Sellersville Borough attracts builders with construction plans in tiny Bucks County town
Sarah Franks moved to Sellersville for the home she could afford to rent and the small-town feeling it provided she and her son Maxwell.
With Max in school, Franks could walk to a coffee shop on Main Street, sip on some java, and answer a few emails.
The Allentown native was happy to live somewhere “quiet,” without crime, yet close enough to the city.
Developers are attracted, too.
A tiny, square patch on any map of Upper Bucks County, Sellersville has now drawn the attention of builders with projects in all corners of town and a handful of other developments planned just outside the borough.
Sellersville is just one square mile and its population, under 5,000, has hardly budged since its 18th century founding, according to the U.S. Census.
That could change with proposed building projects.
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The largest among them was recently shot down by the borough council, and the developer did not respond to requests for comment on the future of the site.
Near the corner of East Park and Hughes avenues, the Curtis Building Group seeks to construct a six-story apartment building with 115 units and about 12,000 square feet of commercial space – about enough room for two restaurants.
The future of that property remains in question.
On a now wooded former industrial site off East Clymer Avenue, developer 4th Soil Sellersville L.P. has applied to construct six warehouses totaling 307,300 square feet.
The developer went before the planning commission in January 2021 and July with that board voting to recommend the project this summer. That project has yet to go before the borough council.
Near the corner of North Main and 12th Streets, developer Anthony Cino seeks permission to build 33 townhouses and two semi-detached "twin "homes. The land is currently vacant.
Plans have yet to go before the borough council.
Just outside of town, Pacaz Realty and the Carlyle Management Group plan an eight-bay tire service center. The Mavis Tire shop is to be built near Constitution Avenue and Arbor Boulevard next to the Perkasie Skate Park.
In May, borough officials cut the ribbon on yet another project ― the Sellersville Senior Residences.
The nonprofit Grace Inspired Ministries drove the project, securing funds from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Administration, Bucks County government, Bucks County Housing Authority, Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh among other groups.
Assistance from public sources included a $11.6 million federal low-income housing tax credit, a $2.6 million PHFA low-interest mortgage, $846,000 in reinvestment capital from Bucks County, $405,000 from the FHLB, and $119,000 from the Bucks County Housing Authority.
Of the 50 apartments, eight will be set aside for those with behavioral health issues and who have Section 8 vouchers.
Borough officials declined to discuss ongoing construction projects under review.
Sellersville grew up around a hotel and country store then operated by Samuel Sellers along the Bethlehem Pike road connecting Philadelphia to the town of Bethlehem. Construction of the North Pennsylvania Railroad brought to town textile mills and a cigar factory, which is today listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.
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This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Sellersville Borough in Upper Bucks County has development projects under review
