Exton Square Redevelopment Advances Following Open Space, Flood Plain Adjustments
Plans for a mixed-use redevelopment of an ailing Chester County mall moved forward Tuesday after concerns about the project's density led to a roadblock during a contentious meeting last month.
The West Whiteland Planning Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to advance the project to the board of supervisors. But Chair Anita Nardone said during the meeting that she often fields one question from locals wary of the development: “Is there any way we could have just bought 75 acres and reforested it?”
The project will advance nonetheless.
Abrams Realty & Development amended its master plan for Exton Square to address open space and flood plain concerns raised during the July meeting by residents and officials.
The township approved around 2,300 new units between 2015 and the end of 2024, Director of Planning and Zoning John Weller told Bisnow earlier this year. That is equivalent to about 25% of its entire housing stock.
ARD spent $34.3M to purchase the property from PREIT earlier this year. The project with 718 residential units and more than 280K SF of new retail is grandfathered into a previous version of the municipality’s town center zoning ordinance, which has since been amended to prevent this level of density.
The new layout includes nearly 10 acres that qualify as open space according to the municipality’s town center zoning ordinance, said Barton Partners principal Seth Shapiro, the project’s main architect. That is roughly 300% more than what is currently on the site.
It is also more than ARD’s previous plan, due mainly to the new green space added to common areas, but still not enough to satisfy the 29 acres required by the zoning code for a site of this size.
The previous version of the town center ordinance that the developer is bound by includes an option to pay a fee in lieu of some open space, which officials and ARD agree will come out to about $1.8M.
That number may come down since the plan includes amenities like green roofs, which can earn credits to minimize the payment. It isn’t yet clear how many credits ARD will receive on that front.
Flooding along Valley Creek, which cuts through the southeastern portion of the site, is also a major concern for officials. ARD plans to replant and regrade parts of the riparian buffer to minimize the potential impacts.
Nardone pushed for the developer, with partners like Chester County, to do other work to limit flood risks along the creek. She doesn’t envision these as creating extra expenses for ARD.
“We really need to leverage the investment that ARD is going to be doing here with other grants that can really help us,” Nardone said.
ARD is scheduled to make its first presentation to the Board of Supervisors Sept. 10. Before that, they also need to get approval from the Historic Commission Sept. 8 since the property contains the 275-year-old Zook House.
