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Happy Friday, residents!

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has sold the Embreeville property.  For many years Embreeville was home to a State-owned psychiatric hospital.  The property was then utilized for various educational and institutional uses until the buildings were vacated in 2010. The property now includes many athletic fields used by West Bradford Youth Athletics (WBYA).

Embreeville Updates

October 24, 2023 from 6:30PM to 8:00PM - PUBLIC WORKSHOP VISIONING SESSION

West Bradford Township is in the process of preparing the Master Plan for the 163 acre Embreeville Property. This Master Plan focuses on the preferred outcomes including the future use and enhancements for the property.

You are cordially invited to a Public Workshop Visioning Session on October 24th from 6:30PM to 8:00PM to be held at West Bradford Township 1385 Campus Drive, Downingtown PA.  During the Visioning Session we will have a community conversation on the draft Master Plan. Please come share your ideas!

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the Township Offices. We look forward to seeing you on October 24th!

Please click this link to look at the Draft of the Master Plan https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/68qmj333thpaltjuj47rt/WBT-Embreeville-Final-Master-Plan_Draft-1_10.18.23.pdf?rlkey=4d3gpn1riqco1jkvoa118qfhm&dl=0

2-28-23: Embreeville Preliminary Plan.

1-04-22:  Demolition has been completed and restoration work is currently taking place.  Due to winter temperatures, which will delay seed germination and stabilization, we anticipate final completion and closing to take place in the second quarter of 2022.

1-14-21:  Remediation is completed and demolition is underway.  We are optimistic that cleanup and restoration will be completed near the end of 2021.

2-10-20: The Chester County Court of Common Pleas has signed the order approving the Embreeville Settlement Agreement. The settlement is now officially completed. Remediation efforts are underway on the property. Those efforts are being monitored closely by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

OCTOBER 24, 2019:   EMBREEVILLE PRESS RELEASE

OCTOBER 23, 2019:  Please note that the scheduled November 6, 2019 Continued Hearing on Embreeville (Appeal #428) has been cancelled and THE appeal has been withdrawn. 

Oct. 22 - Board of Supervisors Special Embreeville Meeting @ West Bradford Elementary School - 7pm.    The Board voted in favor of the proposed Settlement Agreement with Embreeville Redevelopment.    The entirety of the Embreeville documents remain subject to further negotiation and finalization by both the Township and the developer.

NOTICE IS GIVEN that the Board of Supervisors of West Bradford Township will conduct a special public meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, at 7:00 p.m. at the West Bradford Elementary School, 1475 Broad Run Rd, Downingtown, PA 19335, to consider and possibly approve a Settlement Agreement with Embreeville Redevelopment L.P. (“Developer”).  Developer is the owner of real property located at 1818 West Strasburg Road, located between West Strasburg Road to the north and Telegraph Road to the south, known as Chester County Tax Parcel No. 50-8-9, containing approximately 200 acres.  Developer is also the equitable owner of real property located at 1750 West Strasburg Road and Shagbark Drive, being Chester County Tax Parcel No. 50-8-9.4 (the “SPCA Parcel”).  The proposed Settlement Agreement would settle a pending lawsuit filed by Developer which challenged the validity of the West Bradford Township Zoning Ordinance on grounds that it was substantively invalid by not providing a “fair share” of multifamily housing in the Township. Developer filed an appeal from the West Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board’s decision which dismissed Developer’s substantive validity challenge.  That appeal is pending before the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County. The Settlement Agreement would also settle a second pending application that Developer filed with the West Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board requesting a validity variance in order to use the Property and the SPCA Parcel for multifamily development.  The Board will consider and possibly approve the Settlement Agreement to resolve the outstanding appeal and application and authorize the Township to purchase the Property, less approximately 5 acres with existing buildings located thereon, for a purchase price of $22.5 Million Dollars.  The Settlement Agreement would require Developer to demolish all buildings on the portion of the Property proposed to be acquired by the Township, properly abate the asbestos in such buildings and obtain Act 2 environmental clearance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.  It would allow Developer to develop the SPCA Parcel with no more than 33 single-family detached dwellings based on a land development plan to be filed and reviewed by the Board.
   

