Credit: Ingerman Construction
Last evening residents from across both the Twin Oaks and Highland Park sections of Middletown gathered at the Middletown Township Municipal Building to further voice their opinions regarding the possible construction of over 350 town home and apartment units in the area.
The units which would border the edge of Highland Park and Woodbourne Rd. would be situated behind the now closed K-Mart store along Business Route 1.
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The construction company Ingerman, which met previously in February to bring the plan to the attention of the local residents, held an open forum style meeting last night in the public meeting hall to discuss their now reduced plan. The new plan saw an almost 50% reduction in apartments to 198, and a 51% increase in town homes, now at 160.
“(Ingerman) believes in good planning and we have not taken this to the maximum build-ability even in the reduction,” a representative from Ingerman stated. “What you are seeing now with this new plan is a complete shift in the dynamic.”
Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com
The representative stated this change was a direct result of complaints by numerous residents heard at the last open meeting in February. Despite the efforts of Ingerman however, local residents of both bordering Levittown sections were not impressed.
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One resident stated that Ingerman has a history of building low-income and Section 8 housing and was worried that this new project would consist of such.
To find out more information about Ingerman, click here.
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While Brad Ingerman opened Ingerman Construction as an affordable housing initiative in 1994, their representative stated that these particular units will be built as luxury units, catering to ‘renters by choice’.
“It is not my job to pick and choose who may live here, but unfortunately if you cannot pay what we are charging for our rent, than you cannot live on the property,” the representative stated.
Tentatively, rent for the apartment units start around $1300 monthly, and sale prices for town home units will begin around $200,000.
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The worry for many residents extended beyond the types of homes being built in the location and focused more on the depreciating value of their own homes and the land around it.
“We moved here for a reason,” a local Highland Park resident stated. “I would have never bought my house if there was an apartment complex in the backyard.” Her comment drew nearly the entire audience to chant and clap.
Credit: Amanda Kuehnle/LevittownNow.com
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The Ingerman representative stated that while the residents concern was a reasonable one, Ingerman projects tend to boost the look and value of the area around it and not downgrade it.
One resident brought up the idea of traffic, stating that Woodbourne Rd. is already a hectic road to travel on and that this new project could only make that issue worse. “If you have to take lunch now on Woodbourne Rd, you would starve to death waiting,” he said. “As a community we need to stand together and fight this, not as separate groups, but as one community made up of residents of both Highland Park and Twin Oaks.”
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The representative stated to the audience that while this property may not be built in the location, that change is coming to the area regardless and that the now commercially zoned, vacant property will not remain vacant. She encouraged the audience to appreciate the change that was coming regardless.
A Highland Park resident rose and said, “I am insulted. How dare you come in here and preach about change when the only reason you care about change is money.” “You may not really understand the demographics of the people you are speaking to,” he said. “Do not presume that this community will ignore this or take this as something that is going to happen.”
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One Highland Park resident offered a middle-ground idea to the representative stating that the builder should leave the current vacant property alone to preserve the woods, animal habitats, and views of homes in the area, and simply move the project further up so that it resided along Business Route 1. “Let us keep our woods,” she said. “The K-Mart property is already zoned commercial just like this one, have that rezoned and let’s get rid of the asphalt.”
Combined the residents of both Twin Oaks and Highland Park continued to voice their dismay with the company and the project into the evening. Some cited the lack of notice to all section residents, and the Neshaminy School Board meeting being held at the same time probably triggered an even smaller turnout than was to be expected.
The first step in construction for Ingerman is to approach the board to have the lot re-zoned residential. Once that process is complete than the project can move forward, if it is ultimately approved by the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors.
