With further analysis, we've decided that a property in London Grove (very near West Grove and upwind from the mushroom facilities) holds the most promise. We are currently running the numbers and working on a draft ProForma to see how many houses we would need to build to make it work. We're also trying to make those houses a little bigger since the reaction to the Willow Street plan was that the houses were just a little too small. The biggest factors we have to look at are the willingness of the London Grove Township to work with us, the availability of public water, and the price.
We are on the agenda to present to the London Grove Planning Commission meeting on the 25th of February at 7:00 PM. It's open to the public, so please come support us! It will be at the Township Office, 372 Rose Hill Road, West Grove, PA 19390. The response we get there will tell us whether we should proceed to giving a presentation to the Board of Supervisors, hopefully on March 4. In talking to some of the folks at London Grove so far, they have been very excited about the project, and very very supportive. They are enthusiastic about all things green, and would love to have a LEED-Platinum community as a part of London Grove. As we have known for any property we have considered, we will need some help with the zoning to get the tight clustering we want, so their receptivity to us is very key. I think we're off to a good start here.
The second big factor is water. To be LEED-certified, we cannot just drill wells to get our drinking water; we need access to public water. We're on the trail of that, with calls in to the DEP, and the thought that lines could be extended to the property from West Grove or from the neighboring township. Both seem pretty close, but this will be a factor in cost and timeline, and we have to make sure that things look acceptable.
For the third factor, we are in discussion with the owner on the price. We have a number of creative options up our sleeves to make this work; some are options that we thought up, and some of them are things the owner has come up with. We are hopeful that with a little time and thought, we can come up with an agreement that is a win for everyone.
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February 2009
February 21, 2009
February 05, 2009
Land Quest, Re-Newed.
People always say that things work out for the best in the end. That was
hard to see when we walked away from the Willow Street land in West Grove, but it's really
really true. After I posted the "No Go...This Time" entry, the most wonderful
thing started happening: landowners started approaching us and asking if we
might be interested in their land. Not that their land was officially on the
market, just that they wanted to sell, and more importantly, they wanted to sell
to us because they believed in our project. It's a fantastic feeling to realize
how many people have been quietly rooting for us, watching and waiting for the
chance to push the project along in some way.
Tuesday found us in a long caravan of cars traipsing through the snow to look at a number of properties in the Kennett Square and West Grove areas. We had three kids along, who took the opportunity at every stop to play with their buckets in the snow and leave little snow castles dotted across the county. Of the properties we saw, we eliminated some from the running as being too difficult to develop. The remaining two are both great choices, but we need to do a little more investigation and number crunching before extending an offer on either. At this stage, we can't tell you much about the properties except in generalities. The two properties in the running are both larger than the Willow Street property, and both have nice sections of a stream or creek. They are less walkable than Willow Street, but easily bike-able to various amenities, and both have great school systems.
