K. Hovnanian Pennsylvania Acquisitions, LLC has filed a conditional use application with Whitemarsh Township to develop two existing parcels of land on Butler Pike in the Village of Plymouth Meeting.
This business is 100% owned by Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., a New Jersey-based firm active in home building in suburban Philadelphia and in a number of other markets throughout the United States.
K. Hovnanian Homes, the trade name for Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., is proposing the development of The Villages At Whitemarsh.
The area proposed for development is in the area of the orange circle on the above map. To put this map into perspective, Germantown Pike goes from the upper left-side of this image to the lower center part of this image. The highway network seen to the left in this image is a portion of the Norristown and Mid-County Expressway Interchanges on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The Plymouth Whitemarsh High School and the Colonial Elementary School are located to the lower right-side of this image.
This news column includes a summary of a number of aspects about this potential development.
Site:
The Villages At Whitemarsh is proposed to be built on 13.699 acres of land on Butler Pike, between Germantown Pike and Marple Lane.
The site includes two existing parcels of land.
One existing parcel of real estate includes 10.45 acres, according to records of Montgomery County. This site includes land at the intersection of Germantown Pike and Butler Pike, ground along Butler Pike, land behind a number of buildings on Germantown Pike, and direct access to Marple Lane. The bulk of this site is open space. This parcel also includes three historic buildings: Abolition Hall, Maulsby Barn, and Hovenden House as well as a single-family house on Marple Lane.
A second existing parcel of ground includes 2.71 acres, according to records of Montgomery County. This site is located on Butler Pike and the rear of this site is a neighbor to the 10.45 acre parcel. (A third property on Butler Pike – uninvolved in this development proposal – is located between the two existing parcels proposed for The Villages At Whitemarsh.) While this second parcel is also primarily undeveloped, the parcel does include what has been described as an unoccupied house and a shed.
K. Hovnanian Homes has agreements to purchase both existing parcels of ground.
Please note that the acreage amounts listed in the records of Montgomery County for these two existing parcels of real estate are different from the acreage amounts listed with the development plans for the site. According to K. Hovnanian Homes, the amount of acreage listed in the development plans is based on an actual field survey of the property boundaries.
Summary of Development Plans:
K. Hovnanian Homes has proposed building 67 townhomes in The Villages At Whitemarsh. These houses will be built on a newly created 11.9 acre parcel of land. Access to the townhomes will be from a new roadway built with an entrance on Butler Pike.
The existing single-family house in Marple Lane will be separated from the development site and placed in a new .411 acre plot of land; this house will be sold.
The three historic structures will be placed together on a new 1.388 acre parcel of ground. This piece of real estate will also be sold.
“This is a great community in a very good school district with excellent access to local businesses as well as local and regional employment centers,” stated Mr. Barry McCarron, Division President at K. Hovnanian Homes. “We have built several communities in areas across Montgomery County, including [in] Upper Providence Township, Collegeville, Perkiomen Township, Montgomery Township, Upper Merion Township, Huntingdon Valley and Lower Moreland.”
“We have also built a similar number of communities in Bucks and Chester counties, along with the City of Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey,” continued Mr. McCarron. “K. Hovnanian Homes has been building new homes and residential communities in the Philadelphia area for more than 30 years.”
On May 21, 2018, K. Hovnanian Homes issued a document, “Commitment to Montco’s Preservation”, indicating that the firm intends to “maintain the surrounding land’s historical value and maximize open space.”
According to an accompanying news release, Mr. McCarron stated that “We have listened to and met with neighbors and community leaders through all stages of the development process, including preservationists and local officials. We adopted many of their suggestions into our proposed plan.”
Among the elements listed in this news release were the following items:
● “A key component to the “Commitment to Montco’s Preservation” is creating open space adjacent to the historical structures, which could function as a welcome park. This space will be owned by members of the Whitemarsh community, as part of the development’s homeowners association.”
● “Supporting all efforts to ensure these sites remain on the National Register of Historic Places, which will be fully preserved as part of the development.”
● “Utilizing only 70 percent of the allowed density for the overall site.”
● “Incorporating a walking trail across the site that will be part of Montgomery County’s ‘Cross County Trail’ system.”
● “Fulfilling a suggested use in the township’s comprehensive plan, without any significant traffic impact.”
“We maintain our ‘Commitment to Montco’s Preservation,’ including all of the action steps we have taken as part of our proposed plan,” stated Mr. McCarron.
