Pulte Homes has developed a concept plan to bring a mix of residential and commercial to 57 acres along Route 73 between Bridge and Cressman roads.
A national home builder operating in 23 states since the 1990s – who is presently constructing homes in Hatfield and Horsham townships – has begun a unique discussion on the future development of the open parcel at the intersection of Routes 73 and 113 in Skippack Township.
Pulte Homes appeared before township supervisors Wednesday night with a sketch plan and a concept – 349 residential homes, of three different varieties, ranging in price from the upper $300,000s to the upper $600,000s, and commercial storefronts along Skippack Pike.
“There’s a property at the intersection of 73 and 113 (Bridge Street) that’s undeveloped at this time,” said supervisors Chairman Paul Fox. “They asked to meet with us to share their idea of what it could look like. We asked them, in full transparency, to do it in public. There is no ask on the table.”
Questions and feedback were taken from the supervisors and public after a presentation by Pulte Homes representatives Sam Carlo, vice president of land acquisitions, and John Kennedy, planner for the property.
“This is something we haven’t done routinely in the past. It is unique. As I understand it, there is no application, and nothing has been submitted,” said Solicitor Joe Kuhls. “It’s just a discussion. The township is under no obligation to react in any way, at any period of time. This board – the elected officials – and staff are seeing this plan for the first time with everyone else.”
The property is in fact multiple parcels that altogether comprise 57 acres, located between Cressman Road and Bridge Road along Skippack Pike, currently owned by Medical Components Inc. on Delp Drive in Towamencin.
“This is known as the Markel property, and the entire property is composed of 57 acres. The property is split-zoned – a majority is zoned SC-Shopping Center and the balance of it is LI-Limited Industrial,” Kennedy said. “I know several years ago there was an actual plan for a shopping center on this site and it did advance quite far into the process.”
Kennedy said, under the Shopping Center zoning district, the “by-right” uses allowed are agricultural and open space/natural land, and, by conditional use, a shopping center.
“On the site plan, you’ll notice this is the museum that Mike Markel owns and Mr. Markel will retain this portion of the property, about 10.5 acres,” Kennedy said. “With that, it leaves us with an approximately 44 acres for proposed development.”
The sketch plan concept proposes more than 50,000 square feet of commercial space along Route 73/Skippack Pike and Cressman Road, Kennedy said.
“The most important piece would be a site for a small supermarket. When I say ‘small,’ more like a boutique-type supermarket. It would not be a huge Giant or Acme. This would be 20,000 square feet, so something like a Lidl store or a Fresh Fields or possibly a Trader Joe’s, but a much, much smaller type of specialized grocery store,” he said. “Because I recently lived in Harleysville for 15 years, I know this area could use this kind of market.”
The one-story commercial space, he said, is deliberately brought close to Skippack Pike with the “goal to extend the Village further west.”
“I know, in the past, this has been a goal of the township, and through zoning has tried different elements. This would be more of a comprehensive way of accomplishing that,” Kennedy said.
Residential housing is proposed to be a mix of condos, carriage homes, and townhomes with garages.
The condos would comprise about 50 units over four buildings, with parking underneath or at-grade. There would also be 22-foot-wide townhomes with the option of underground 2-car parking garages, and lastly, 30-foot-wide carriage homes, with an option to have a master bedroom upstairs or downstairs.
The condo buildings are proposed to be between 57 and 67 feet high, per Carlo, and are similar to ones Pulte is building in Hatfield Township.
Carlo said the townhomes would be a little more than 2,000 square feet and stand three stories tall. The ground floor would be the garage, family room, and office space, with the first floor as actual living space, and the third floor is bedrooms. All townhomes would have a full and half-bath.
The two-story carriage home, Carlo said, would range in area from 2,400 to 2,700 square feet, with three- or four-bedroom options, a full bath, half bath, and two-car garage. Similar homes are currently being constructed by Pulte in Horsham across from the air base at County Line and Easton roads.
The condo buildings would range in square footage from 970 to 1,700, Carlo said. Parking spaces would be under the building, set either below ground like a basement or at grade.
“One of the goals we are trying to accomplish here is to provide a wider array of housing in the township,” said Kennedy. “I’m sure many of you are aware of the fact that we are in a housing crisis in this country, and we need not only more dwelling units, but a greater variety of them. We have lots of 20,000-square-foot single-family detached homes, but everyone either doesn’t want to live in one or can’t afford to.”
Kennedy said the concept has several advantages, including expanding Skippack Village west along Route 73 and installing sidewalks and pedestrian improvements, which would continue on Cressman and Bridge roads.
“We realize there are some issues with the Marshall property on the corner, and that is something we are looking at right now,” Kennedy said. “We are looking at potential traffic improvements.”
At one point in the meeting, township engineer Tim Woodrow, P.E., told the public and staff that the focus should not be so much on the plan itself, but rather how does the community envision the corner being used in the future.
“Is it a shopping center for this piece? Is it more than a shopping center? What can we see in the best scenario of what this property could be, and maybe that’s how we can frame our decisions tonight,” Woodrow said.
