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Inside the redevelopment of former Willow Grove Naval Air Base
Details of the first map of what the community of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Base may look like were unveiled in a meeting Monday by the Horsham Township Council.
HORSHAM, Pa. - After more than a decade on the drawing board, plans are moving forward for the development of the former Willow Grove Naval Air Base in Horsham.
What we know:
If all goes according to plan, there could be a town square featuring a Main Street that World War II planes used to take off from.
Details of the first map of what the community may look like were unveiled by the Horsham Township Council meeting Monday night.
"This property is almost 10 percent of the Township by land area. We refer to it as the "hole in the donut,"" said Michael Shinton, Executive Director of the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority.
Shinton has been spearheading Horsham's effort to redevelop the 862 acres of prime real estate along Route 611 in Horsham.
The plan that’s been discussed since 2012 calls for a sprawling new community of 1300 new homes, big and small, apartments, shops, parks and walking trails.
On Monday, the first plans for streets, green spaces and trails were unveiled.
What they're saying:
"There are no other places in Montgomery County or even the five-county region outside of Philadelphia that has this area available. And the proximity to the turnpike and other major connector arteries," said Shinton.
Shuttered by the government in 2011 under the military’s Base Realignment and Site, the redevelopment was stifled by environmental issues.
Including the discovery of PFAS, "forever" toxins found in the nearby ground and surface water.
The Navy has been cleaning up the site for years, but residents wonder if it’s enough.
"I would imagine with the amount of groundwater contamination that’s still on the base there is no provision for pubic water supply wells" said one Horsham resident during Monday’s public comment.
"They (the US Navy) continue to work through the environmental remediation of the site which is ongoing and they are making great progress for that. So the township is doing a lot of preparation work so when the time comes we are ready" said Shinton.
What's next:
Remediation will be done in phases and land turned over to the township once it’s complete.
The township has already re-zoned the property to residential but says the first phase of the project could still be five years away.
A complete build-out may take 20–30 years. But many think for a project this big you need a long-term plan.
"It’s still going to be a 25-year process, but it’s going to be interesting to see each phase being phased in. It’s going to be nice to see," said John Kraske of Horsham.
Officials say the plan also calls for the creation of 7,000 new jobs over the years along with something the community has never had a Town Square.
In November, township officials expect to approve a more detailed comprehensive plan for the redevelopment project.