An unpaved road runs between houses along Welsh Road in Hatfield Township and the so-called ‘Movie Lots’ currently in the process of being sold by the North Penn School District, as seen in July 2025.
Developer Pulte Homes to present on plans for property
If you’ve been following developments on the so-called ‘Movie Lots’ in Hatfield township, clear your calendar for tomorrow, January 28, as township officials will hear the latest from developer Pulte Homes on plans for the property.
Township Manager Aaron Bibro said the public hearing will be at 7 p.m.
“The commissioners decided to change the regular meeting to 6:30, so we can get through some of our business items before we start the public hearing, since that’s gonna be a crowded room and most likely a very lengthy process,” he said
In mid-September 2024 the North Penn School Board approved a $15 million sale agreement with Pulte for the “movie lots” near Welsh Road. The lots total about 56 acres and are located on the northeast corner of the intersection of Welsh and Forty Foot roads and are farmed on a year-to-year contract with an area farmer. The parcels which essentially are strips roughly 100 feet by 20 feet had been given away by movie theaters in the 1920s as prizes for those attending movies. The land was acquired by the school district over the years for non-payment of property taxes, and selling the lots had been discussed by the board as far back as 2022.
That initial vote included a 90-day due diligence period that has since been extended several times, and the district has said the extensions were requested in part to allow time for testing on the site, and to continue talks with Hatfield Township staff and residents on developing the movie lots and adjacent “Beach property” as one combined project rather than two separate ones; early plans had shown Pulte building 85 homes on the movie lots and 78 more on the Beach site.
Last summer, residents near the site reported receiving a letter from Pulte notifying them of a planned court action the developer said was necessary to clear paper streets from a plan that originated in 1922, and township officials said at that time that no plan approvals were imminent as the legal issues were being addressed.
During their Jan. 14 meeting, Bibro announced that the developer plans to make a formal presentation to the board, to argue in favor of the conditional use approval needed to move ahead with the project.
The normal meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. and will likely include “a few guests” including check presentations and an update from the town’s district judge, timed to take advantage of the expected large crowd, according to the manager.
“The hearing itself will start at 7 p.m.,” Bibro said.
Both meetings are at the township administration building, 1950 School Road. For more information visit www.Hatfield.org.
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