East Whiteland has three locations along Route 30 that look like hell in particular. We won’t even get into all of the residential rental properties on either side of the WaWa at Planebrook Road. But one was of interest. This one place I found a live listing on and who knew it has some sort of retail bank plans going on?
Now to the 3 properties I wonder about the most. Only one has approved plans.
First is the boat sales place once known as Clews & Strawbridge. It’s really posted for sale again with a big old sign and the 18th century farmhouse? Might as well have a giant blaring neon sign that says “demolition by neglect”.
This site was once proposed for a zoning change to create residential. It was turned down and I seem to recall why do any of you?
Next up is what is known as the Importer or Hibbard Barn. It’s been a sight of great debate for a couple of decades, I think? At this point, there are already approved development plans there, apartments, of course, with maybe something else?
Among the debate in recent times for the lot was a pair of sycamore trees, and I think one gets saved?
Not sure how the barn is being used. I don’t remember because it’s been too long. Will they restore the barn and it will be part of the development? Or will they dismantle the barn because it’s too far gone and use the stone as part of the development? I seem to think that they’re trying to save the barn which is good because it’s a really cool looking barn.
Finally there is the site that was the retro car wash and laundromat (“Speedi King”). Now the laundromat is something which would still have use because there aren’t many around right? The car wash? Tons of them around. Also is this a site that requires any ground remediation because of the businesses that were once there?
This has been sitting vacant for so long and don’t the owners have any pride in ownership? There have been lots of times of seriously dumped garbage over the years hasn’t there been? What’s going on now there? It’s kind of cleaned up but one of the car wash bays looks like it’s got a mattress and stuff in it?
Now the township can’t control the property owners but wouldn’t it be nice to know what was going on? The site looks like crap.
These spots of ugliness exist all over. Not just in East Whiteland. It’s amazing how the zeal for development drives the visual landscape of our communities.
Don’t we deserve better? Shouldn’t some of these properties that contain historic structures matter more?
Soooo we recently learned about certain formerly ranking Great Valley Democrats (one who was actually the former vice chair of the Chesco Dems) were running around having hissy fits about East Whiteland Township residents circulating a petition with signatures to get a ballot question on the ballot.
The question was (and I am paraphrasing) was along the lines of should East Whiteland Township add two more supervisors? Under the Second Class Township code you can increase representation.
Sadly, this hissy fit included basically bullying a female resident who’s also a small business owner, and how is that behavior ok?)
So these men, Bill Holmes and Jerry Pyne, went to where residents were gathering signatures to object. They acted like it was a threat to democracy instead of what it really was, which is democracy in action.
Super sad and misogynistic behavior is so Welcome to Stepford isn’t it?
Anyway, it makes you wonder what the motivation is doesn’t it? I think a lot of it has to do with control. I don’t think it’s as much of fear that a Republican may get back on the board, as a fear of losing control.
Are we all just puppets on this bus of these political toadstools?
I was thinking about it and lo and behold it made me wonder even more when an email reached me from 2023. An email no one was looking for, it showed up in a bulk right to know request response.
Note the highlighted area at the bottom:
This email is a chat discussing the EW and WW data center with backup generation for the data center. I do not want the part to be labeled as against business!
So yeah, who is the author of this email? Wouldn’t that be one Jerry Pyne?
Oh Jerry, it’s not too hard to figure out when this email was written. It was around the time that residents wanted West Whiteland to say no to a hydrogen hub to go with the developers desire for a data center, wasn’t it? (West Whiteland did say no, remember?)
I mean it’s so funny. This email chain started like literally I guess a couple days after that big Inquirer article came out?
Precious.
Let’s review what I have been told by those who were doing RTK requests then:
This was a January 2023 email from Jerry Pyne, an East Whiteland Democratic Committee Person, and at that time, Vice Chair of the county Democrats was included in the response to a RTK request (on an unrelated issue) to the Township. The email comes on the heels of a Philadelphia Inquirer article about Charlie Lyddane’s ongoing attempts to build a hyper scale data center in East Whiteland and his attempt to change zoning in West Whiteland for data centers and power plants.
