Arden Forge development approved

Birmingham Township supervisors, Monday night, granted final
approval for a land development plan for the Arden Forge at the five-point
intersection in the Village of Dilworthtown. The vote was 2-0. Supervisor Bill
Kirkpatrick was out of town.

Supervisors placed a number of conditions on their approval
because of the historic nature of the site. According to Mark Gross, vice
chairman of the Birmingham Township Historic Commission, the site was used as a
storage facility for the British military during the French and Indian War.

Chadds Ford builder Gary Whelan bought the property and
wants to develop it into a small commercial facility. There are four structures
on the property and Whelan wants to raze two of them. The other two buildings
would be rented for commercial or professional use with normal 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
hours.

Whelan said he would take down a 600 square foot log cabin
manually, but that another building would come down using a backhoe.

Taking down the log cabin by hand became one of the
conditions. Another condition was that Whelan should consider the advice of
archeological experts regarding the demolition of historic structures.

Another condition is that the number of parking spaces be
limited to 18 and that prospective tenants need to declare how many employees
they will have there to insure sufficient parking.

Neighboring residents had some concerns. One such concern
was that work on the property would cause closure of Birmingham Road, requiring
students to walk along the road to get to and from school buses.

Whelan said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation
permit prevents any road closure between 6 an 9 a.m. or between 3 and 6 p.m.

If the work goes smoothly, the buildings should be ready for
lease in about eight months, Whelan said.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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