32 Townhouses Coming To Easton Road In Warrington Township

WARRINGTON TOWNSHIP, PA — Two tracts of land originally proposed for 20,000 square feet of retail space will instead be redeveloped with 32 new townhouses.

At its December meeting, the board of supervisors approved preliminary/final plans for Valley Ridge, to be built on four and a half acres on Easton Road between Valley Square Boulevard and Hilltop Lane in the corridor mixed-use overlay zoning district.

Two existing homes and accessory improvements at 771 to 807 Easton Road will be demolished to make way for the new community, which will front on Easton Road and be bisected by Georges Lane.

Carlino Commercial Development had previously proposed to develop the site with 20,000 square feet of commercial uses, but after discussions with neighbors and the township, it was determined that the site was better suited to a residential use.

An amendment to the zoning ordinance was subsequently passed, subjecting the Valley Ridge property and several others to the corridor mixed-use overlay district, which allows for commercial and traditional townhouses.

The layout of the new 32-unit townhome development with Georges Lane bisecting the new community. In the foreground is Easton Road. At right is Valley Square Boulevard.

The single-family residential community will be developed with two-car garages, driveways, sidewalks, robust landscaping, lighting, on-street parking, 13,000 square feet of open space, a sidewalk connection to Valley Square, and stormwater management facilities.

Under the township’s ordinance, the plan also requires the townhomes to be built with sound-deadening materials due to its location on a major arterial roadway in the township.

The plan also calls for improvements to Hilltop Lane, Ivanhoe Road, Georges Lane, and a new one-way access road connecting the development to Valley Square Boulevard.

The new roadway connector and the roads internal to the development will be maintained by the Homeowners Association.

“The project will be a benefit to the community by redeveloping the property and providing a transitional use between the commercial uses and residential,” said Carrie Nase, an attorney with Fox Rothschild, representing the developer.

The Valley Ridge project is part of a two-pronged redevelopment project targeting both sides of Easton Road.

“I’ve witnessed this for five years and I know there’s been a number of things that have taken place to allow this to occur. I also remember that this project was not to move forward unless the other side of 611 - Oakfield - was planned at the same time - so both would have the same look and feel so that we wouldn’t have homes on one side and vacant land on the other,” said Supervisors Chairman Mike Diorka.

According to the developer’s attorney, plans are pending for the Oakfield side, which envisions a small commercial building with sidewalks and a pedestrian connection across Route 611.