(Read more on the multifamily market.)
HAVERFORD, PA-Haverford Reserve, a long-planned residential community on the 209-acre, vacant, former Haverford State Hospital site is finally moving ahead. The hospital closed in the 1980s, and town commissioners initially selected a plan by a joint venture between Malvern-based Pohlig Builders and the Blue Bell-based Goldenberg Group over eight other bids in November 2003.
However, when a new board of commissioners took office, the project got stalled and mired in "internal strife," Todd Pohlig, president of Pohlig, tells GlobeSt.com. This May, the new board gave the go-ahead, and the JV has begun demolition of the existing buildings.
The township owned the entire parcel. It has retained 169 acres and is preserving 124 of them for open space with walking and biking trails. The remaining 45 acres of the township's land will house a municipal recreation center and sports park. The Pohlig/Goldenberg JV acquired the 40-acre centerpiece for $17 million, Pohlig says, "plus a $500,000-donation for trails and an environmental center. We're also responsible for demolition of the buildings and remediation of the land."
Pohlig plans six four-story buildings with an aggregate of 198 for-sale condos, and Goldenberg plans 100 carriage houses in 50 two-unit buildings. The separate developments flank Parkside Dr., a new public road on the land. The entire redevelopment and construction will cost more than $200 million, Pohlig says, and he expects it to take about three years.
The Pohlig portion of the community is named Athertyn at Haverford Reserve. It represents the opening phase of the redevelopment, and the first 33-unit building will break ground in spring 2008. The Athertyn condo portion of Haverford Reserve is a 55+ active lifestyle community, and the carriage houses will be unrestricted.
"We've been hearing for several years about the need for product to serve this 55-plus age demographic," Pohlig says. "What is great about this project is that it utilizes a long-vacant prized parcel on the Main Line instead of any surrounding farmland." Athertyn condo units will range in size from 1,700 sf to 2,800-sf-plus, Pohlig says. Prices begin in the mid-$600,000s and reach to about $1.3 million. As a prolific builder of single-family homes along the Main Line, Pohlig says his company can provide custom options in the condos.
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