The Borough of Conshohocken filed a complaint on April 15th in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas that seeks a declaratory judgment against 720 Spring Mill, LP, an entity associated with developer Tyson Homes. You can view the complaint here.
According to court documents, in 2018, the developer received approval to redevelop the former Hale Pump site at the intersection of East 7th Avenue and Spring Mill Avenue. This development involved 23 homes and was the second phase of a project that had previously constructed eight homes along East 7th Avenue above Jones Street.
In 2023, the developer entered into a land development agreement for phase two, which, according to the borough, required it to complete “to make improvements and perform certain work to the existing stormwater culvert along Jones Street and East 7th Avenue.” This work was to be completed within a year.
In the court documents, the borough describes the required work as follows:
[DEVELOPER] IS REQUIRED TO MAKE IMPROVEMENTS TO THE EXISTING STORMWATER CULVERT ALONG THE JONES STREET AND EAST 7TH AVENUE FRONTAGE OF THE SITE. SCOPE OF THE CULVERT REPAIR/REPLACEMENT INCLUDES COMPLETE REPLACEMENT OF THE REINFORCED CONCRETE CULVERT TOP SLAP AND INLET IMPROVEMENTS IN ACCORANCE WITH THE “UNDERGROUND STORMWATER CULVERT PLANS”, PREPARED BY GILMORE & ASSOCIATES, DATED APRIL 7, 2022, CONSISTING OF 18 SHEETS. SCOPE ALSO INCLUDES THE REHABILIATION, REPAIR OR REPLACEMENT OF THE CULVERT WALLS AND CULVERT FLOOR SUBJECT TO BOROUGH DIRECTION, FOLLOWING THE REMOVAL OF THE TOP SLAB TO ALLOW FOR CLOSER INSPECTION. THE SCOPE DOES NOT INCLUDE THE IN-STREET CULVERT SECTION CROSSING JONES STREET AND EAST 7TH AVENUE.
In the complaint, it further states that, “The Borough spent years cooperating with Developer in good faith in completion of the Stormwater Culvert Repairs, meeting with Developer, its engineer, its contractors, and its legal counsel to discuss the specifics of the work.”
The developer did start the work, but it has sat as an open culvert for more than a year. According to an impacted resident we spoke with, the culvert was opened up in the first week of April 2025. The complaint states that the work was to be completed by March 1, 2024. It has now been two years since it should have been completed, and a year since it has sat exposed, with fencing, sandbags, cones, and barrels creating an eyesore for the neighborhood and generating safety concerns from residents.
An impacted resident also filed a complaint with the court in March seeking an order to have the work completed, but the request was denied for failing to comply with the rules of civil procedure. This complaint was handwritten and expressed concerns about safety, rodents, and the general quality of life. It was more of a plea for help than a legal document.
The corner of East 7th Avenue and Jones Street is the designated school bus stop, and according to a resident, the bus now stops further up on Jones Street. The fencing, which encompasses 300 to 400 square feet, and the exposed culvert within, have forced the kids to walk in the street to reach the bus. The temporary stop sign is placed low and often ignored, according to residents. The kids have to walk around this to reach the bus.
MoreThanTheCurve.com visited the site and noticed a metal rod protruding from the culvert. If a kid climbed the fence, this could be very dangerous. We spent about 30 minutes at the corner on April 27th. There were several kids riding bikes and scooters, people walking dogs, and joggers. We found it to be a fairly busy intersection in the middle of the afternoon.
MoreThanTheCurve.com has been unable to determine why the work has not progressed. We did not receive a reply to an email sent to Tyson Homes on April 27th, which offered the opportunity to provide a statement. When we first learned of this issue, a borough official declined to comment, citing the legal action.
More to come.