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BY MARA REVKIN

In print | October 5, 2006

As early as Oct. 25, the Swarthmore Borough Zoning and Planning Committee will make a recommendation to the Borough Council on a proposed revision to current zoning regulations that would provide for the construction of approximately 100 multi-family rental units on college property, in addition to a 30-40 room inn, restaurant, three-level parking garage, and retail space on college property along the west side of South Chester Road and south of the train station.

Last year the Borough Council approved an overlay ordinance allowing for the construction of an inn on the site in question, but did not provide for the additional residential units described in the current proposal. The approval of a revised ordinance would be another step toward the realization of a joint development project that “represents a melding of community and college interests,” Vice President of the College Maurice Eldridge ’61 said.

The original overlay ordinance had approved the construction of an 80-room inn without residential units, a possibility that Facilities Management Supervisor Stu Hain said the college initially considered. “With the help of Anne Lloyd-Jones ’79 of HVS International, a hospitality consulting firm, an analysis was conducted to understand the feasibility of such a project,” Hain said. “From that work, it seemed that a smaller inn, around 40 rooms, in a mixed-use development to include residential units along with the restaurant, retail space and parking structure would be a more feasible project.”

At that point in the process, Hain said that “several developers approached the College, all expressing an interest in the mixed-use idea.”

“One contractor was particularly enthusiastic about the prospect of building a mixed-use community,” Hain said. This developer volunteered a conceptualization of the project that has dominated the discussions thus far. The complex would include an inn, a restaurant with a bar, retail space at the ground level and a 300-car parking garage. Initially the developer proposed displacing three athletic fields adjacent the train station to the Nether Providence side of the Crum Woods.

However, the possibility of constructing a span bridge to facilitate pedestrian and vehicular access to the fields drew criticism for its adverse environmental implications. According to Religion Professor Mark Wallace, a member of the Land Use Planning Committee, “The well-being of communities like Swarthmore rests in their ability to balance commercial needs, on the one hand and the preservation of green space, on the other. My concern with the new proposal for the hotel-apartments-retail-parking plan is that it may tip this delicate balance more toward the development side of the equation,” Wallace said.

According to Hain, a civil engineer has since deemed that the realization of the development would not necessitate the displacement of athletic fields or the construction of a bridge.

Hain emphasized that the college has not committed to a particular contractor or design proposal at this stage in the process, and that at least three additional developers have expressed interest in the project. “Within the next few weeks we expect to put forward a request for proposal that will invite input from others who might be willing to participate,” Hain said.

Rather than sell the land redesignated for commercial use under the overlay ordinance, the college would lease it to a developer, thereby outsourcing a considerable portion of the costs and risks associated with the project.

“My sense is that the college wants to avoid getting trapped in investment ventures,” Political Science Professor Richard Valelly said. “The arrangement is a mutually beneficial one, with the developer shouldering most of the risk,” he said.

According to Swarthmore Borough Council President Peg Hebner Christensen, the Borough Planning Commission is now in the process of reviewing the changes proposed by Council. “These recommendations will be reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Committee as well as all of Council in November at the earliest,” she said.

Christensen said that the college has been amenable to addressing the concerns expressed by the council. “Feedback presented by Stuart Hain has been that the College wants to do what is best for both the borough and the College, and that until proposals have been received from the developers contacted it would be too soon to assess the viability of those changes.” Although any changes will need to be approved by the developer, the college has been “receptive to a solution that works for them and the borough,” Christensen said.

Valelly suggested that the proposed development might correspond to long-term plans for institutional expansion by the college. In a 2002 statement, the LUPC cited “the likelihood of increased enrollment over time” as motivation to accommodate the changing needs of the student body, and emphasized the centrality of the college community to the borough’s economic profile. “To the extent that the college has needs that will allow it to flourish for the next 50 years, it is in the interest of the Borough to work with us as we seek to meet those needs, the statement continued. Eldridge said that the college "has no plans to expand the size of the student body.”

Many borough residents expressed support for additional retail opportunities at the town center. Mary Gay Scanlon, a borough resident, was enthusiastic about the prospect of relocating the college bookstore to the mixed-use development, a possibility under the current proposal. Scanlon attended Colgate, where “a similar town-gown revitalization project was tremendously successful,” she said. “It was a cooperative effort that really benefited students and residents,” Scanlon said.

Business owners have been overwhelming supportive of the project. Helen Ukropek, owner of the Swarthmore Hair Studio - situated just yards from the train station and the proposed site of the development - predicted that the development, if realized, would generate more business for the borough. “I think it could really benefit the town by bringing in people who wouldn’t ordinarily be passing through,” Ukropek said.

The overlay ordinance currently authorizes the licensing of a restaurant in the mixed-use development for alcohol sales. “I’d be worried about drunkenness potentially creating a disturbance,” said Jim Casner, a resident of the borough. “Understandably, there is some trepidation about bringing a bar to a dry town,” Hain said. “But the town and developer are in agreement that an inn could not be profitable without a liquor license,” he said, adding that a restaurant “could contribute to the revitalization of downtown Swarthmore and create a regional draw in ways that an inn alone would not.” Valelly said that the proposal “has costs and benefits stamped all over it.” “What’s important is determining the net consequence for the greater Swarthmore community,” he said.

Hain said that a final decision on the college’s participation in the development project would be made by the Board of Managers “through a process that has yet to be determined.”

“The proposal under consideration is without precedent at the college, so it is not clear how best to evaluate it,” Hain said.

The Planning Commission’s next meeting is Oct. 18; the Planning and Zoning Committee meets on Oct. 25. Both meetings are open to the public and “input on the project will be encouraged,” Christensen said.

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