Plans To Redevelop Mill Race Inn On The Agenda In Northampton

NORTHAMPTON TOWNSHIP — The decades old saga of the Mill Race Inn may finally have an ending.

The latest plan to breathe new life into the dilapidated Mill Race Inn is scheduled to go before the Northampton Township Board of Supervisors on Wednesday night, Feb. 26 at 7 p.m.

The supervisors are scheduled to vote on preliminary as final plans for the site which calls for the redevelopment of the Buck Road property in the heart of Holland with a residential condominium complex overlooking Mill Creek.

The plan proposes to redevelop the site with one- and two-bedroom condominium units spread out over two different buildings that will boast views of picturesque Mill Creek.

To make way for the new condominiums, part of the former mill will be demolished while preserving the historic portion - about 2,000 square feet. The restored portion of the mill would be reused as office space.

“The site is a challenge and it’s been a challenge for many, many years," said land development attorney Douglas Maloney who is representing developer M.J. Costigan of Yardley with the project. "The site is irregularly shaped and it is bordered by the creek and by Buck Road. And it's also subject to very steep slopes. It has very real development challenges."

“A number of developers have tried to design improvements. Quite honestly, we’ve gotten further than anyone,” said project engineer Keith Dumack.

During a meeting last spring, township planners expressed support for the effort to redevelop the longtime eyesore, but added a list of conditions to its motion that it would like to see the developer address including limited parking spaces on site, access into and out of the site, pedestrian continuity, potential floodplain interference and topography issues.

A rendering of the proposed condos planned for the Mill Race Inn site.

"We’ve very happy you folks came before us. We hope this project can be molded into something that works for that area, works for the residents who will be living there and works for existing residents," said planning commission chairman Steve Saddlemire. "This is really an opportunity to enhance the whole Holland community.”

The Mill Race Inn has been shuttered since 1999 when the remnants of Hurricane Floyd caused significant damage to the building. It sustained additional damage in 2001 when a dam broke on Mill Creek as a result of driving rain. Since then, the once popular restaurant and event venue has deteriorated into a “total state of disrepair."

In 2013, the board of supervisors took action to address the decaying property, declaring the 14,000-square-foot building as blighted under the Pennsylvania Urban Redevelopment Law.

The supervisors also voted to engage the services of the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County (RDA) to “take action” to redevelop the site through the condemnation of the property.

With the property deemed blighted, the RDA and the township moved forward with condemnation proceedings against the property with the goal of having it “rehabilitated, renovated and put back into a functional purpose.”

The owners – Mill Race Inn, Ltd, of Langhorne – challenged the condemnation in the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas in 2015 arguing that the RDA did not follow proper procedures when it proceeded with its condemnation of the property.

The court, after hearing arguments from both sides, rejected the objections made by the owners allowing the condemnation to move forward. The owners appealed the decision to Commonwealth Court, which upheld the lower court ruling finding in favor of the RDA.

In February 2017, the RDA put the property up for sale encouraging developers and private investors to come forward with development proposals that would preserve the historic nature of the building. Following a public bidding process, the supervisors accepted a proposal from Riviera House LLC to purchase the property for $275,000.

Riviera had submitted the winning bid for the blighted property.

Riviera had planned to spend more than $2 million restoring the original mill portion of the building and renovating the local landmark into a Mediterranean-style restaurant with seating and event space for between 100 and 150 people.

The developer, however, couldn’t get the economics to work. “It didn’t make sense from a feasibility standpoint," said township supervisor Barry Moore at the time.

Fast forward to 2020. The board of supervisors approved the sale of the property to M.J. Costigan of Yardley, which has now been working on a development plan for the site for the past five years.