While there is to be no more testimony, Chadds Ford Township supervisors kept open a conditional use hearing so one board member could review the testimony for which he was absent.
Supervisors opened the hearing on Oct. 2 — prior to the start of their regular meeting — for an Ambassador Inn and Suites that’s planned for the old Watkins building on Route 202. Two witnesses testified, but Supervisor George Thorpe could not get to the hearing until late. He will review the testimony he missed and the board will resume, and then close, the hearing during its November meeting.
Land planner Wayne Grafton testified that the proposed extended-stay hotel would use the same building as is there now and that there will be no expansion of the current footprint. The proposed 28-room hotel would fit within the current 11,500 square foot structure.
Landscaping would be improved and the impervious cover in the parking area would be reduced. The number of parking spaces would be reduced from 60 to 57.
The site, located at 1516 Wilmington Pike, on the west side of Route 202 farther north than Jimmy John’s on the east side, will keep the same right in/right out access.
Grafton said the building — vacant for 10 or more years — is currently “functionally and visually obsolete” and adds nothing to the community. Turning it into a hotel would “have a positive impact.”
Owner Brian McFadden, who owns three other hotels — one in West Chester and two in Ocean City, N.J. — said there will be no restaurant or bar, but there will be kitchenettes in each of the rooms.
There will also be no pool or tennis courts and he agreed to accept a condition preventing them.
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.
(3 votes, average: 4.33 out of 5)
Loading...
Comments