Summary of Opposition to Development Plans:
A number of individuals have expressed concerns about the development of these two existing parcels of real estate.
Some want no development. Others want development limited. Still others are primarily focused on preserving the three historic buildings.
The Friends of Abolition Hall, a group of interested individuals, is opposed to the current plans for the development of the two existing parcels of real estate. Ms. Sydelle Zove, convener of the organization, has spoken publicly about group’s concerns. Among other points, the Friends of Abolition want the three historic buildings fully preserved as well as a buffer of land of about two acres between the townhome development and Abolition Hall. This park is proposed to be called the “Plymouth Meeting Welcome Park”.
“We believe there needs to a buffer of land sufficient in size to protect the integrity of the three historic buildings from any housing development,” explained Ms. Zove. “We would like to see detailed plans for the three historic buildings so that they will be preserved well into the future.” The group seeks to have Whitemarsh Township acquire land to create the Plymouth Meeting Welcome Park as a buffer. This site would include interpretive signage, among other features.
“Protecting the land immediately to the north of Abolition Hall will enhance the marketability of the historic structures,” stated Ms. Zove.
In addition, the Friends of Abolition Hall seeks additional parking for the three historic structures. “Of course, those structures need adequate parking, and not just a handful of spaces, as shown on the current plan,” stated Ms. Zove.
The Friends of Abolition Hall also seeks a smaller number of housing units to be approved at this site and questions whether sections of the two existing parcels of real estate are actually able to be fully developed because of potential wetlands and sinkholes on the property. “We have concerns about storm water controls and how sections of this site can be developed when they appear to be prone to standing water and flooding,” stated Ms. Zove.
Ms. Zove summarized some of the goals of the Friends of Abolition Hall at a meeting of the Whitemarsh Township Planning Commission on January 23, 2018: “The Township can enlist the services of the Montgomery County Planning Commission in collaborating with the developer to assemble a more appropriate plan. Elected officials can agree to invest local Open Space funds and County trail funds to reduce the density, to create a publicly accessible Welcome Park, and to ensure a Plymouth Meeting connection to the planned Cross County Trail. Abolition Hall deserves better. Let’s bring the resources to bear that will make this happen.”
In the Fall 2016 issue of extant, the publication of the Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia, the organization noted that Hovenden House and Abolition Hall were among “Places To Save” in the Greater Philadelphia Area. The Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia stated that alternatives to be “seriously explored” include having fewer housing units built at the site and renewing “calls for Whitemarsh Township to acquire the farmland parcel for open space.”
Avenging the Ancestors Coalition, a group of interested individuals, has voiced its concerns about the proposed development in Plymouth Meeting. It is opposed to the plan presented by K. Hovnanian Homes.
Preservation Pennsylvania, in a news release issued in February of 2017, announced that it added Abolition Hall and Hovenden House to its “Pennsylvania At Risk” list due to development pressures. This list includes “the Commonwealth’s most endangered historic resources.”
Comprehensive Plan:
Many municipalities have developed comprehensive plans to detail goals for their specific community. These plans may include a number of items deemed important to the specific municipality. Typically, the comprehensive plans are updated every so often to take into new facts on the ground as well as changes that have occurred since the last comprehensive plan was adopted by a specific municipality.
Whitemarsh Township is one of these municipalities with a comprehensive plan.
The current Whitemarsh Township Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 2003. You can view the entire Comprehensive Plan by clicking here.
Among the documents included in this Comprehensive Plan is a Housing and Historic Preservation Plan. This section includes two elements that may be of impact in the Village of Plymouth Meeting:
● “Develop transitional buffer zones surrounding the historic villages to prevent them from the encroachment of new development.”
● “Provide regulations for the sensitive adaptive reuse of old houses that are no longer desirable as residential dwellings either through creating new zoning districts, such as the RO District, or by allowing conversions to such uses as bed and breakfasts, etc.”
Within the recommendations in the Open Space Plan of the Comprehensive Plan, is a section dealing with the Village of Plymouth Meeting:
● “Make efforts to preserve the properties within the Cold Point Historic District and the Plymouth Meeting Historic District (Map #12) by acquiring and/or preserving such properties as open space in order to help preserve the historic significance of the region.”
