'Belfair Square' project discussed as far back as 2020
Township officials recently got an update on the Belfair Square project planned by developer David Caracausa.
“The style of those townhouses was a quad townhouse, which basically had two units on the road frontage and then two units directly behind, and then you also had carports to support the residential units,” said Caracausa.
“That particular plan was pre-Covid. There’s been a bit of a change in market demand, and product demand, that has led me to take a fresh look at this,” he said.
Development on the site, the south side of Welsh Road between Forty Foot and Orvilla, had been discussed as far back as 2011, and Towamencin’s supervisors passed a new overlay zoning in 2015 to encourage development in that area. Starting in 2020, the developer first presented plans for a complex of four quad-style four-unit townhouse buildings, to be built on roughly four acres on the south side of Welsh Road, west of Orvilla Road and just east of Vernon Court, between the Grist Mill community and Welsh, with an updated version shown in July 2021, a code change approved that October, then a time extension on their land development approval was granted in early 2025.
The new version, Caracausa told the township supervisors on April 8, would modify the plan from a grouping of four four-unit buildings to a new layout, featuring two rows of five townhouses each on the east and west sides of the parcel, both facing toward two more groups of three units each at the center of the lot. A shared driveway would provide access to Welsh Road, and 24 parking spaces would run along the south side of the community, plus spots at each unit.
“The original layout is very similar to this, as far as the boulevard entry coming off of Welsh Road, and then also the circulation being a complete loop,” Caracausa said.
“These particular units, we do have the required off-street parking: it’s three parking spaces per unit, so we show those 48 spaces. 24 of them are along the rear property line, and then there’s spaces between the buildings,” he said.
Each unit would also have a one-car driveway and one-car garage on the ground floor, but township codes don’t allow the garage spaces to be counted toward the parking figures, the developer told the board.
“But we do meet the off-street parking requirement without that garage space,” he said.
Stormwater management is ‘”pretty much in the exact same location” as the earlier plan, as is the open space that would be located southwest of the new neighborhood, he added. Supervisors chair Joyce Snyder asked why the developer described the units as two-and-a-half stories, and Caracausa said each would have two full floors plus space above.
“The half-story is the peak: there’s a first floor, second floor, and then the attic,” he said. Supervisor Kristin Warner asked if those attics would include accessibility features or measures, and the developer said they would not.
Township consultants and staff have already vetted the updated plan for emergency vehicle access, and a concept rendering shows multiple textures and colors to differentiate each unit.
“And the buildings are somewhat staggered, so it doesn’t look like a bunch of soldiers in a row. It’s got some, in my opinion, aesthetically pleasing elevations,” he said.
Updated formal plans are in the works now, and the developer said he’s seeking input from the board and public on changing the layout before proceeding further. All prior calculations on unit density, parking, and the road network are “almost identical to the plan that’s already been approved.”
Supervisor Kofi Osei asked if the developer had a timeline for when the units could be built, and Caracausa said that depends on several factors, including how fast the updated plans are approved. Resident Barry Kenyon asked when the new units could be up for sale, and Caracausa gave a rough estimate.
“I would say that, if I get through the approval process by third or fourth quarter, and probably start the project the second quarter of ’27,” Caracausa said.
Because of the small site, he added, building one group of homes first as others are sold may not be feasible.
“This site, you almost have to construct all of the units at the same time,” he said. “I could start sales, but if I’m under construction I can’t give (owners) access – it may require that I get a building built, clean up that first part of the street, continue my construction. I don’t think sales will open the exact same time I put a shovel in the ground.”
Kenyon then asked for specifics on whether the neighborhood would be maintained by a homeowners association — the developer said it would — and dimensions and pricing. Caracausa answered that the latest plans call for each townhouse to have three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, with basements, and pricing was too premature to tell.
“I want to accelerate the process…as fast as the wheels will turn, I will proceed,” Caracausa said.
The developer then asked if the board would support his moving forward to develop more refined plans with the new configuration, and the board unanimously said they did.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on April 29 and May 13 both at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information visit www.Towamencin.org.
This article appears courtesy of a content share agreement between Fideri News Network and The Reporter. To read more stories like this, visit https://www.thereporteronline.com
