Well, the realities of the economic downturn got us this time. After much research and crunching of numbers, we determined that the total cost of doing the project on the Willow Street property in West Grove would result in higher home prices than could be competitive in the local market. We managed to get many of the line items in our total estimate down, but some of the biggies that were specific to this property couldn't be budged. So regrettably, we are walking away from the Willow Street property.
The good news is that we are not back to square one by any stretch of the imagination! We are more convinced that ever that this project can work in our area when we find the right property. We have met so many people who really want this project to happen and can help, that it will be only a matter of a little time before we have located the right property for us. Our developers, Sandy and Jackie have reassured us that they are 110% dedicated to this project, and will stay with us and help us find the next property. Our real estate agent Margot has already started to pull additional information on a property or two that we have spotted in the area. We have a really dedicated team, and a lot of interest generated in the community.
We will re-group in the next week or two to determine updated criteria for what we want in a new piece of land. We'll be considering (sometimes conflicting!) criteria such as open space, walkability to a small town, whether approvals are already in place, how ecovillage-friendly the local government seems, school systems, and of course, affordability. We'll keep you posted as we determine what priorities are now most important to us. The things that haven't changed are that we want to be able to build 30-40 homes, and to be within the southern-Chester County PA or maybe northern New Castle County DE area.
YOU CAN HELP! If you know of a property that may be of interest to us, please help us to connect with the owner. We have leads on some properties, but are also very interested in suggestions at this time.
Stick with us. We're not out of the game, just back by a couple points.
