Andale Green age-restricted development is no more

Wonder what’s happening with Andale Green, the Moulton Builders-proposed age-restricted community on Hancock Street in Lansdale?

Wonder no more.

It’s no longer happening.

Jim Moulton approached the code enforcement and land planning committee Wednesday night in regard to the development at 135 E. Hancock Street, the demolished 14.5-acre triangle parcel of land spanning from the Stony Creek train crossing to Line Street, and bordered by the SEPTA R5 tracks.

The property is a former Superfund site and encompasses seven parcels.

Moulton said between now and when the conditional use request was approved for the development in 2006, the age-restricted market has died.

“This plan was conceived of in the market of 2006. When we got the approvals is when everything changed,” Moulton said. “The market disappeared for our project.”

He asked the committee to recommend to borough council to support the project and change the conditional use to another land development.

“We cannot get the financing to move forward with age-restricted,” Moulton said.

Committee chairman Paul Clemente said that the new rendering may or may not be the same.

“In order to cross that bridge, you need us to do this,” Clemente said.

The committee  -- comprised of Clemente, councilmen Mike Riccio and Jack Hansen, as well as borough engineer Chris Fazio and code enforcement director John Ernst – unanimously agreed to move the project forward.

“Bring us back something that’s going to sell,” Riccio said.

Hansen echoed the same sentiment.

“(Moulton’s) not going to give us a bad project,” he said.

Moulton thanked the board for the easy request.

“I’d like to walk away and be proud of it,” he said of the project.

Moulton could not say what type of housing or development would be constructed on the parcel.

“At this point, we have to explore our options,” he said. “There are significant changes at this point.”

The PEAK Center in Lansdale was involved with this project, and plans still call for a new building to be built on the parcel, near the intersection of Line Street where the Guardian Fire Equipment Co. was once located.

Moulton said those plans are still on paper, but the center is struggling to get funding for the project.

The project called for nine buildings at 32 units per building, for a total of 288 living units. Each building would have four stories built over a ground-level parking garage. There was also a 30,000-square-foot commercial building that included a designated area for a clubhouse.

Pieces of the former Hancock Business Center and the building that housed Rogers Mechanical Engineering remain behind tattered fencing across from Stony Creek Park.