-restricted 60-unit residential building that will be marketed to veterans and seniors.

Federation Housing will manage the affordable age-restricted residential building under an agreement reached with Pennrose. Federation Housing is a nonprofit that manages quality, affordable, independent living communities for low and moderate-income seniors.

?They have a good relationship with Bucks County and we?re really excited that Federation Housing will be a part of this project," said land use attorney Kelly McGowan, who represents the developer.

The front portion of the property, located in Doylestown Borough and fronting on North Broad Street, would be turned into a public dog park that would be owned and maintained by Doylestown Borough. The property measures just under an acre. It will also be used for the access road into the development from North Broad Street.

To make way for the new park, an older commercial building now located on the site would be demolished.

The developer's original plans for the site called for 220 luxury apartment units.

"We ended up going through three different proposals over the past three years in response to continued reactions to residential development proposals like 'it's too dense,' 'there's too much impact,' and 'it's not satisfying community needs," said McGowan last December.

Through a series of meetings with the township, McGowan said their attention turned toward developing the township portion of the site with affordable, residential housing marketed toward seniors and veterans.

Last December, the township approved an ordinance amendment that added the age-restricted use to its Limited Industrial (LI) zoning district and opened the door to the Arcadia and Pennrose redevelopment project

"What this ordinance does is it provides a use in the LI zoning district, which is in an incredibly suitable, walkable location to amenities, that will specifically serve a senior population," said McGowan last December. "The walk score for this property is 82 out of 100. Within that area, we have the senior center. We have retail. We have amenities that are all within walking distance. There's no impact on the underlying LI zoning district. This isn't anything other than an optional use to add to what is currently provided for your limited industrial district."