A draft of the Settlement Agreement is available for public inspection and may be examined without charge or obtained for a charge not greater than the costs thereof at the Township’s municipal building located at 1385 Campus Drive during normal business hours Monday through Friday 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and is also available on the Township’s website, www.westbradford.org.  If any person who wishes to attend the meeting has a disability and/or requires an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to observe or participate in the meeting, he or she should contact the Township Building at (610) 269-4174 to discuss how those needs may be accommodated.  Township Manager

Embreeville Redevelopment LP – Status Report - October 16, 2019 Meeting:

   The Board of Supervisors conducted a special meeting on Wednesday, October 16, 2019 to discuss with the public a proposed settlement agreement with Embreeville Redevelopment LP, (“Developer”) the owner of the 200 acre parcel of property located at 1818 West Strasburg Road. Developer is also the equitable owner of the property located at 1750 West Strasburg Road and Shagbark Drive, referred to as the SPCA Parcel. The proposed Settlement Agreement would settle a pending lawsuit filed by Developer which challenged the validity of the West Bradford Township Zoning Ordinance on grounds that it was substantively invalid by not providing a “fair share” of multifamily housing in the Township. Developer filed an appeal from the West Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board’s decision which dismissed Developer’s substantive validity challenge. That appeal is pending before the Court of Common Pleas of Chester County. The Settlement Agreement would also settle a second pending application that Developer filed with the West Bradford Township Zoning Hearing Board requesting a validity variance in order to use the Property and the SPCA Parcel for multifamily development.

Over the past several weeks, the Board has been negotiating with the Developer in order to settle the outstanding appeal and application and allow the Township to purchase the 200 acre property, less approximately 5 acres with existing buildings located thereon, for a purchase price of $22.5 Million Dollars. The purchase price is based on an appraisal of the property that the Township commissioned. The Settlement Agreement would require Developer to demolish all buildings on the portion of the property proposed to be acquired by the Township, properly abate the asbestos in such buildings and obtain Act 2 environmental clearance from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. It would allow Developer to develop the SPCA Parcel with no more than 33 single-family detached dwellings based on a land development plan to be filed and subsequently reviewed by the Board.

In order to fund the purchase price of the property, the Board proposes to enact a real estate tax of one mill pursuant to the authority in the Local Tax Enabling Act. The board would also obtain bond financing and use revenue generated from the Township's open space tax for to pay for a portion of the property.

The parties are continuing to negotiate the final terms of the Settlement Agreement. As soon as that draft is completed, a copy will be made available on the Township's website. The Board intends - if all outstanding settlement matters are resolved - to conduct a special meeting on Tuesday, October 22, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. at the West Bradford Elementary School where the final terms of the settlement agreement and purchase of the property will be discussed and potentially approved by the Board. - UPDATES WILL BE SHARED AS DEVELOPMENTS OCCUR. Thank you!

Please note that the scheduled November 6, 2019 Continued Hearing on Embreeville (Appeal #428) has been cancelled and the appeal has been withdrawn. 

NOTICE: West Bradford Zoning Hearing Board will consider the following continued application and all other matters that properly come before it at 7PM on November 6, 2019 (CANCELLED) at the Township Building, 1385 Campus Dr., Downingtown.  CONTINUED APPEAL #428.  Applicant: Embreeville Redevelopment, L.P.  Application concerns property being UPI No. 50-8-9, consisting of 206+/- acres at 1818 West Strasburg Road, West Bradford Township.  Applicant seeks a  “use variance” and/or a “validity variance” from the IM Institutional/Mixed Use District Zoning Regulations at Zoning Ordinance Section 450-58, to permit redevelopment of the former Embreeville Center for uses which differ from those allowed under the Zoning Ordinance,  and which yield a combination of single-family attached, single-family semi-detached, 2-family detached,  and multiple family dwellings (including garden apartments) and “other similar uses”,  of a number “adequate to allow the reasonable development of the property.”   A variance for such uses is requested together with bulk and area variances as to lot area, lot width, maximum impervious surface area, maximum building height, and front, side and rear yard setbacks.  Copies of the applications are available for public inspection at the Township Building, M-F, 7AM - 4:30PM. If any person who wishes to attend the hearings has a disability and/or requires an auxiliary aid, service or other accommodation to observe or participate in the proceeding, s/he should contact the Township at (610) 269-4174 to discuss how these needs may be accommodated.     