Jerry Pyne forwarded to Democrat County commissioners Marian and Josh and Township supervisor Scott Lambert (using his township email address ) an email discussion between fellow EW Democrat committee people who were discussing their concerns for impacts to the environment, quality of life and place, energy resources, etc.
But Jerry Pyne’s concern was different: “I do not want the part[y] to be labelled as anti business!” That was his concern. Not the impact this development would have on the community and the environment.
I have heard that the recent Great Valley Democrat meeting held at the East Whiteland Township Building did have some chatter about data centers. But they haven’t taken a position. And they also haven’t taken a position at this point on the desire for East Whiteland residents to get a ballot question out there on the ballot for the fall about increasing the size of the East Whiteland Township Supetvisors’ board.
I have a suggestion for the Great Valley Democrats. My suggestion is simple. They need to distance from these people publicly. They should not even have the optics out there that they might be supporting these efforts on bothering residents about having their opinions on data centers and whether it should be three or five supervisors. And the key words is they need to take a public position. No hiding, no why can’t we all get along. They need to tell people they don’t support misogynistic bullying behavior that is in my opinion anti-democracy.
And oh hell, yes I can have that opinion. And it makes you wonder who Jerry was talking to about what before he decided to contact everybody back then?
So yes, data centers in our communities are uncovering all sorts of interesting issues.
It’s uncovering how nasty these political types are getting if there’s any threat to their power structure or what they think is best at the expense of all the other residents.
Chester County, it is time for a change in both political parties. These political parties need to shut their mouths and need to sit down and listen to what is bothering the plurality.
I’m sure this issue will continue to unfold. But I thought for now this email was simply too precious not to share. Time for Jerry Pyne and Bill Holmes and others to retire.
And darling Jerry and Bill? Remember my opinions are bought to you courtesy of the First Amendment. And other political types out there? Don’t let these issues be your Waterloo. The times they are a changing IMHO.
These issues facing our communities involve everyone. Stop playing party politics (poorly).
Let’s be clear: Business Wire a Berkshire Hathaway company is a press release mill isn’t it? They publish what clients send them don’t they?
So this one sounds like developer fairy tales and new math, eh?
So who is actually going to be Plymouth Township saying NO to a Big Fat Data Center? Not the township, not the residents or the Colonial School District School District right? It’s the developer who will be “hurt” isn’t it? Isn’t this just more bullying like this township pointed out in their presser a week ago?
The press release is issued by a company name very familiar to those in Ardmore from when they were the publicist for a while for Lower Merion Township during eminent domain for private gain, and can we also say we have an Irish lass in particular who is working it once again for her favorite Irish developer?
You know people like this are always getting the band back together aren’t they every time? If it’s not condos, it’s recovery centers and if it’s not any of the above its data centers? Aren’t these people in fact like a well oiled but tired machine?
Are communities in Montgomery County (Pennsylvania) going to let them hit oil this time? I don’t think so do you? Haven’t all of these developers to an extent underestimated the human tsunami against this issue of data centers?
Also very amused to read in this release language that is literally regurgitated from when everybody was furiously sending press releases out about pipelines, correct?
I mean, let’s get real when they did the pipelines out here did most of the jobs go to local people?
Wouldn’t that be a no?
Aren’t local communities still wondering when there’s going to be an effective evacuation plan for pipelines and what is the plan for data centers?
What gives any of these people the right to say they can take all our water and use all our energy and drive people crazy quite literally with the humming of it all?
What gives any of these people the right to say hey no problem we’ll just add more pollution, you’ll never notice a thing?
Data Centers are just the new condo complex and apartment building and warehouse aren’t they?
They can take their fakakta “data analysis” and do what with it?
Isn’t it true that some people are saying that this press release today makes that developer sound a little desperate?
PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Pa.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–As Plymouth Township’s zoning board is set to rule on the future of the former Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill at 900 Conshohocken Road, an independent economic and fiscal impact analysis puts a hard number on what is at stake. The study, prepared by 4ward Planning Inc. for 900 Conshohocken Road LLC, finds that converting the vacant 1.95 million-square-foot dormant mill site into a data center would generate $424 million in new tax revenue over 20 years, with the majority flowing directly into Colonial School District classrooms. Blocking the project keeps that revenue at zero…..
…..The study’s own methodology notes the project would add no residential development and no new students, meaning the district receives the full revenue increase without a corresponding rise in service costs.
…….That is not a hypothetical outcome. Elsewhere, in Richland Parish, Louisiana, Meta’s $27 billion Hyperion data center campus generated enough new tax revenue that the local school board paid every vested teacher a $50,935 bonus in June 2026, up from $10,200 the year before, along with a $17,472 bonus for support staff, up from $3,323. In Loudoun County, Virginia, data center tax revenue has allowed the Board of Supervisors to cut the residential property tax rate for 10 consecutive years running, while the county nets an estimated $26 in tax revenue for every $1 spent on services those facilities require.
…….Discovery Data Centers (DDC) acquires and zones land, develops and builds buildings for hyperscale Data Center development and delivers it end-to-end. The leadership team brings 48 years of execution experience redeveloping brownfield sites across biotechnology, food distribution, tier-one operating centers, and Data Centers. Discovery Data Centers “Recycles” existing brown-field sites and buildings, expediting zoning and time to market.
Along the Mississippi Delta in the northeast corner of Louisiana, Meta is building one of the largest artificial intelligence data centers in the world….Behind the scenes, an extraordinary amount of secrecy was necessary to pull it off. Energy company executives, Louisiana’s governor, state and local officials and representatives of Meta worked on the deal over nine months before it was made public….To avoid roadblocks, Meta and state officials worked in secrecy….To keep the project out of the public eye, Meta and Entergy used nondisclosure agreements with state and local officials. Even some officials who helped pass legislation to support the project didn’t know its details.
Next are some articles about Loudon County Virginia. (Now remember East Whiteland Supervisors said they had met or spoken with Loudon County officials so were they told about all the money that they would make? Did they get chapter and verse on how they’re supposed to do their confidentiality agreements or whatever?)
To quote an iconic Dire Straits song:
Now look at them yo-yos, that’s the way you do it You play the guitar on the MTV That ain’t workin’, that’s the way you do it Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’, that’s the way you do it Lemme tell ya, them guys ain’t dumb Maybe get a blister on your little finger Maybe get a blister on your thumb
And before we get to those links, a friendly reminder that my opinions and questions are bought to me by the First Amendment.
Villa Grove Colorado is on fire. It’s a little unincorporated town in Colorado and they’re already suffering a severe drought and water shortage and there’s not enough water to put the fire out and literally the whole town is on fire. This includes peoples homes a few small businesses in the town and this amazing pottery business that was a big tourist attraction.
Apparently there were helicopters being flown in from Colorado Springs that I guess they’re like those special ones equipped for fires, but the town is up in flames.
So this is a place experiencing extreme drought and water shortages. It’s on fire and the residents of this community and neighboring communities are also fighting data center issues in Colorado.
For me it really hits home that this is a place that doesn’t have water to spare, yet government wants to look the other way and allow data centers in the vicinity which suck water and energy.
Also, why am I posting this because I have friends that live there. This is personal.
State Representative Paul Friel has a rather thin skin and doesn’t like being challenged does he? Apparently there was a dust up with a constituent at his town hall in a music hall and bar in Spring City called The Gem Music Hall.
Anyway, one constituent became frustrated and I guess interrupted him. This man is frustrated about hide and seek over data centers with his state representative which is completely understandable because if you live in East Whiteland Township, the residents in State Representative Kristine Howard’s district grow increasingly frustrated because she is literally invisible on everything, including data centers. People feel Kristine Howard is just in it for her lovely state benefits and pension plans, salary, and perks and you have to wonder is State Representative Paul Friel like that too? I ask because don’t know a thing about the guy other than observations that he is egotistical, thin-skinned, obnoxious towards constituents who don’t agree with him, and plays dodge ball over data centers while talking out of both sides of his mouth.
