5/13/2008
County: Greenville Center plan needs changes - Community News

By Jesse Chadderdon
Staff Reporter, Community News

Posted Tuesday, May 13, 2008  

A Pennsylvania developer will have to go back to the drawing board and revise its plan for a 12-story residential tower in Greenville after its initial submission received an unfavorable review from New Castle County.

Stoltz Real Estate Partners, based in Bryn Mawr, Pa., has proposed a $19 million expansion of the Greenville Center shopping plaza that includes plans for the 60,000-square-foot tower, a seven-story parking deck and an expansion of the retail units already on the site.

But the county’s Land Use Department has ruled that the current plan fails to meet county code. Because the plan was filed as a redevelopment plan, the county requires that at least 50 percent of existing gross floor area be demolished on the site prior to new construction.

That means Stoltz will likely have to resubmit the plan as a “major” land development plan, which has different qualifying criteria.

A call to Stoltz spokesman Tom Gailey were not returned.

Kennett Pike Association President Richard Beck, who said the nearby residents he has met with oppose the plan, said he fully expects Stoltz to come back with a new plan.

“The Kennett Pike Association would anticipate that there would be follow-up submissions by Stoltz,” he said. “We have not yet been contacted by them about any changes, but we intend to take an active role in the process.”

The Greenville Center proposal was one of five large-scale plans submitted by Stoltz in late-March. The county also concluded that an $80 proposal for a mixed-use town center at Concord Pike and Beaver Valley roads was “unacceptable” as a redevelopment plan for the same reason. That plan was pulled from a Planning Board hearing last week and is now being redrafted by Stoltz.

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