NOTICE:  CONTINUED APPEAL #395 - EMBREEVILLE :  The West Bradford Zoning Hearing Board, at its meeting on  April 4, 2018, 7 p.m. at the Township Building, 1385 Campus Dr., Downingtown, will vote on their decision in the Public Hearing Appeal #395.   Applicant/Property: Embreeville Redevelopment ("Applicant"), LP/TPN 50-8-9 & 50-8.9.4. Applicant filed a substantive challenge to the Zoning Ordinance that questions the validity of the Zoning Ordinance. Applicant owns property located at 1818 W. Strasburg Rd., between W. Strasburg Rd. and Embreeville Rd./Telegraph Rd. in West Bradford and Newlin Townships. The portion in West Bradford is TPN 50-8-9. Applicant is equitable owner of adjacent property located in West Bradford known as TPN 50-8-9.4.  Both parcels are zoned IM-Institution/Mixed. Applicant has challenged validity of Ordinance 13-06, enacted Dec. 10, 2013, which amended various provisions of the Township Code of Ordinances, Ch. 450, Zoning. Applicant has also challenged the entirety of the Township Code of Ordinances, Ch. 450, Zoning, and asserts Ordinance is substantively invalid because it does not meet Township’s obligation to provide its fair share of a variety of housing types to meet the anticipated demand in the area for such housing units. The substantive challenge is brought pursuant to Sec. 909.1 & 916.1(a)(2) of the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code. In event Ordinance 13-06 is found invalid application challenges Township Zoning Ordinance as it existed prior Ordinance 13-06 adoption.  The Public Hearing is continued from proceedings last held on February 7, 2018.  Application copies and any explanatory materials provided by the Applicant are available for public inspection at the Township Building, M-F 7AM - 4:30 PM. 

11/08/13 – Revised Site Plan and Proposed Ordinance Submitted

The Owner of the Embreeville property submitted a revised site plan and proposed Ordinance to rezone this property.  The documents may be viewed here.  .

09/24/13 – Phase I and II Environmental Reports

Copies of three Phase I and Phase II environmental reports for the Embreeville property are available for public review at the Township Building.  The reports, commissioned by the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare in 2006, are over 400 pages.  An executive summary of each report can be viewed below:

Phase I - Embreeville Property

Phase I - Embreeville Wastewater Treatment Plant

Phase II - Embreeville Property

06/21/13 – Board of Supervisors Meeting on July 9

The Owner of the Embreeville property is scheduled to appear at the Board of Supervisors Work Session meeting on Tuesday, July 9.  The Owner submitted a revised concept plan for this property, and the concept plan may be viewed here.  The Work Session begins at 7:30 p.m., and this meeting is open to the public.

Revised Concept Plan

04/18/13 – Embreeville Concept Plan Presentation Available

Embreeville Concept Plan

08/15/12 – Embreeville Property Facts

About Embreeville

07/31/12 – USTC Offers Field Use for 2013

The United Sports Training Center says it has the ability to accommodate WBYA’s current soccer and lacrosse programs at its facility at Marshallton-Thorndale Road, should the Embreeville property be unavailable in 2013.  West Bradford Township has requested a meeting with WBYA to further explore this option.  West Bradford Township wishes to thank the United Sports Training Center for their continued support of our community!

 


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