Oh yes State Representative Paul Friel I can have these opinions on your lackluster performance combined with a love of photo ops to publicly post. You are seemingly quite a doofus of a politician these days.
So back to last night….today a man name Chuck posted a note to his fellow residents in a data center group for losing his cool.
I’m anti Meta but made a page so I could apologize to the people in the crowd at the Paul Friel Monologue over at the Gem in Spring City who were patiently waiting. I definitely interrupted the Monologue and the event in general. To the people in the crowd, except the dude upstairs leaning over the glass wall yelling decorum louder than I was speaking, I truly am sorry.
If you know me you know that’s not my style. I like to come prepared, say my peace in a calm cool and collected matter, and then be silent in the background. I’ve done that at every BOS meeting. Tonight, my frustration boiled over. I got legal opinions on the ordinance and brought those to that BOS meeting. I asked questions and provided objective empirical evidence like effectively all of us, yet was painted as bringing a pitchfork. In my opinion Paul Friel quite frankly slandered/defamed every resident of EVT in his capacity as an elected official.
Context: 25 minutes into his monologue, and after Paul telling a woman in the front she can wait to ask her question (at the advertised Q&A), Paul went on a shpiel about how we cares about Main Street, not Wall Street, and about agriculture. How our farmers face uncertain pressure. I wonder how the data center would mitigate the pressure for the adjacent farm? I wonder how the few small businesses on Main Street in Spring City would do?
He then segued into saying how much small things matter in quality of life, and I’m assuming without seeing the irony, goes “so did anyone hear we’re getting a data center”?
I shouted out yea I forgot my pitchfork, that he had an ego, and how gathering legal opinions (from an environmental scholar at Francis King Carey School of Law and Fair Shake) is me bringing a pitchfork. Again, as I asked there, was he there for us or were we there for him? Who is he to say when we can or can’t ask questions at what he advertised as an open forum Q&A?
Paul Friel is at best tone deaf, at worst in the pocket of corporate America, and at most accurate easily intimidated and likely entirely out of his depth. A walking, talking, thin skin sack of ego.
So context on the “pitchfork” comment. That originated in a condescending manner from State Rep. Paul Friel’s lips:
So yes… residents of East Vincent and other areas this elected officials serve are mere peasants under the tread of his shoes? Nice.
So here was his response:
Mr. Baker congratulations on yes yelling out and interrupting the district updates, then running out after I said everyone has an opportunity to ask questions and that I would stay and answer each and everyone of them which I did. When other people in the audience, which you obviously did not respect, asked you for decorum you choose to yell and literally run out. The agenda and time of the meeting was published and printed out as you entered- there was clearly an update section on local, legislative and community issues followed by Q&A which was the majority of the meeting.
Your misrepresentation of my positions is both disingenuous and blatantly false. Your narrative is also disingenuous I respect the people who gave their time to be there tonight even though you chose not to, the only person who acted more important than everyone else was you sir.
As to facts:
My moratorium bill is the only bill to be voted on in both chambers. It provides a path for a one year pause on data center development. My votes on every bill run is to limit or control data center development- 8 bills passed the house – zero in the senate. I cosponsored and voted to repeal and eliminate tax breaks for data centers- there is literally no bill limiting data centers that I did not vote for.
Then this got more interesting and allow me to share an array of screenshots:
Paul Friel is up for re-election this November. Will he ride the Shapiro data center wave? Time will tell. I think he could sadly get re-elected because I think people won’t want the woman on the other side for posing for photos with the likes of Wella Balsam man.
Her name is Samantha Horosky and she is a kindergarten teacher at Owen J. Roberts. How she does as a candidate depends upon her spine. She has an interesting background and people like her. And people from both sides of the aisle don’t like Paul Friel and feel let down by yet another institutional Democrat.
