Doylestown Township approves low-income senior housing. Here's the plan
Affordable housing for seniors and market-rate townhouses are coming to Doylestown Township after officials there were able to reach a deal with the developer and neighboring Doylestown Borough over the land at the towns' border.
Doylestown Township Supervisors voted 4-0 to approve a revision to the township's limited industrial zone Tuesday night to allow the project to move forward. Supervisor Nancy Santacecelia was absent from the meeting.
As part of the deal, Doylestown Borough will get a dog park along Broad Street, next to the new housing.
The township and borough had been at odds over Arcadia Land Company's plan to build a low-income housing complex on industrial land in the township next to the borough.
The borough objected to the proposal because officials feared allowing housing in the industrial area along Broad Street would attract other housing developers and the borough would have to deal with the traffic and services needed for these new township residents.
Borough Manager John Davis said a compromise was reached and a legal appeal by the borough was avoided.
"We succeeded in getting the developer to agree to a change in the proposed text amendment that effectively limits high density residential development to the 280 North Broad property," Davis said, adding that "the potential for over 1,300 new dwelling units in the Broad Street corridor as a result of this ordinance change was an enormous concern for us."
Arcadia President Jason Duckworth said he was "so pleased" the deal could be worked out. "I'm delighted that Doylestown is going to make room for a small number of low income seniors. Nice places should be available for everyone," he said.
The development, to be constructed by Arcadia partner, Pennrose, will include 60 age-restricted apartments including 57 that are income restricted to those with annual incomes below $47,460 and three that will be for those age 62 or older in the workforce, as well as 18 market rate townhomes.
These most likely will be priced in the $500,000s, Duckworth said. The apartments will be targeted to older veterans but other low-income seniors could live there as well.
Actual construction work won't begin until 2025, he said, as the land development plan has to be devised and presented to township officials.
The parcel, the former Tilley Fire Solutions site, includes three acres in the township and 0.8 acres in the borough. Duckworth said that a portion of the borough land will be used for a road and the remaining less than a half-acre will be turned into the dog park that the borough wants, rather than developed for another use.
Duckworth said the zoning change only applies to an area within a half-mile of the Doylestown town center and the dog park could be used by residents of the development and others.
"This would offset some of the traffic and other impacts of the residential development while providing an amenity for our residents. We would own and control this park," Davis said.
Doylestown Township Manager Stephanie Mason said the two municipalities worked out the deal during two Doylestown Township Planning Commission meetings and that she thought borough officials were pleased with the resolution.
"This is a good step," she said.
This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Doylestown affordable housing targets seniors, veterans