In the above image, to the left center, is the existing 10.45 acre property planned as the site for part of the development of The Villages At Whitemarsh; the parcel is marked in pink with black lines. In the Comprehensive Plan, this site is noted as one the “Priority Open Space Opportunities (Non-Acquisition)”. In 2013, the Board of Supervisors adopted a resolution to change the designation of this site to “Priority Open Space Opportunities”.
This image is a portion of a map from that Comprehensive Plan. You can view the full map as well as the rest of the Chapter 5 Recommendations of this plan by clicking here.
The Comprehensive Plan also includes a map detailing the potential buildout of all of the land within Whitemarsh Township. The potential buildout map was based on the zoning of the municipality.
A portion of this map is displayed above. According to the legend for this map, each black dot represents one existing dwelling unit; each red dot represents one potential dwelling unit. According to the description on this map, “This exercise is intended to provide a general sense of the potential absolute build-out by Zoning District. The dots were placed on the map in a GIS-generated random pattern.”
In the above image, in the lower center, is the existing 10.45 acre property planned as the site for part of the development of The Villages At Whitemarsh. While specific property lines are not included on this map, the parcel appears to be marked with multiples of red dots.
You can view the full map showing the potential buildout of land in Whitemarsh Township by clicking here.
According to Living, the Spring 2018 Newsletter of Whitemarsh Township, the municipality is in the midst of updating its Comprehensive Plan.
“The Township is updating two sections of the Comprehensive Plan related to land use and housing,” explained Mr. Richard Mellor, Township Manager of Whitemarsh Township. “We anticipate it will be completed by the end of the year. We have held two public hearings to obtain public feedback. The plan will be available for public review prior to any public discussion in the later part of 2018.”
Zoning:
Each parcel of real estate in Whitemarsh Township has been zoned by the local municipality for a specific type or types of development. The two existing parcels of property located on Butler Pike are no different. Both of these parcels have been zoned as part of the Village Commercial 2 District.
The two maps above highlight the zoning district boundaries in part of Whitemarsh Township. The second map is an enlargement of a section of the first map that includes the site for the proposed development of The Villages At Whitemarsh.
According to the Zoning Ordinance of Whitemarsh Township, a number of uses are allowed within the Village Commercial 2 District, including, in general, single-family detached residences, two-family residences, family child day-care homes, antique stores, bed-and-breakfasts, places of worship, live/work units for artisans and others, business and professional offices, insurance agencies, music studios, dance studios, art studios, martial art studios, libraries, and museums.
In addition, the Zoning Ordinance of Whitemarsh Township also allows other types of uses as conditional uses if the municipality approves such uses through specific procedures. Townhomes, apartments, and condominiums are among the conditional uses allowed in the Village Commercial 2 District.
More details on what is permitted in this zoning district as well as zoning requirements and restrictions can be found at the website of Whitemarsh Township by clicking here.
While municipalities can and do regulate the use of land and structures through zoning, unless a governmental entity is willing to purchase a piece of property or purchase an easement to a property, the government generally cannot prohibit all uses of a property by its owner or effectively “take” the property without fair compensation to the owner of the property. That may come through the purchase of an easement or by purchase of the actual property through eminent domain.
Historic District:
Beyond regular zoning, there can also be additional governmental restrictions placed on a parcel of real estate. Sometimes, these additional governmental restrictions are called “overlay zoning” or wording of a similar meaning.
In the case of these two existing parcels of land on Butler Pike, both pieces of real estate are within the Historic District of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. The boundaries of this historic district are outlined in purple in the map above. The white lines on the map represent individual parcels of real estate.
As part of the Historic District of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships, the Historic Architectural Review Board of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships provides advice to both municipalities regarding the appropriateness required “for authorization to erect, alter, reconstruct, repair, restore, or demolish all or any building or structure within” the Historic District of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. According to Whitemarsh Township, “any alterations to the exterior of any property or its environment that are designed to be visible from any public way within the designated historic district must be reviewed by the Historic Architectural Review Board.”
Adaptive Re-Use:
When a structure built for one use is no longer considered viable for that use, property owners will sometimes shutter a building or demolish it.
An alternative sought by many involved in historic preservation as well as governmental planners, among others, is to find a new use for such a building.
To adapt the current structure for a new use.
Adaptive re-uses of historic buildings (defined by Whitemarsh Township as those “constructed prior to 1940”) are explicitly encouraged in the areas zoned within the Village Commercial 2 District.
Older buildings in communities like Plymouth Meeting have been converted into offices for firms engaged in a variety of businesses, including real estate and insurance, among other types of businesses.
