Lower Makefield apartments plan draws some opposition
A developer’s plan to dramatically transform a small part of
the Edgewood Village section of Lower Makefield Township has drawn
opposition from some township supervisors.
At the Dec. 1 supervisors meeting, Cameron and C.T. Troilo and their
representatives presented a plan for 17 apartments on a 0.75-acre slice
of the village at Edgewood and Langhorne-Yardley roads called the Point.
Citing concerns with density and a component of the plan to lease 12
“overflow” parking spaces at the nearby township-owned Veterans Square
Park, the supervisors voted 3-2 to oppose some variances needed for the
project at the Dec. 7 zoning hearing board meeting. At the request of
the supervisors, the ZHB at that meeting agreed to postpone
consideration of the variances until the Feb. 15 meeting.
That will give the township’s Architectural Review Board and Historic
Commission more time to study the proposal. Supervisors Daniel Grenier,
John Lewis and James McCartney had voted to oppose the variances, with
board Chairwoman Suzanne Blundi and Fredric Weiss voting against that
motion.
Also at the Dec. 7 meeting, the zoning board approved variances
requested for another Troilo project in Edgewood Village called Flowers
Field, at Stony Hill and Langhorne-Yardley roads.
On the 17-apartment plan for the Point, Grenier said he felt like the
Troilos were trying to build too much on the small parcel, likening it
to “putting 10 pounds of potatoes into a five-pound sack.”
Grenier was also concerned about the developer’s plan to improve the
Veterans Square Park parking lot and lease 12 spaces there from the
township. The small park also has a large monument honoring veterans, a
playground and some other amenities.
Twenty-three parking spaces would be located onsite, at the Point property.
“I have a concern with having to go offsite and use township land,
especially at Veterans Square,” Grenier said at the Dec. 1 meeting. “I
would like you to consider what you might be able to do without using
the township land.”
“This doesn’t seem to have the same pedestrian accommodations,” he said. “I’ve seen better versions of this in the past.”
But Ed Murphy, the local attorney representing the Troilos on the proposal, said his clients are trying to turn a negative into a positive while maintaining the historical character of Edgewood Village.
The Point has two old and run-down structures called the Ishmael and Quill houses, both originally constructed in the 1800s. The Troilos propose to renovate the Ishmael House into one apartment, the Quill House into two apartments and also construct three new buildings, all two stories, with four apartments in two of the buildings and six in the other.
On the proposal to lease the parking spaces, Murphy said the Veterans Square lot is “underutilized, and we thought it could be a win-win if we could use it while also providing some additional revenue for the township.”
The Troilos’ other Edgewood Village development discussed at the Dec. 1 and 7 meetings, Flowers Field, was approved 10 years ago as a mix of residential, and office and restaurant space. But so far, the developer has only been able to build and sell most of the residential component with a mix of single-family houses, duplexes and townhomes, Murphy explained.
The variances granted Dec. 7, which the Troilos hope will better enable them to complete Flowers Field, change the proposed use proportions on the remaining construction.
They reduce the office space from 51,000 to 30,800 square feet, increase the proposed number of apartments from 12 to 30 and increase the restaurant space from 6,500 to 10,000 square feet.
