Chester County Press 8-09-2017 Edition

Page 1

Chester CountyPRESS

www.chestercounty.com

Covering Avon Grove, Chadds Ford, Kennett Square, Oxford, & Unionville Areas

Volume 151, No. 32

INSIDE

Hotel proposed for downtown Kennett Square

A preliminary concept drawing of a hotel that is being proposed for the 100 block of South Broad Street in Kennett Square.

A bigger home for Mala Galleria in Kennett Square...3B

INDEX Opinion........................7A Obituaries..................2B

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer An upscale hotel designed to match the historic character of Kennett Square has been proposed for the 100 block of South Broad Street. Preliminary details about the project were unveiled at the Aug. 7 meeting of Kennett Square Borough Council. The Kennett Realty Group is looking to construct the new hotel with approximately 100 to 110 rooms

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at the intersection of Broad and Cypress streets. The hotel would include a small restaurant that would serve quick foods for guests, meeting room spaces, and most likely two levels of parking that would occupy the lowest levels of the building. The Kennett Realty Group is a collaboration between two regional leaders in real estate development: Harvey, Hanna & Associates and The Commonwealth Group. Harvey, Hanna & Associates

is a third-generation business that ranks among Delaware’s largest real estate development companies. The Commonwealth Group, meanwhile, has been actively engaged in development, leasing and management services throughout the MidAtlantic region for more than 40 years. Donald S. Robitzer, Jr., the vice president of the Commonwealth Group, and Thomas J. Hanna, the chief operating officer of Harvey, Continued on Page 6A

The greening of southern Chester County just added another patch of ground. The Kennett Township Board of Supervisors announced at their Aug. 2 meeting that the township has purchased 63.8 acres of property between Burnt Mill and Old Kennett roads that contains a protected woodland, for $1.9 million. The property will be preserved as open space through a conservation easement held by The Land Conservancy for Southern Chester County (TLC), and will become a passive recreation area with trails and open space through the woodlands. It was acquired through a collaborative effort between the township’s Land Conservation Advisory Committee (LCAC), TLC and a private donor. The acquisition took over a year to complete. It is expected that 35 percent of

the purchase cost, which was paid through the township’s open space funds, may be able to be recouped through grant funds in the future. Township Manager Lisa Moore said that the township has the rights to sell development rights on the property in the future. The development rights have a value, but is currently prohibited against building. The proposed trails for the property will connect to an adjacent property, which has an open space and trail easement held by TLC. The purchase of the property -- and the future plans for it -- are the latest addition to the increasing network of trail connections that are bridging local municipalities, specifically seen in the grand plans for the Kennett Greenway. Board Chairman Scudder Stevens said that the purchase of the property is the latest addition to what is becoming a major conservation corridor. Continued on Page 6A

Facilities Input Group set to make recommendation about school buildings to Avon Grove School Board The school district has been evaluating how its school buildings support the educational needs of students. When the Facilities Input Group makes its recommendation to the school board, perhaps in September, planning will enter its next phase By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

After more than 15 months of work evaluatClassifieds..................6B ing the district’s school buildings and how well they support the rapidly changing educational needs of students, a Facilities Input Group is on track to deliver a nonbinding recommendation to the Avon Grove School Board on Sept. 14. The goal, according to Superintendent Dr. Christopher Marchese, is to develop a comprehensive facilities plan that will ensure that Avon Grove’s school buildings will meet the students’ long-term academic needs so that they are prepared to succeed. “We need to have learning spaces that support our students’ success,” Marchese said during an interview last week. He added that the district must balance fiscal responsibility toward the taxpayers with the acaCalendar of Events......4B

Township purchases and protects 63.8acre property By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

Education Guide

Local man completes cross-country bike journey...1B

60 Cents

Wednesday, August 9, 2017

AVON GROVE SCHOOLS at a glance Avon Grove High School

Avon Grove Intermediate School

Built: 1957 Renovations: 1970, 1997 and 2010 Addition: 2009 Portable classrooms (2017-18): 12

Built: 2002 Renovations: None Additions: None Portable classrooms (2017-18): None

Fred S. Engle Middle School

Penn London Elementary

Built: 1961 Renovations: 1970, 1997, and 2010 Addition: 2009 Portable classrooms (2017-18): 8

Built: 1992 Renovations: None Additions: 2002 Portable classrooms (2017-18): 5

demic needs of students as they make decisions that will have a far-reaching impact. In advance of the Sept. 14 meeting, Avon Grove sent out a newsletter to the community outlining the process that has been followed to reach this point and how the district will proceed moving

© 2007 The Chester County Press

Penn London Elementary

forward. Avon Grove enlisted Gilbert Architects to complete a facilities study in the fall of 2014, and the results of the study were shared with district officials in February of 2015. During the same time period, the school board updated its strategic plan that identified facilities

planning as a priority. In May of 2016, the district formed the Facilities Input Group, a task force comprised of a broad cross-section of the Avon Grove community― district administrators, parents from every school, residents from each municipality, current and former school board members, and other stakeholders. “We aspired to have a good mix of representation,” Marchese said. “I think we have a good group of people. They have spent a lot of time and energy on this.” The Facilities Input Group looked at the capacity and the utilization of each school building. The group reviewed enrollment projections, received information about the district’s current preventative maintenance plan, and discussed the data in the facilities study. Regarding the current

state of the district’s four school buildings, there are some inadequacies. All four schools are utilized at more than 100 percent of the functional capacity―both the Avon Grove High School and the Fred S. Engle Middle School have been over capacity for years, and portable classrooms are utilized to accommodate the number of students that the district has at the secondary level. There are currently 12 portable classrooms at the high school and 8 more at the middle school. The high school, built in 1957, and the middle school, built in 1961, have significant infrastructure shortcomings and are in need of repairs. The Penn London Elementary School, built 25 years ago, will have five portable classrooms for the upcoming school year, and the expansion to a full-day kindergarten Continued on Page 2A


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