Mr. Nicholas Salamone has operated a real estate office in an older building at the intersection of Germantown Pike and Butler Pike since the late 1960’s. He has owned the building since 1973. Mr. Salamone explained that in previous years, the building was formerly used as a sporting goods store as well as a deli.
Beyond Plymouth Meeting, one can see the adaptive re-use approach in a number of factories in the Freedom Valley that have been converted from manufacturing facilities into office space or residential lofts.
Historic Marker:
To recognize the historic significance of Abolition Hall as well as the role of the Corson family in helping human beings escape bondage and attain freedom through the Underground Railroad, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania approved the placement of an historic marker for Abolition Hall at 4006 Butler Pike. The marker, seen in the photograph above, was dedicated on November 18, 2000.
No known party has sought or is seeking the removal of this historic marker.
This historic marker will likely remain on Butler Pike regardless of whether or how the real estate is developed. A number of historic markers highlight specific buildings or events that are no longer visible because of subsequent developments or events.
Historic Buildings And Other Current Buildings:
These two aerial maps are identical with one exception. The aerial map below shows two purple ovals. These ovals identify the sites of the three historic buildings involved in this potential development. The smaller oval is the site of Hovenden House at the intersection of Butler Pike and Germantown Pike. The larger oval is the location of both Abolition Hall and Maulsby Barn.
Historic Buildings – Development Plans:
As noted previously, the plans presented by K. Hovnanian Homes have indicated that the three historic buildings will be grouped together on one parcel of real estate. This parcel is slated to include 1.388 acres.
All three buildings are on the National Register of Historic Places. No changes are planned by the development company regarding the inclusion of the three structures on this federal list.
All three buildings are within the Historic District of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships. No changes are planned by the development company regarding the inclusion of the three structures in this district.
The plans presented by K. Hovnanian Homes explicitly seek to have the three historic buildings preserved and utilized for adaptive re-uses.
“The buildings will be sold without alteration of the current uses,” explained Mr. McCarron of K. Hovnanian Homes. “Any change from the current uses would be subject to the ordinances of Whitemarsh Township, including, without limitation the Whitemarsh Township Historic District Ordinance and the provisions of the Whitemarsh Zoning ordinance applicable to the Village Commercial 2 Zoning District.”
Mr. McCarron continued: “There are no deed restrictions presently proposed, as the buildings are subject to the Whitemarsh Township Historic District Ordinance, which is designed to maintain historical aspects of the buildings. There are no easements presently proposed, as certain uses are allowed and others are prohibited by the Village Commercial 2 Zoning District provisions of the Whitemarsh Township Zoning Ordinance.”
Historic Buildings – Government Ownership:
Whitemarsh Township has not sought to purchase Abolition Hall, Maulsby Barn, and/or Hovenden House. No other known governmental entity has sought to purchase any or all of these historic buildings.
Historic Buildings – Demolition Process:
Demolition of one or all of the three historic buildings is not being sought by any known party.
Quite the opposite.
The demolition process, if attempted, involves several steps.
According to Mr. Mellor, a property owner who seeks to demolish a building in Whitemarsh Township must first obtain a demolition permit. A fee is assessed for the permit based upon the cost of the work necessary; the fees are on the website of Whitemarsh Township. “Before a permit is granted, written documentation is necessary to show that all utilities have been disconnected and a rodent infestation inspection is required and documentation that there is no infestation must be submitted,” stated Mr. Mellor.
Demolition of a building on the National Register of Historic Places may be handled differently, according to Mr. Mellor. “The only time the process would be different for a National Register historic site would be if there is public grant money involved or if the demolition is proposed by a public entity,” explained Mr. Mellor. “As for [a building in] … the Plymouth Meeting Historic District, the demolition permit would have to be reviewed by the Historical Architectural Review Board (HARB) and if recommended, the Board of Supervisors would have to approve a Certificate of Appropriateness before the permit could be granted. Demolition is considered an absolute last resort and the need to do so needs to be proven based upon various information that would have to be brought to HARB based upon the state law that authorized the creation of the District and based upon the District’s regulations.”
Other Existing Buildings – Development Plans:
Beyond the three historic buildings, two other buildings are located on these two existing parcels of ground.
As noted previously, plans call for the single-family house on Marple Lane to be separated into a distinct parcel of real estate. This parcel is slated to include .411 acre.
