Credit: McGrath Homes
Plans are moving forward for an age 55-plus community at the former St. Joseph the Worker Parish property in Falls Township.
Earlier this week, the Falls Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to grant developer McGrath Homes preliminary and final land development approval to build the proposed St. Joseph’s Court community on the 18-acre former St. Joseph the Worker property off New Falls Road.
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The proposed community will include 62 townhouses, two two-story apartment buildings with 24 units, as well as 14 one-story flats. Developer John McGrath told the board the townhomes and flats will be priced between $270,000 to $325,000.
Work on the property, which includes the former church and school buildings, could begin soon and construction on the community will take about 18 months.
The township said in a press release that McGrath informed them that 70 people have so far expressed interest in St. Josephs Court.
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The board spoke at length about a portion of the St. Joseph the Worker property being located in a FEMA floodplain.
Supervisor Chairman Bob Harvie said in a statement that the township is expecting FEMA to remap the St. Joseph the Worker property so it won’t fall in a floodplain, which could cause some problems for McGrath Homes.
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Tom Hecker, the attorney for the project, said McGrath Homes plans to file a request to FEMA to remap the property.
“We’re going to have this (floodplain) line remapped. We’re confident with that,” he said. “This property will be ahead of the curve.”
St. Joseph’s Court will be maintained by a private homeowners association. Resident dues would cover the cost of landscaping, trash removal, road repairs and snow clearing.
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The project was first proposed for the site in 2015.
The parish merged with St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Church in 2014 and remained opened as a worship center until finally closing in mid-2015.
