John Titterton said he and the other Upper Makefield supervisors have "very deep and profound concerns" about a developer's plans to sell the Scammell property to a national builder.
Westrum Development Company officials confirmed during the supervisors meeting last night that they have a deal pending to sell the tract off Washington Crossing (Route 532) and Taylorsville roads to Pulte Homes.
Last night, they updated the board on their efforts to gain final approval for the age-restricted Arbours I development on the property. Assistant vice president Roger Wilcox said his Fort Washington-based company will sell the land to Pulte once the supervisors approve a proposal to build about 200 homes on the tract.
Pulte Homes already has built the Lakeside development farther north off Taylorsville Road. According to Titterton and Vice Chairman Edward Ford, there were a lot of problems with Pulte's work at Lakeside.
"I'm very skeptical of any dealings with Pulte," Ford said. Local Pulte representatives could not be reached for comment last night.
Wilcox said Westrum also plans to sell the adjacent Goldstein property to Pulte once it gains land development approval to build 80 age-restricted homes on that site. The development would be called Arbours II. That project has yet to gain conditional-use approval.
After his company's presentation, Wilcox said he would relay the supervisors' concerns about Pulte to his boss, John Westrum.
Wilcox said company employees were informed of the pending sale on March 12. He said he did not know how long the deal had been in the works, or why Westrum was selling the Scammell property. The sale could be finalized by the end of April, Wilcox said.
Pulte will take ownership of several of the 10 or so properties Westrum is in the process of developing in the region, he said.
Wilcox promised the supervisors he would make sure a Pulte representative joins Westrum officials next month when they try to gain final approval for the Arbours I project, so the builder can know exactly what the board expects. The developer has until April 20 to get final approval for the project.
Thursday, March 22, 2001
