November 4, 2025

Members of the Save Ridge Road group in Chadds Ford are continuing their fight to alter the most recently proposed development of the lot at the intersection of Route 202 and Ridge Road. The Save Ridge Road group set up a table outside the Calvary Chapel on election day and were talking with voters and collecting names and email addresses.

The property is in Concord Township, but it abuts Chadds Ford, and residents contend the commercial development will have a negative impact on the homes and residents on Ridge Road and the neighboring streets. They argue that there would be an excess amount of traffic on Ridge Road and that a proposed gas station and car wash could affect the water table and spoil well water.

“Our group of concerned homeowners would like there to be no entrance on Ridge Road, no gas station, no car wash, no fast-food drive-through, if possible,” said Ellen Spoehr. “We would like Chadds Ford Township to claim standing as a contiguous neighboring township.”

The current plan calls for a total of 10 buildings, with anywhere from one to five tenants in each building. In addition to the car wash, gas station, and fast-food restaurants, there would also be a supermarket. And there is still the issue of Ridge Road, which is expected to be widened, with the main entrance to the commercial development being on Ridge. Whatever happens on Ridge will be up to PennDOT since Ridge is a state road.

She also said that the group had read three deeds to the property, with the latest one indicating that a small piece of Chadds Ford Township is included in the area to be developed.

Historically, the property was owned by Capano Management, and the property was approved for a development with a small piece of Chadds Ford included to be used for residences. But Capano sold to Pettinaro Commercial Real Estate who reduced the size of the development and eliminated the Chadds Ford parcel.

Chadds Ford Township challenged Pettinaro’s plan and was involved in several lawsuits, but to no avail. Pettinaro failed to develop the property and then sold it to Retail Sites, a New Jersey-based company that owns it now and has reduced the size of the development, according to Retail Sites President Robert Hill.

“But we have plotted out the deed to this parcel,” Spoehr said, “and what Pettinaro sold off to Retail Sites, there is still a small portion that’s in Chadds Ford Township. So, the property to be developed, which has been segmented out, is still in Chadds Ford Township, according to the deed on record.”

Hank Somers, also a part of Save Ridge Road, was asked if they wanted the township to fight the development.

‘We can’t go back to 2007, 2008, and 2017. From what I’ve learned recently is that the township has done, so far, what they can do, and they’re looking for new avenues to explore,” he said. “In parallel to that, we might agree on certain key issues, and some issues we think certain we think we can get into ourselves.”

Among those issues are environmental in nature, such as protecting the Brandywine watershed from runoff from the development. The other issue is green space.

“With that development, all that foliage is going to go away. So, all these horrific storms, the water will go right down the hill. We’re all on well water, and we’ve heard that once well water is contaminated, you never get it right.”

When specifically asked what they would like the township to do, Spoehr interjected that they want the township to claim standing in the approval process “to compel the developer to present this plan to our Planning Commission because a township-owned road, Heyburn Road, is going to be seriously impacted. We are a contiguous neighboring township. The Concord Township code requires that the developer work closely with us. And their [Concord Township’s] attorney and their attorney has reached out to the developer to request this.”

(Chadds Ford Live phoned Robert Hill for confirmation, but he was unavailable for comment.)

What would the group be OK with?

“We would be OK with a commercial development that is more in line with our community, paying attention to green space within the development,” Spoehr said. “We believe that the development should be responsible, thoughtful, and in scale with our community.”