The unoccupied house and shed at 4046 Butler Pike is slated to be demolished.
Other Existing Buildings – Government Ownership:
Whitemarsh Township has not sought to purchase these two other buildings. No known governmental entity has sought to purchase either or both of these other two buildings.
Open Space:
Open Space – Plans for Development:
Of the 13.699 acre total site, 4.941 acres is slated to remain as open space on Parcel 2. This is the parcel of real estate that would include the proposed townhomes. Some of the open space will literally be open, landscaped, or wooded ground; other portions of the open space will be utilized for storm water drainage basins.
Areas to be kept as open space in Parcel 2 are marked in green in the development plan shown above for The Villages At Whitemarsh.
“We have incorporated a significant area of open space adjacent to Abolition Hall in our proposed plan,” explained Mr. McCarron of K. Hovnanian Homes. “Our plan also provides a substantial amount of parking that may be used by the owner of the lot containing Abolition Hall, Hovenden House and the converted barn residence.”
You can view the plan for The Villages At Whitemarsh by clicking here.
Open Space – Government Ownership:
Most of the land included in the two existing parcels of real estate is undeveloped. The ground includes land that had been farmed as well as woodlands.
Mr. Mellor confirmed that Whitemarsh Township made two offers to purchase a large portion of the existing 10.45 acre parcel of real estate. While Mr. Mellor declined to comment on specific negotiations, Ms. Zove of the Friends of Abolition Hall was able to confirm the details of the two offers made by the municipality. The group led by Ms. Zove was able to secure copies of letters sent to the legal representative of the 10.45 acre site through a formal Right-To-Know request to Whitemarsh Township.
According to Ms. Zove, the municipality initially offered $1,000,000.00 to purchase 8.2 acres of land from the owners of the existing 10.45 acre parcel. This initial offer was made, according to Ms. Zove, in a letter dated March 28, 2014.
A second offer was made by Whitemarsh Township, according to Ms. Zove, for the same amount of ground from the same parcel of real estate. This second offer, according to Ms. Zove, was made in a letter dated May 23, 2014, and the offer was in the amount of $1,300,000.00. Ms. Zove quoted from the letter that “This offer is the Township’s final offer…and will expire thirty (30) days from the date of its latest delivery.”
Neither offer was accepted by the owners of the real estate.
The Friends of Abolition Hall have advocated for Whitemarsh Township to utilize some of its Open Space Reserve Fund to purchase open space at this site.
“We would like to see the Township invest Open Space [Reserve] Fund dollars in protecting the land immediately adjacent to Abolition Hall,” stated Ms. Zove. “Such an investment could do double duty by effectively reducing the total unit count [of houses]. Fewer [housing] units, more open space, less impervious coverage, reduced need for on-site storm water facilities. The developer’s reduced revenue would be offset by the public investment. A public/private partnership for the public good.”
Cross County Trail:
The plans for The Villages At Whitemarsh include a section of the Cross County Trail. This trail will be available for biking, walking, jogging, and rollerblading, according to Montgomery County. Currently, this trail goes from the Schuylkill River Trail in the Borough of Conshohocken to Germantown Pike in Plymouth Township. Eventually, Montgomery County plans for the Cross County Trail to the Willow Grove Area and Bucks County.
You can view details about plans by Montgomery County for the Cross County Trail by clicking here. You can view a map of the current route for this trail as well as the planned potential route by clicking here.
Sinkholes:
Sinkholes are part of the landscape in a number of communities throughout the Freedom Valley. The development plans for The Villages At Whitemarsh include note of three sinkholes in a portion of the property. The plans call for this section of land to be incorporated into a stormwater management basin. A fourth sinkhole is also noted on the development plans; that one is located between this stormwater management basin and Butler Pike.
According to the United States Geological Survey, “A sinkhole is a depression in the ground that has no natural external surface drainage. Basically this means that when it rains, all of the water stays inside the sinkhole and typically drains into the subsurface.”
“Sinkholes are most common in what geologists call, ‘karst terrain.’ These are regions where the types of rock below the land surface can naturally be dissolved by groundwater circulating through them. Soluble rocks include salt beds and domes, gypsum, and limestone and other carbonate rock.”
“When water from rainfall moves down through the soil, these types of rock begin to dissolve. This creates underground spaces and caverns.”
