Fort Washington homebuilder Toll Brothers is building 280 luxury townhomes in Malvern after acquiring 159 acres of undeveloped land.
The three parcels, at 272 Lapp Road, 278 Lapp Road and 367 Old Morehall Road, are just north of Route 202. Vanguard’s Quarry Ridge office building and Knickerbocker Driving Range are east of the property. Toll Brothers bought the Chester County land from Knickerbocker Lands LLC for $33 million.
The sale did not include the driving range.
Toll Brothers (NYSE: TOL) is naming the master-planned development Anfield at Malvern and plans to open it for sale in spring 2024. Site improvements on the property are underway. The townhomes will range from 1,825 square feet to 2,995 square feet and include basements. Prices have not been disclosed….The development is expected to include a clubhouse, fitness center, gathering room, outdoor pool, pickleball courts, walking trails and a dog park. The site is located within the Great Valley School District….In the second quarter of this year, Toll Brothers built 2,492 homes at an average price of $1 million. The company’s townhome developments in the region include West Chester Crossing, Doylestown Walk and Overlook at Town Center in King of Prussia.
OK they’re always Trendy Wendy so they are enticing people to live on top of an old landfill with pickleball. That makes me laugh because in Tredyffrin Township they were Pickleball courts that had open on Valley Forge Military Academy, and College land that I’ve just been shut down for noise and other zoning things according to Savvy Main Line:
So pickleball is not a slam dunk. I also think that I remember the plans done by Jason Dempsey/DP Partners, the last developer on that site, that the plans they had approved were slab on grade no basements? Or am I incorrect?
Just so we are clear information wise, this is the former Knickerbocker landfill owned for quite a long time by the Rubino family.
Next a reader of mine chimed in when I initially posted online and shared the article:
I’ve assisted in the redevelopment of many former hazardous waste sites of different kinds, but never for building homes on a full-blown landfill that received hazardous wastes — and this one also has an 8-inch oil pipeline through the middle of it. It’s common to install a cap (permeable geotextile topped with 2 ft of clean soil) over historical fill and then build on it, I’ve helped with that all over Philly, Camden, and Wilmington — but that fill was emplaced when the cities were built, not in our lifetimes. And it wasn’t hazardous waste, either.
This screenshot is from the 2021 plan, and at that time they still needed an environmental investigation via soil borings throughout the area to be developed. I’m curious whether that was done and what they found.
I also wonder what the geophysics are like on an old landfill like that and how thick the trash is where they’re going to build. There’s a clay cap over the entire surface, so they’re going to have to bring in soil to put over top of that (probably over geotexile), but I wouldn’t feel good about pouring concrete slabs for houses on top of a landfill and hoping they don’t eventually sink and/or crack. Ugh.
Some Knickerbocker history Re: East Whiteland meeting.
Well…sigh…
Apparently this new Toll Brothers project represents the entire project that Jason Dempsey/ DP Partners was developing .. .The early plans did include an additional 102 building units on the driving range but the entire supervisors board voted that plan down, didn’t they?
So we shall see.
I found stuff on East Whiteland’s website about Knickerbocker:
People are saying Toll Brothers is no longer the equitable owner of Crebilly because the contract was terminated, as per the group Neighbors for Crebilly/Brandywine in White. Therefore, Westtown Township Board of Supervisors then ruled tonight to deny the conditional use to build all those hideous houses.
I mean pinch me. I did have my third COVID-19 shot today so am I hallucinating? Or did this actually happen?
It happened.
Damn. It happened. A municipality actually said NO to a developer in Chester County. The only media reporting that I can see is Chaddsford Live which has covered this from the beginning.
For all you naysayers out there, this is what the power of the people can do. I have no idea what will happen next for this property. This isn’t the first development plan that has been proposed for Crebilly over the years and I don’t think it’ll be the last.
But for now, Crebilly is safe.
I would suggest in closing, that people in communities all over Chester County take the spirit of Crebilly into their municipality boardrooms and fight to preserve where they call home.
I am going to let Mindy’s words stand on their own. Yes, Westtown is trying to hold the FINAL planning commission meeting for Crebilly and Troll Brothers in a public works garage.
No air-conditioning, July.
No plumbing, July.
Porta potty in the time of coronavirus, July.
With all residents have been through with this AND coronavirus, this is the plan? Wow. One would think that with all the money the developer and family selling would stand to make one would think they could rent a ballroom in a hotel like the Desmond, right? Or hold it when all could gather safely, right?
But nooooo, it’s a saddle up occasion and here is whom to contact ASAP:
This photo was taken yesterday while a friend was driving by Lloyd Farm in Caln.
No, Lloyd Farm is not saved. But apparently a tenant farmer is back.
This is the Chester County we lose with every development. This is why many, many brave souls are boarding a bus at 6 AM May 6th to go to Pittsburgh for Crebilly.
Yes, Pittsburgh. It’s not uncommon for court calendars to fill up and apparently they’re jammed around here. But I am told if the developer had agreed to the venue not going to Pittsburgh it could have been closer and wow, right ?
Here is the information on how to ride the bus from Mindy:
Dear Friends,
This is a reminder that the next court date for oral argument in the Toll Brother’s appeal will be held:
MONDAY, MAY 6TH, 1PM
Allegheny County Courthouse
Room #313
436 Grant Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15219
Thanks to Randell Spackman of Thornbury Farm (who also happens to be my wonderful cousin), a chartered bus has been arranged for those that wish to attend but prefer not to drive. Here are the details:
*Bus departs from Thornbury Farm Market at 6AM: 1256 Thornbury Road, West Chester (http://thornburyfarmcsa.com)
Friends, please do not miss this great opportunity to support the Westtown Township Supervisors and Township Solicitor Patrick McKenna in their brave battle to preserve the national, historic view shed from our Revolutionary War on Crebilly Farm (part of the Brandywine Battlefield) and prevent over-development in an already saturated region of Chester County. We need bodies in the court room. We need MASSIVE PUBLIC OUTCRY!!! A full court room of supporters will speak volumes without saying a word. It will send a clear message to the panel of judges that indeed we care and we are standing up for what is right. Please contact any friends and family you have in the Pittsburgh area and ask them to attend this very important court appeal.
