Sketch Plans Unveiled For Liberty Centre In Newtown Borough

This is the first in a series of articles about the newly proposed Liberty Center development.

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Steeple View redevelopment project has a new name, a new owner, and a new vision.

Newtown businessman Jim Worthington and a team of professionals have unveiled sketch plans for the much-anticipated Liberty Centre, a 125-unit residential development envisioned for eight acres in the heart of Newtown Borough.

The project site stretches south from Centre Avenue to behind the Wine & Spirits store and includes the former beer store, which will be demolished as part of the redevelopment. Much of the land had been part of the former Stockburger Chevrolet dealership.

Worthington, who owns the Newtown Athletic Club, acquired the property from developer Allan Smith earlier this year after Smith approached Worthington with an offer to sell.

Smith had secured plan approvals for phase two of the Steeple View redevelopment project. His plan included three mixed-use buildings with apartments, retail and restaurant uses; four residential buildings; a creek walk; and a 5,000-square-foot public piazza.

Since acquiring the land and after talking with key stakeholders, Worthington has changed the name of the project to "Liberty Center" and revised plans for the site, dropping retail and restaurant uses and reducing the project’s overall traffic impact by 1700 trips per week, or 85,000 a year.

The new plan for the Steeple View site shows three residential buildings (dark brown) and an enlarged public plaza (far right, light brown area). The Wine & Spirit store is the light gray building in the foreground.

“We heard it time and time again - too much traffic. We addressed that,” said Worthington.

What he’s keeping is a proposed walkway along the Newtown Creek and a public plaza, which he is proposing to triple in size.

“The outside spaces are the ones I am most interested in. To me, this could become the center of the town. The town square I’m proposing would enhance the town to the next level," said Worthington.

“We took the 5,000 square foot plaza and we’ve tripled the size of it," he continued. "We want it to be a real town center.”

The proposed creek walk will also be enhanced from Smith’s original vision.

“We want it more like a promenade. Not big, but something more grand with beautiful lighting, a landscaped trail, and benches that would lead from Centre Avenue up to the Chandler Hall ballfields with a bridge across the creek.”

At the heart of the site will be three new multi-story residential buildings with about 30 to 40 units each that would be built along the western side of the property.

“I’m not interested in doing anything that isn’t a legacy project,” said Worthington. “I have a number of projects on the books right now. This is number one mainly because this is where I come for a sandwich or a cup of coffee. I love the borough, and I would never do anything to take away from it.

“At the end of the day, you’re going to have something that is going to be talked about, and people are going to say they really did something special here.

“When you look down Centre Avenue or if you look down from State Street, you’re going to be impressed,” said Worthington.

Worthington has hired the firm of Minno Wasko, which specializes in downtown redevelopment and revitalization, to design a project that fit in with the surrounding downtown.

“This is a very important site for your downtown. And this is the opportunity to get it right,” said Minno Wasko architect Michael Lawson, who is designing a "new neighborhood" to fit in with the downtown area.

“We looked at what the original plan was and said we can do better. And Jim has been pushing us to do better throughout this process," said Lawson.

“Some of the things we looked at is how do we create a project that lasts the test of time, that is successful for the downtown, and provides the appropriate uses on this site that also support the uses you have already in your downtown," the architect said.

Lawson said one of the first things they looked at was whether to include retail and restaurant space as part of the plan. They decided against the idea for several reasons, including the impact on traffic and parking.

“You also don’t want to put new retail in where you have vacant storefronts that you want to fill," he said. Rather, he said, "You want to bring in ‘walking wallets' - people who live downtown who can walk out of their doors and walk to the local Starbucks or walk to the bakery or the liquor store or any of the businesses along State Street that really need that business to survive."

The next part will take a closer look at the details of what is envisioned and the reaction of town planners.