Conshohocken’s borough council to discuss potentially buying former car dealership for public safety facility

The former car dealership and service center at 1109-1119 Fayette Street and 1201 E. Butler in Conshohocken (the 1201 property is in Whitemarsh Township) could see new life as the home of the Borough of Conshohocken’s public safety services.

On the June 5th agenda of Conshohocken’s borough council is a discussion under Land Use Matters involving the property as the “future Public Safety Services Facility,” followed by a discussion on a draft agreement of sale with Provco Pineville Fayette LP.

Provco Pineville Fayette LP spent just over a decade trying to construct a Wawa with gas pumps on the property. The process started with an informal public meeting in 2010. The effort ended in 2021 when Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court found that a 2017 text amendment adopted by the borough council that would have allowed the Wawa was spot zoning.

The borough’s public safety services include two fire companies and an ambulance company. The two fire companies, the Washington Fire Company No 1. and Conshohocken Fire Company No. 2, own their own property and fire houses on West Elm Street and Fayette Street respectively. Narberth Ambulance provides service to Conshohocken and West Conshohocken through a substation on East Hector Street.

In a press release from the Borough of Conshohocken, the following is shared regarding the proposal:

Both volunteer fire companies and the ambulance team will relocate to the new facility. They are very enthusiastic about this proposal, as it relieves them of the burden of managing their own stations and allows them to focus solely on protecting residents. They can get out of the real estate business and devote all their energies to being first responders.

Through this transaction, the Borough will continue to lease the fire bays for storage of public safety equipment at the Washington Fire Company. Conshohocken Fire Company # 2 and Narberth Ambulance will potentially sell their facilities once the new public safety building is constructed.

A modern public safety building offers additional benefits, as well. It will house more equipment, offer on-site training, allow three emergency teams to better coordinate responses, and accommodate overnight shifts. Currently, most volunteers sleep at their homes since the stations are not conducive to overnight shifts.

In short, our residents will be the biggest beneficiaries as they realize faster response times from our emergency responders. As our Borough grows, we will be assured that we have fire and EMS teams that can grow with us.

The former car dealership property was one of the primary focuses when the borough, through a task force, studied how to bring further redevelopment and uses along Fayette Street. During a public meeting, there was a lengthy discussion on how to develop a zoning overlay that would attract a grocery market to the property. An ordinance with the language developed through the task force was adopted by the borough council in 2024.

The discussion on this issue is scheduled for Wednesday, June 5th at 7:00 p.m. at the borough hall at 400 Fayette Street.

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