And that is something that the Chester County Democrats don’t seem to get: they didn’t come to current power by being institutional political hacks. They actually came to power thanks to the hard work of individuals like Samuel Stretton, Esq. But do they remember any of their own history of the not so recent past? Nope.
Meanwhile, the Chester County Republicans also have a learning curve they need to pay attention to. They need to field more normal candidates and to stop embracing people like the Wella Balsam guy and types like duplicitous State Senator Tracy Pennycuick who wants to be grandma with the cookies…but what cookies is she selling? The data center kind?
The sad thing is the skunks in Pennsylvania politics live on in both sides of the aisle in Harrisburg. There are few saints, many sinners. Sinners like Paul Friel.
Cheer up Paul, you can always have photo ops with State Representative Danielle Friel Otten. She’s a nice enough woman who has become a giant disappointment. She came to Harrisburg as a pipeline activist. I personally defended her through a couple of her re-election bids because of her now past life as a pipeline activist, but won’t be able to do that again because quite simply put, Danielle needs to be judged by the company she keeps (do-nothing and mute State Representative Kristine Howard) and the Shapiro Kool-Aid she has drunk.
Paul would you like me to lend you my pitchfork? I do use it in my garden so you would have to give it back.
Fellow residents are getting outreach from outraged types past and present over us having the nerve to want additional representation in local government. This tells all of us that we are on the right track.
People this is our right. It’s not political. It’s decidedly non-partisan and it’s about representation.
It is literally our right as residents in a second class township in Pennsylvania to wish to go up to five supervisors from three. Our mechanism for doing this is to get something on the ballot, a referendum. It costs us nothing and it doesn’t increase our taxes, but it does increase our representation and perhaps gives us balance which I think is lacking in a lot of local governments no matter how good the representation is.
People who think it’s a bad idea are people who have something to lose. They’re being narcissistic and selfish, it’s personal to them. We might not ever know why it is personal and frankly, I don’t care.
Keep up the good work. Regardless of political affiliation, we are stronger together than apart. And that residents is what people are really scared of who don’t want two more seats on the East Whiteland Board of Supervisors.
One more day for signatures.
Well allow me to expand upon that with real world experience. Back in the day when I was part of Save Ardmore Coalition and we were fighting eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore, we experienced every dirty trick possible.
We will start with I had a price put on my head by a then publicist doing contract work for Lower Merion Township. You see, we as a group of local community activists were at first fighting an issue that wasn’t sexy enough for media coverage. So we had to get creative. We joined what was anew thing called Twitter (now X.) We also joined a new thing, kind of a grandmother of regional blogging called PhillyFuture.org
PhillyFuture.org was a community blog and aggregator launched in the early 2000s (founded by a wonderful human named Karl Martino) that served as a central hub for the Philadelphia political and local blogosphere. It was early days when I and a couple of friends discovered it. It was the most marvelous thing. We learned about things going on all over the region. Even Natural Lands had a blog on this blog.
PhillyFuture gave us a voice. It was the beginning of blogging. We didn’t have publicists or anything like that. It was just us. So we had to get creative. While we were on this platform fighting for Ardmore’s historic business district, Lower Merion Township which still wanted eminent domain for private gain in Ardmore did not like it. The small group of malcontents or whatever it was they called us was starting to get traction. The township at some point for a while hired an outside publicist for in my opinion damage control of a very unpopular and bad plan. Said publicist put a price on the head to know the identity of the Save Ardmore Coalition blogger. At that point there were a few of us, but I always believed they were after me.
What we went through was the stuff Netflix and Prime series are made for. We were literally targeted as residents for wanting to stop eminent domain. Small businesses were targeted in a most petty manner as well. Back then one of the businesses threatened with eminent domain for private gain was HuNan Restaurant. That was actually WHY I got involved. The family that owned HuNan were dear to me. So when they said no to eminent domain, all of a sudden township folks who always ate lunch at Hunan because it was literally next door to the township building stopped eating lunch there.
