Residents question the affordability of home prices of more than $1 million
A plan for the now-former Freddy Hill Farms site in Towamencin is in the works, and residents have plenty to say about it.https://www.thereporteronline.com/2025/09/12/towamencin-board-votes-down-freddy-hill-zoning-change/
Township officials heard a breakdown of that plan on Wednesday night, which would see 207 new housing units, and said they’d like to investigate that possible plan further.
“We’re asking for the opportunity. The alternative is, if you say no, we’re just going to move forward with the by-right plan,” said developer Tony Maras of Pinnacle Realty.
“This plan presents some opportunities that the other does not, and does this board want to consider that?” he said.
The future of the Freddy Hill site has been discussed since March 2025, when longtime owners the Seipt family announced plans to close the dairy farm, store, ice cream parlor and entertainment complex they’ve run since the early 1970s. Over that summer, the supervisors fielded dozens of comments urging preservation of at least some of the site, while Pinnacle presented two possible plans for the site, one using a cluster development plan under the site’s current zoning to build a total of 141 housing units in three new neighborhoods, and a second with more density, featuring a total of 321 units in a mix of townhouses and single-family detached homes under a mixed-use residential cluster development zoning that would require board approval.
An updated version presented last July increased the number of units to 338 total, and in September the board told the developer they had no interest in proceeding with the larger option, and asked Pinnacle to return with a compromise plan.
Since last fall, Maras told the supervisors and public Wednesday night, his firm and consultants have developed an alternative plan based on feedback from the board, residents, and the township’s planning commission, which would build a total of 207 new units: 37 single-family detached houses on the east side of Kriebel, 38 more single-family detached along a private road fronting on Sumneytown where the now-former Freddy Hill bakery stands now, and a mix of 35 townhouses and 97 small lot singles on the southwest quarter of the site near Canterbury Way.
“Back in the fall, we did submit a plan that was 300-plus units, to create a more attainably-priced product structure,” Maras said. “We went back, and spent a couple of months engineering the by-right plan, and then an alternative plan, because there were people saying they wanted to see the connection to Troxel. Maybe not more density, but certainly, that was a point of discussion.”
The new 207-unit plan would add a fourth leg to the current T-intersection at Sumneytown and Troxel, with the new leg leading into the northern single-family development, then south into the townhouse development, and an east-west road connecting that neighborhood to the new single-family cluster on the opposite side of Kriebel. That plan could be accompanied by changes such as making parts of Kriebel one-way only, and would involve moving a house currently at that corner, with possible widening of Sumneytown.
The original 141-unit plan would see average prices of $1.2 to $1.4 million and preserve roughly 64 acres of open space, while the new plan would keep roughly 66 acres, largely along a stream that runs through the property, with changes in the road configuration, the developer told the board. If the board has interest in exploring that plan, the original 141-unit plan that would require no zoning change would be held “in abeyance —it would stay on file with the township,” while the developer and the consultants develop detailed engineering plans for the 207-unit plan.
“If you say no tonight, I’m done presenting alternatives. We’ll just go forward,” Maras said.
Plenty of questions
Supervisors then took turns grilling the developer about specifics, starting with supervisor Kofi Osei, who asked if the 207-unit plan would also require a zoning change to allow the increased density. Maras answered that the MRC zoning would be necessary to meet the open space and density calculations as presented.
“I’ll say up front: the intersection is one of the more frequent requests I get from residents, as I’m talking with people. I think we should consider it based on that alone, but I also think we should be talking about all of the issues that need to be looked at. Traffic is the big one,” Osei said.
“If we are serious about solving the housing crisis, I will say up front: we need to go up on units. There are residents here tonight that said they want more attainable housing. I just want to make sure that we’re honest about what that solution is: it does mean more units,” Osei said.
Supervisor Kristin Warner asked if any of Sumneytown Pike would be widened by the developer, and Maras said “the plan is to widen as necessary,” following county recommendations, and the new driveway connections at Troxel and on the eastern side of the site would provide more access points than the original plan.