“Sinkholes are dramatic because the land usually stays intact for a period of time until the underground spaces just get too big. If there is not enough support for the land above the spaces, then a sudden collapse of the land surface can occur.”
Plymouth Meeting is one of the communities in the region where limestone formations are common.
Sales Prices:
Both a representative of the current owners of the existing 10.45 acre property and a representative of the buyer of the property, K. Hovnanian Homes, declined to disclose the sales price for this parcel of real estate.
A number of items, including the specific sales price for this property and related clauses, have been redacted from the publicly available sales agreement dated May 5, 2015. This sales agreement is between the three current owners of this site – Ms. Ann Hopkins Wilson, Mr. Thomas Hopkins, and Ms. Margaret Stevens – and K. Hovnanian Homes.
No known public document has been seen detailing the sales agreement for the existing 2.71 acre parcel of ground. K. Hovnanian Homes declined to disclose the sales price for this parcel of real estate.
Real Estate Property Taxes:
According to Montgomery County, current property taxes on the existing 2.71 acre parcel of real estate at 4046 Butler Pike were about $6,697.
According to Montgomery County, current property taxes on the existing 10.45 acre parcel of ground at 4006 Butler Pike were about $22,852.
Please note that property tax amounts are rounded in the public records of Montgomery County. Actual property tax payments can vary depending on the rounding policies of the jurisdiction assessing a property tax as well as the timing that a property tax is paid; a discount, for example, is provided for an early payment, while a penalty is assessed for a late payment.
Property taxes have been reduced modestly for a number of years on the property at 4006 Butler Pike because of commitments by the owners to keep the land undeveloped. This lower assessment was done as part of the Covenants to Preserve Land Use – Property Tax Assessments Act 515, a law passed by the Pennsylvania General Assembly in 1965.
According to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, if the property is developed, property tax reductions that were provided during the preceding seven years will need to be paid back along with 6% interest for six of those years.
Real estate property tax revenue to governmental entities will increase substantially if the two existing parcels of land are developed as The Villages At Whitemarsh. Among the beneficiaries of the increased property tax revenue will be the governmental entities of Whitemarsh Township, Montgomery County, Montgomery County Community College, and the Colonial School District. Other types of tax revenue will also likely increase with the development at this site.
As tax revenue increases, governmental costs will also increase. Costs will include such items as public safety, education, and other governmental services.
Whether the amount of tax revenue increases will be more than the amount needed to cover increases in governmental expenditures is unknown at this time.
Meetings:
The next time and date for this hearing on the conditional use application by K. Hovnanian Homes is scheduled for Thursday, July 19th at 7 PM, according to Mr. Mellor. The hearing will take place “in the Township meeting room [at 616 Germantown Pike in Lafayette Hill]. Additional hearing dates will be determined if needed.”
Further Information:
Further information on the proposed development of The Villages At Whitemarsh can be obtained from Whitemarsh Township. People having questions or wanting additional information can complete a Right-To-Know Request Form found on the website of Whitemarsh Township. Individuals may “fill out a right-to-know request and it will be processed,” according to Mr. Mellor.
In addition, further information can be obtained from K. Hovnanian Homes by visiting the website for The Villages At Whitemarsh.
Information about the Friends of Abolition Hall can be obtained by visiting the Facebook Page for this group or its website that includes its video “History at the Crossroads”.
The top aerial photograph and two additional aerial photographs are courtesy of Bing, 2018.
The artwork of the proposed townhomes is courtesy of K. Hovnanian Homes, 2017.
The photograph of protestors at Abolition Hall is from the website of Preservation Pennsylvania, 2017.
Whitemarsh Township is the source of the logo for the Township, the map from the Open Space Plan of the Comprehensive Plan, the Potential Buildout map of the Comprehensive Plan, the Zoning Map, and the map of the Historic District of Plymouth and Whitemarsh Townships.
The photograph of the Nicholas Salamone Real Estate Office is courtesy of Google, 2017.
The photograph of the historic marker for Abolition Hall is courtesy of Ms. Sydelle Zove, 2016.
The image of the plan for the proposed development of The Villages At Whitemarsh is courtesy of K. Hovnanian Homes, 2017.
The logo of the Cross County Trail is courtesy of Montgomery County, 2018.
The parcel map detailing individual properties and the images detailing real estate property taxes for the two existing parcels of real estate are courtesy of Montgomery County.
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Contact Richard McDonough at freedomvalleychronicles@gmail.com.
© 2018 Richard McDonough