Why is this pertinent today? Because everything old is new again and politicians always regurgitate the same old stuff. See this text message screenshot I was sent last night:
Former Supervisor and Chair/Co-Chair of Great Valley Dems has a nasty streak doesn’t he?
Meet Bill Holmes and his charming text message. For the last 10 years or so he and the Great Valley Democrats have eaten lunch together at Dixie Picnic. So he sends this text – to a woman named Tracey who has been a devoted Democrat and supported him as a supervisor AND when he was head of Great Valley Democrats. And she is an owner of Dixie Picnic.
Today none of them showed up. So they all followed daddy to where? Wegmans or Wendy’s?
I first met Tracey not that long after we moved here. I can tell you that she feels such a sense of betrayal by these people. Like literally she’s one of the most devoted Democrats, and always has been. I think she may have even had some sort of gathering for Bill Holmes in the past? I’m a little fuzzy on that detail because that was around the time we were just coming into East Whiteland or before.
But do we see the irony here that she actually lived up to her Democrat and personal values by wanting to put a petition out for people who were interested in enlarging the Board of Supervisors by two that is allowed under the 2nd Class Township code? So she exercised her right as an American and as a resident of this municipality East Whiteland Township and now this guy wants to punish her as a small business owner and a resident? Talk about acting like petty bitch, right?
Also there were signing events for this ballot petition initiative to add two more supervisors and guess what has been reported? Bill Holmes showing up with some unidentified man and one guy named Jerry Pyne whom I believe was the vice chair of the county Democrats and is now on the following committees: Property Committee, Collaborative Planning Committee (WTF is that? The give out gold star stickers committee?), and System Administration Committee? LOL LOL LOL how many committees do they need?
Ok so the fact they showed up is not the problem. The problem was they reportedly showed up with signs to essentially harass other residents into not signing the petition? They literally had “Do Not Sign” signs. Below is a photo taken of him and his cohorts being gently spoken to by the lovely woman who organized the petition. She was a lot nicer than I would have been. Sadly no sign was being held up in that moment.
This was at a petition signing event. Bill Holmes far left in mad for plaid shirt.
This further cements, why change must happen.
If you don’t regularly go to Dixie Picnic in Lincoln Court shopping center I am urging everyone to go and support Tracey because of what is being done to her which is petty, chauvinistic, and misogynistic.
And so we are all clear on who Bill is he is somebody who is a politician. He still plays politics. He’s the past chair of the East Whiteland supervisors as well as a supervisor and he was the past chair or cochair of whatever the Great Valley/East Whiteland Democrats. A man who wants to hurt someone with a small business who’s also a great human is just a tool. Oh and didn’t he come to power thanks to Michele Vaughn? makes you re-think her on county row, doesn’t it?
Here is Dixie Picnic’s website: https://www.dixiepicnic.com/ They are an amazing scratch kitchen and home of the UPcake and nice positive things. You can order through GrubHub and I think Instacart and you can place orders on their website for pick up and they do catering and their hours are your basic lunch hours. This is a restaurant which is also an amazing little community hub.
Now I fully expect the Great Valley Democrats powers that be and think they are still powerful will have a hissy fit over my posting this but they should KNOW that a MAN saying something like this to a woman who owns a small business, lives in East Whiteland, and is a supportive member of their political party is literally indefensible. Is this the only female Democrat he’s had issues with as a perennial politician now without an office?
And so we are clear on how I feel about this bullshit aspect to local politics, allow me to share more of my personal experiences with Great Valley Democrats.
When this all happened to me, I was still a Republican. In 2016 when a certain someone became the presidential nominee, I left the party because as a woman it had already kicked me and my rights as a woman to the curb I felt. I tried on the whole being a democrat but between Chester County Dems and Great Valley Dems it was so institutional, bad corporate and often soulless and that’s being polite. So again, once more I am an Independent.
