Devon Could Get a New Landmark 'Town Center'

In a move which could see history repeat itself-at least in one way- Urban Outfitters is hoping to build a new town center in the shadow of history and in the tradition of the fabled Devon Inn.

Township officials confirm that under a proposal presented to the Easttown Township Planning Commission Tuesday, Urban Outfitters wants to develop "Devon Yard" on the 6.5 acres that was home to Waterloo Gardens in Devon for decades until the nursery and home store closed the location in June 2012.

Urban Outfitters leased the site from developers Eli Kahn and Wade McDevitt.  McDevitt is the President of the Devon Horse Show and Founder/CEO of the McDevitt Company, a high-end retail shop and boutique development company. 

The literal centerpiece of the development would be a 93-room boutique hotel operated by a company that the presenters did not identify during the meeting on Tuesday.

According to the plan presented to the Planning Commission, Urban Outfitters would operate an Anthropologie store and a Terrain Garden Center. Terrain is an upscale nursery and garden center.  According to the plan presented Tuesday the Terrain store would also include a "farm-to-table" cafe.

As Waterloo Gardens was closing its final store location in Exton in August, co-owner Lucy LeBoutillier told Patch that she had hoped Terrain would be a part of whatever development ended up taking over the Devon location.  She indicated that a deal was in the works, but could not reveal any details at the time. This presentation would appear to confirm negotiations that Waterloo Gardens officials had indicated had been ongoing for many months.  

In addition to the hotel, Anthrolopologie, and Terrain, the plans call for a fine dining restaurant, a mid price range restaurant, a specialty foods market, and a spa/wellness/boutique exercise studio.

Easttown Township Manager Dan Fox says the project as presented would bring about $260,000 in real estate taxes to the property which currently brings in about $18,000 per year.  Officials estimate the project would bring in about $3million in annual taxes to the Tredyffrin/Easttown School Disitrct.

The center would bring a major "downtown" to Devon which has no centralized business district.  The development is proposed for a location that once was home to a boardwalk that took guests from the Devon Train Station to the grand Devon Inn.  The original Devon Inn was built as a resort for wealthy Philadelphians who wanted to escape the heat of the city in the summer.  The first Devon Inn building burned down one year after its opening 1882.  The Inn was rebuilt and re-opened within a year and remained a playground for the wealthy until 1913. 

The first Devon Horse Show was a one day event staged on the lawn of the Inn. Developers say the new development would retain the feel of the original Devon Inn.

The project will now be presented to Easttown Township's Board of Supervisors scheduled for October 21 at 7:30 p.m..