Bensalem, redeveloper work to protect Drexel property ahead of housing construction
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Security measures are being taken to protect the former Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem as it has been struck by vandalism while it awaits redevelopment into townhomes and a senior housing complex.
Leonard Poncia, the president of Aquinas Realty Partners, met last week with township, police and fire officials, as well as with the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, who still own the 44-acre historic property under agreement of sale to Aquinas. The group discussed how best to secure the Bristol Pike property to protect it both before and during the redevelopment.
Poncia said the township and he will assist the sisters in installing a chain-link fence and security cameras around the property as well as make sure the buildings have property security to prevent break-ins.
Bensalem Mayor Joseph DiGirolamo said he himself has been checking the buildings a couple of times a day to try to ensure they are safe.
"We are making a plan. We need to do it as soon as possible ... That place is very special to us in Bensalem. There has been some vandalism reported," the mayor said. " "We're living in a day and age where you have to protect everything."
Bensalem Council President Edward Kisselback said township officials "have had numerous conversations with Len Poncia. We have asked him to put security on the property to address our concerns. He has recently assured us that he is ready to proceed with the land development," he said.
"I agree that it has been too long and hope that it will come to fruition."
In February of 2022, Poncia has said he had hoped to be ready to proceed with construction in the next year.
Councilman Joseph Knowles said that he has walked the property and that there have been some windows broken but he has not seen any serious damage to the buildings or grounds.
Drexel Shrine has storied history in Bensalem
The history of the former shrine dates back to the late 19th century when wealthy Philadelphia heiress Katharine Drexel started the Blessed Sacrament Sisters and built the motherhouse in Bensalem near her family's summer home in the Torresdale section of Northeast Philadelphia. She gave her fortune so the congregation she founded could serve as missionaries to Blacks and Native Americans around the country. She died in 1955 and was canonized a saint by the Catholic Church in 2000.
When the sisters could no longer maintain the extensive property and motherhouse, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia had the body of St. Katharine Drexel enshrined in the Cathedral-Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul in the city. The former shrine site will retain a chapel for use by the residents who will move into the redeveloped site.
DiGirolamo knew St. Katharine when she lived at the motherhouse and said the former shrine on Bristol Pike is an important piece of Bensalem's history and needs to be protected. Thousands of visitors made trips to the shrine each year.
"Everyone is working together...to make sure it's preserved forever," he said. "We're talking about history."
More: Developer agrees to buy Drexel shrine, plans age-restricted housing
Drexel shrine site in Bensalem has approvals
Aquinas Realty Partners won the bid to purchase the site in 2018. The site has been under agreement of sale since then. Poncian said in a phone interview Tuesday that he has received all the needed approvals but they are now in the review stage before the documents will be signed. Aquinas will take over ownership when the construction begins.
The development ran into delays with the pandemic and with the need for a sanitary sewer system force-main and pumping station, but he said Aquinas has received the needed approvals for this equipment. The Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority also confirmed the issue has been resolved.
Poncia declined to say when the construction will begin but said he is working now on pricing the units which are expected to include 90 market-rate townhomes, 260 active adult rental units and a 300-bed senior living facility with both assisted and memory-care units, which will utilize a portion of the existing motherhouse facility and will include the chapel.
He acknowledged that construction costs and mortgage rates have risen in the past few years but said Aquinas will try to ensure that pricing "so people can enjoy their senior years."
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: St. Katharine Drexel shrine site to be protected, redveloped