It doesn’t matter in the big picture but I thought it is good for people to know. Just like it is good for people to know Bill Holmes also ran unsuccessfully for state rep once upon a time. Oh and he only beat his 2013 challenger when he was supervisor by 10 votes. In 2007 he only beat Rich Orlow by 7 votes. Rich Orlow eventually became a Republican supervisor in East Whiteland and then was defeated by Scott Lambert. Then in the true nature of flip floppy politics, Rich Orlow became a Democrat to finish out Bill Holmes term when he stepped down, didn’t he?
Below are some articles about East Whiteland politics and one about East Whiteland population growth. And old blog posts.
Politics is a dirty business and it’s time for people like Bill Holmes to retire and just sit down to begin with. If someone is doing something they believe in personally, don’t you encourage them especially if it is something positive?
These tired ass folks like Bill Holmes think better representation for a community that has grown exponentially is a threat to Democracy and they don’t actually get that it is literally Democracy in action. Behavior like he exhibited is thug politics and it’s time for him to stop.
Also please visit Dixie Picnic. You will be glad you did.
I completely expect I will be targeted with unpleasantness for this post. After all I have never been “on board with Bill” and I have been targeted by unpleasantness before because I believe in growing three person boards to five and I think the data center is a bad plan. Some of those folks should be glad I don’t share their emails calling me what was it? A back stabber? And why? Because I think the three person board in East Whiteland should be five person and I think the East Whiteland data center plan is a bad plan.
East Whiteland your political slip is showing in the most unattractive way possible. Put that in your proverbial pipe and smoke it.
People, if they don’t want this then get out and vote for it in November if t makes the ballot this time. If not, we will do it again.
#ShopLocal and #LoveWhatIsLocal and #ShopSmall and remember that community transcends politics in the end. Always.
So this was the news we were greeted with this morning. You can read the articles on Patch and in The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philly Voice.
The University of Valley Forge formerly known as Valley Forge Christian College is no more. They are closing up.
Am I surprised? Honestly, no. It’s been dying for years. We had a child who went to Renaissance Academy Charter School, and they were originally on this campus before they found their permanent home in Phoenixville.
In 2024 I saw them show up on some kind of a tax sale list. I was kind of shocked. The listing of course for that is gone now, but here are the screenshots I retained from back then:
I remember, I was fascinated by the Hobby Lobby of it all looking through the ownership.
This parcel is pretty big though it’s 46 1/2 acres.
That is concerning. The parcel is in Schuylkill Township. Here is current ownership:
I didn’t know what HIS Property Holdings was so I looked it up:
In 2014 Valley Forge, Christian College became University of Valley Forge. It is still a faith-based school and it has the prettiest little campus, but it’s belly up and now what happens?
I’m afraid it will be sold for development.
I feel sorry for the students. I can’t imagine choosing this place to continue your education and it’s what you can afford, and now where are you? I’m not surprised because again it wasn’t that many weeks ago that there was the article. It was in the Inquirer about them potentially losing their accreditation.
Here is the thing they posted to their students and I guess alumni today and employees who are also screwed:
So another college/university bites the dust in this area. People should keep an eye on Delaware County Community College and no one even covered it when they just axed people recently. No one covered that.
So Cabrini is gone. Rosemont is done and now University of Valley Forge is done.
I figure I should mention this because God knows if East Whiteland will wake up to look out for her residents who will be affected by this plan. This may also affect other nearby residents in East Goshen Township and even West Goshen Township.
Look I have known since Weston started to exit as a company that this property would be developed. I’m grateful it’s not a giant warehouse or a data center. This property was re-zoned in 2024 to allow residential development.
My personal opinion is the development is still too dense. But my personal opinion doesn’t mean a hill of sheit here and I know that.
My main concern is this development’s access on West King Rd. There needs to be a traffic light at Weston Way and W. King Rd. If there is not a traffic light at Weston Way and W. King Rd. residents of East Whiteland and West Whiteland are screwed.
It is already incredibly difficult a lot of days to get out of driveways and side streets onto W. King Rd. So Willow Hill Development Group, my opinion is you are making enough money that you can request a traffic signal here.