Together we have come so far and I thank all of you for your efforts.
Tell our Commonwealth Court Judges in Pittsburgh how much Chester County residents feel about their Quality of Life. Attend the oral arguments on Monday, May 6 at 1pm with your neighbors – all headed to Pittsburgh.
Several groups and interested parties are all working together to make a statement and presence by filling up the courtroom in Pittsburgh. We’ll fill one bus first and then start on the second. If we don’t reach a threshold number to fill the second bus, we will refund your ticket purchase. The coach holds 54 passengers.
With that said, tickets are $45 each.
First come, first served.
Your ticket is your placeholder, reservation.
No ticket purchased, no seat on the bus – we have to make this easy to manage – we’re all volunteers and need to be fair to all.
You will need a ticket to board. Print-at-home tickets or mobile tickets supplied at purchase.
We anticipate leaving Thornbury Farm, 1256 Thornbury Road, West Chester, PA 19318 at 6am and will return from Pittsburgh between 4-5 pm. It is a long day for everyone and to be compliant, the motor coach company will staff two drivers for your safety. Coffee and refreshments will be available for the ride out. Convenient parking at Spackman Farm.
Not every piece of land or old house can be saved. That is the reality. But some of these properties don’t have to become developments.
And with these remaining big parcels in Chester County, I don’t understand why these families can’t put at least part of the land into conservation and preservation and not just turn everything over to a mega housing developer.
People want to tell us that we need all this development. We don’t. And all this development is causing other issues in our communities.
Between pipelines and residential developers, Chester County is becoming a war zone.
It’s time to start gathering within our individual communities and telling our elected officials we don’t want so much development.
We also need to band together as Chester county residents and tell the Chester County Planning Commission and Chester County Commissioners and anyone else who we can get to listen that we don’t want so much development.
This morning I happened to drive by as a passenger in a car.
Simply put, how in the hell is this farmhouse being preserved exactly? Does this perhaps more closely resemble demolition by neglect versus historic preservation? The freaking place is collapsing, it’s clearly visible from the road so WTF?
Also note the “planting” photos. Cheap trees planted too closely together. Wonder if any are on the invasive species list like the developer special Bradford Pear? Whatever these trees will be mostly dead in a few years, wait and see. (sorry not sorry, my opinion as an experienced gardener. I find it ludicrous that these developers clear-cut forest and field, only to plant poorly.)
If Toll Brothers can get up the sales office for their Great Valley Crossing Development don’t they have time or shouldn’t they have time to save the historic farmhouse like people were told would happen?
I think the earth just moved. Yesterday Judge Mark L. Tunnell DENIED Toll Brothers conditional use appeal. Victory goes to Westtown Township and Neighbors For Crebilly Inc. It is so good when you see a municipality fight for their residents because so many don’t or won’t. Neighbors for Crebilly assumed risk when taking party status, and Vince and Elizabeth Moro and their team have worked very hard.
And a hat tip to my friend Mindy Rhodes of Crebilly Farm Friends is in order for her passion and dedication to this as well. I know full well the reality of how an issue like this just sucks up your life and time. Mindy started the rallying of the people from horseback, distributing meeting information like a modern day Boadicea.
A reader named Eric wrote to us this morning (and sent these two photos):
905 Westtown Rd. in West Goshen is a wonderful historic home built in 1818. This beautiful estate is about to be demolished to build 12 new houses…..Sadly it seems like its time is up. It’s been abandoned for 15 years and had been up for Sheriff’s sale, though these have been cancelled and demolition is now scheduled.
Again, the photos have graciously been provided by Eric for our use here.
It seems like every day brings us a tale of another demolition in another township in Chester County.
Soon we will be very urban in even more places and that’s very disturbing as we are very urban in many places already in this county because of development.
And all these new developments load up our school districts to the point of overcrowding. And then the students pay for that because the situation changes from lovely high schools to overcrowded high schools were students are packed in like lemmings without the proper attention from educators. As taxpayers this overcrowding will be eventually reflected in our taxes, if they aren’t already.
All of this development puts undue stress on our infrastructure. And developers never pay enough towards the infrastructure. You’re lucky if you get a traffic signal out of them.
And speaking of issues with overcrowding in the schools, look at the result of all the recent past years of infill development in Lower Merion Township and the effect it has had on the Lower Merion School District. 
These developers do not give a crap about where we call home. We are just an area to make a quick development buck off of. They aren’t invested in our communities it’s all about what they can make and what the municipalities can get for the short term high of what they call “ratables.”
Between pipeline and developments Chester County is getting gobbled up. Soon there will be limited open space and limited farmland. Soon we will not recognize where we call home.
I have to ask all of you, is that the future you want for this spectacular county in Pennsylvania? If the answer is no, you need to get busy where you live. We need to toss out of office anyone who does not care about where we call home. Pro-development is a bad thing at this point because there is no moderation.
If you want to see another hideous plan or to check out the rape of the land on Pottstown Pike spitting distance from Upper Uwchlan’s municipal building right there on the edge what is left of the Village of Eagle. Toll Brothers.
For yet another hideous plan drive along Church Road in Malvern. Another Toll Brothers plan. Or should we say Toll Smothers? Because that’s what they do: they smother every square inch of space with McBoxes.
A reader named Eric wrote to us this morning (and sent these two photos):
