Residents Press Phoenixville Council To Take Control of K-Center

PHOENIXVILLE, PA —Two dozen residents pleaded with Phoenixville Borough Council Tuesday night to prevent Toll Brothers from developing a 7.4-acre property by the legal process of eminent domain.

The eminent domain process allows the government to seize property for public use with payment to the property owner.

The Phoenixville Area School District board voted 5-3 in March in favor of selling the closed Kindergarten Center to Toll Brothers for $4.6 million to construct a 90-unit townhouse development on the site.

The one-story vacant school at 100 School Lane was built in 1958.

A hearing is scheduled on Oct. 17 in Chester County Justice Center on a request to approve the purchase.

The residents have been pressing for about two years to prevent the sale.

The borough’s offer to the school board to pay $1.8 million for the property for a park and STEM learning center was turned down.

The Green Team, a nonprofit group, fears if the property is sold to a developer it will create traffic, noise and pollution.

Most recently, Phoenixville Area Friends of Open Space, collected nearly 1,300 signatures of residents opposing the sale.

About 20 residents spoke in person and on Zoom for more than an hour at the council meeting. A resident carried a sign saying, "Save the K-Center,"

Dana Waldman said the land protects the residents from flooding and is a place where friends and family can gather.

"I understand the need for development, but let's not forget the people of Phoenixville," she said.

Lisa Lingo, a former school board member, said the space is the last large piece of land that can be preseved in the borough.

She said the COVID-19 pademic will be less eventful that the long-term effects of global warming.

Bob Weber said the eminent domain process is a quick way to stop the development of the land.

"We are trying to find a way to use the space to improve the quality of life in the borough," he said.