The Falls Township Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening accepted professional services agreements for two potential development projects, including a car wash and an attainable housing development.
The supervisors approved agreements with Morrisville Realty LLC for a proposed Spotless Car Wash at the former Rite Aid site at West Trenton Avenue and Pine Grove Road, and with the Bucks County Housing Authority for a possible project on Tyburn Road.
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The agreements establish escrow accounts to fund professional review services.
Officials emphasized that the move does not constitute formal project approval.
Solicitor Michael Clarke said that entering into a professional services agreement does not mean the municipality is giving developers “a wink and a nod that they’re going to get their plans approved.”
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The new process is a change for the township.
“This is something new to us in Falls Township,” said Supervisor Chairman Jeff Dence, who credited Township Manager John Shepard for pushing to change the process.
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The car wash proposal remains in the conceptual stage, as developers have only expressed interest in the site.
“They said, ‘we think we might want to build a car wash there.’ And that’s all this is,” Dence said.
The second agreement involves a Bucks County Housing Authority proposal for a 60.57-acre parcel on Tyburn Road. The land is next to Snipes Farm and is located before the Montessori School.
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The housing project would primarily focus on affordable units while incorporating some market-value homes, officials said.
“[The Bucks County Housing Authority] wants to build the maximum number of attainable housing as they can,” Dence said. “There will be some market value housing there as well if they do this project. But the majority of it is for attainable housing. That is their goal.”
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The proposal comes as a hot real estate market has limited housing options for middle-class workers in Bucks County. Attainable housing is generally designed for individuals who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but are priced out of the local market.
Both projects will undergo standard review processes if the developers decide to move forward.