I should also note for people who have been interested here and there and what happens at Weston that it sounds like there’s going to be some kind of egress or driveway from Phoenixville Pike?
Anyway, that’s all I’ve got.
No one wants more residential development anymore than warehouses or data centers. But until elected officials in Harrisburg, get off their collective asses and comprehensively update the municipalities planning code which takes an act of the state constitution that will never happen.
The plan is down to 49 houses and 6 apartment type units, I guess in the old mansion. honestly that is tremendously better from where this first started. It’s like 53 acres give or take.
Like I said, they could have neon pink houses on this property for all I care as long as there’s a traffic light at King Road and Weston Way.
I have had to play this little tape over and over because I wanted to make sure I heard it properly. And what I heard is the master plan for the Exton Mall that the supervisors in West Whiteland had in place has just been completely undone by the Zoning Hearing Board and their solicitor?
I have literally got nothing because I just don’t understand. I do believe according to the average process that comes to play here, if the Board of Supervisors wish to appeal, legally they can.
I really don’t understand. But it lends itself to another conversation about solicitors. There’s a big one going on in East Whiteland for example over data centers.
There seems to be contretemps that is ongoing in Tredyffrin Township.
In Westtown, it’s a state of chaos as they just dismissed the entire historic commission.
Now, what do West Whiteland, Westtown, and Tredyffrin have in common? Would it be that they all use Gawthrop Greenwood for main solicitor or zoning?
For Westtown and Tredyffrin they specifically use Patrick McKenna, Esq. West Whiteland is a little different. They use “Gawthrop Greenwood” as the zoning hearing board solicitors. They don’t specify on West Whiteland’s website but it seems to be Patrick McKenna and or his wife Stacey Fuller also with the same firm, correct?
Of course, the other thing with West Whiteland’s Zoning Hearing Board is you don’t know who’s speaking half of the time because the zoning hearing board members do not introduce themselves at the beginning of the meeting and neither does the solicitor.
Anyway, I didn’t see this covered in the media at all so hopefully this prompts them to look into this because doesn’t it seem unusual?
East Whiteland residents and registered Chester County voters we have a very important task this week: to rock the petition to get 2 supervisors added under the second class township code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania!
We. Can. Do. This!!!!!
Years ago when this township was founded and they formed a Township government there were far fewer people. Over the last 15 years I would say, this township has grown exponentially. It is time to add two more supervisors to the three so we have better representation as residents and taxpayers.
Five supervisors is perfectly attainable and normal. If I am completely honest, I wanted to do this a few years ago and I was talked out of it. I was told it was a mistake. I should have listened to my inner voice because I knew it was right and I believe it’s right for residents now.
We need more representation in our 3 board member municipalities. More representation does not create chaos, in fact, it helps restore order and balance, and we should want that.
And in East Whiteland there are already people who are interested in running for office!
Here is the Google doc where you can sign up to be contacted for an in person visit. The important thing about this petition is you have to sign in person, you cannot do it online so to speak.
This petition can only be signed by legal residents of East Whiteland Township who are registered to vote. If you are not registered to vote, you cannot sign this petition.
“Should two additional supervisors be added to the board of 3 supervisors, creating a board of 5 in East Whiteland Township?”
There’s no hidden message. It’s not like playing the Beatles White album backwards. It is what it is. It is as it is stated.
So come on East Whiteland let’s do this for ourselves. 
3 to 5 supervisors. It’s time to modernize.
Git’ R Done… we can do this this week! It literally takes like a minute and a half to sign and fill in your address. Again, you read the ballot question as presented to you in person and you sign your name like you do your signature for all legal documents. Then you print your name so it is legible along with your legal mailing address in East Whiteland Township as in the physical mailing address no PO Box. And the last thing you do is you date when you’re doing it.
It’s easy and it’s important. We get the government we deserve, and our vote is our most powerful tool. Some people will get very up in arms about this and the thing is it’s not a threat to democracy, it’s about democracy and our right to do this.
