Falls Township is one step closer to converting a 12-acre portion of the St. Joseph the Worker property into a community for residents aged 55 and over.
During Tuesday night’s Board of Supervisors meeting, Falls officials authorized advertisement of an ordinance which will assist in getting a one-acre section of the property rezoned from neighborhood conservation to institutional. The rezoning will help to make the project more seamless as all of the 12 acres will then be zoned the same. According to a news release put out by the township, officials will consider rezoning the entire 12-acre parcel to age-qualified at a September meeting. The age-qualified zoning procedures will require that at least 80 percent of the residents of the future development are at least 55 years old.
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Back in February, officials and audience members heard a presentation from McGrath Home’s long-time attorney, Tom Hecker, who announced that after years of planning, McGrath Homes plans to move forward with purchasing the now closed Catholic school to build age-restricted homes in it’s place.
McGrath Homes has plans for 76 two-bedroom town home units (with a third bedroom option) aligned along two roads and a cul de sac, which would range from 1700 to 2000 sq. feet and start in the upper $200,000’s. The property would also include a clubhouse for it’s residents.
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McGrath Homes is known for building several homes in the area, their first age-restricted community in Bucks County was the Villas of Flowers Mill.
“McGrath is probably the best builder in Bucks County,” said resident Roland Kenney. “I see no problem with them being there.”
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According to Hecker, the development will allow senior citizens who have lived in Falls Township for decades, the ability to stay there.
“We do have a very old population in Falls Township,” said Chairman Bob Harvie. “Moving forward with a project like this does make sense … This is obviously the first step in a project that’s been talked about for a long time.”