Sticker shock
Board chair Joyce Snyder asked about the prices of the new units: “The price point being between $1.2 million and $1.6 million: at least in my personal experience, that’s not affordable or attainable for me — for the carriage homes and the smaller family lots, what is your price point?”
Maras answered that a similar development in Bridgeport was originally projected to sell in the $290,000 to $350,000 range for smaller units and $400,000 to $425,000 before the pandemic, but several years of inflation raised those prices to $390,000-$400,000 for the smaller, and “high-4(00,000) and low-5(00,000)” range, “and that was probably the most attainably-priced job in Montgomery County, at that time.”
For this development, the prices for the smallest units would be in the $600,000 to $700,000 range; the small lot singles in the $800,000 to $950,000 range, and the larger lot singles from $950,000 to $1.2 million, with the largest as high as $1.5 million each, the developer said.
“It’s sad to say that an attainably priced house in Montgomery County can be $500,000 to $600,000, for a townhome, but that’s the reality we’re facing,” he said.
More questions from residents
Resident Barry Kenyon asked for specifics on the lot sizes and prices of each unit, and the sizes as measured in acres: “The small lot is $700,000 to $950,000 in range, and that’s affordable housing? I don’t think so.”
Casey Hannings, who has raised concerns over the past year about the impact of the development on wildlife and grassland in the area, said he also didn’t see those housing prices as attainable, and shared a series of photos of wildlife he had recently seen on the land.
“Either way, you are losing many trees. And if you like, I could go count the nests in each tree, and come back with the number. But if we look at the 140 plan, versus the 207: how many roads cross the stream in plan one? The number is zero. How many roads cross the stream in the new second one? One more road. We would see more wildlife collisions, more runoff into the stream,” he said.
Maras countered that the prices in the new development may not be ideal for first-time buyers, but could free up housing stock for those looking to upgrade or downsize.
“If you’re presently in a $400,000 home, and the next available home for you is $1 million-plus, you can’t move. But if the person in the $400,000 moves to a $600,000, and the $600,000 can go buy an $800,000, that availability of product in different points, creates attainability in this township,” he said.
Ashley Campisi said she made her case last summer against any new development, due to the traffic and environmental impact: “Kriebel Road can barely hold (traffic from) the homes that we have. Our road is only barely wide enough for two-way traffic…adding more homes is going to make the situation worse.”
Tina Rumsey urged the board to vote in favor of proceeding: “Refusing to explore this option means accepting a default outcome, that may be worse for the township.” Lori Morrissey said she saw the added units and road realignment as pluses, and Valorie Skripek said she was “entrusting our supervisors to explore every option” for the development.
Rich Kahney said he thought “the overwhelming majority of residents do not want the zoning change” to allow more units, while Jennifer Childress asked that “we take this opportunity to get the infrastructure right” by exploring the 207-unit plan.
Rachel Fletcher added her own support for exploring the 207-unit plan, and Ron Hugick said he saw comparisons between the proposed 207-unit complex and several existing senior communities already in the township: “Give the proposal a look, progress is a good thing.”
Nancy Becker said she thought the proposed prices “are far above any of the current houses in our township” and said she thinks the plan “compromises the quality of life and safety, not only for the residents around it, but for our entire township.”
Becky Curlett said she thought residents opposing the 207-unit plan needed to know that the by-right plan could be constructed with no further input from residents, while the larger plan still could be shaped by their feedback. “We don’t have any choice, they’re going to build those 140 homes. And we need to see if there’s a better plan or not,” Curlett said.
Maras answered that he and his team would proceed with refining and engineering the 207-unit plan, “so you could have a more complete package,” and bring that back to the board at a future meeting for more discussion.
Towamencin’s supervisors next meet at 7 p.m. on March 11 at the township administration building, 1090 Troxel Road. For more information, visit www.Towamencin.org.
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