By Richard L. Gaw
Staff Writer

In 2021, when New Garden Township Parks Superintendent Mike Buck first delivered the initial plans to develop New Garden Hills – the 137-acre property the township purchased for $1.5 million in 2018 and formerly known as Saint Anthony’s in the Hills – its price tag was $18 million.

Months later, after a sharpened pencil re-calculation of the estimated cost, Buck and Township Manager Christopher Himes realized that the original estimate failed to include the price of demolition, the rehabilitation of buildings, the construction of new buildings, water, sanitary and electrical service, parking, and other vital components of the park’s development. 

The estimated actual costs for New Garden Hills would now come out to be north of $32 million. Suddenly, a project that would cost millions was now a developmental kick-in-the can reality check that was way above the township’s financial means. In the years since – quietly and consistently - the park has undergone a punch list of improvements, a new branding campaign and a new trail – at a cost of $469,591.

At the Sept. 15 Board of Supervisors’ meeting, however, Buck provided the broad strokes for the revised, long-term vision for New Garden Hills, which he unveiled as part of a seven-year, nine-zone phased plan that is proposed to cost $5,188,029 – more than $27 million less than the original estimate.

The project – whose objective will be to create a more passive park closely aligned with its natural settings - will begin with Zone One, a one-to-two-year project that will formalize and beautify the park’s main entrance from Limestone Road and regrade the entrance’s roads. Other proposed phases will include:

Zone 2: Establish a Welcome Hub for walking trails and primary park features; stabilize structures near the entrance that include the castle and barn; create walkways, a picnic grove, a restroom, a new shade pavilion and a parking lot; add interpretive signage; and rehabilitate the nearby pond (3 to 5 years)

Zone 3: Expand walking trails with both natural and paved trails; create interpretive signage; develop naturalized landscaping and restore streambanks (3 to 5 years)

Zone 4: Stabilize the low-lying wet area at the North Hollow area along a stream tributary; and remove evasive plants species (3 to 5 years)

Zone 5: Establish mown walking fields and naturalized landscaping in the North Meadow area; add wildflower seeding to the meadow area; develop a community garden; and add light poles (5 to 7 years)

Zone 6: Remove unsightly buildings and commercial uses and restore these areas to nature; create new natural surface walking trails; restore disturbed areas with naturalized plantings (5 to 7 years)

Zone 7: Establish usable picnic grounds and passive amenities in the Summit area of the park; restore existing gazebos; install new naturalized walking trails; create a picnic grove with furniture; restore a small amphitheater; and remove a small building and other obsolete features (5 to 7 years)

Zone 8: Remove unsightly and commercial buildings throughout the pond loop; create naturalized walking trails; and restore areas that have been disturbed through infrastructure (5 to 7 years); and 

Zone 9: Revitalize the caretaker’s house by adding split rail fencing and signage.

“Together we have these ideas coming together in what we believe is a simpler and more holistic  approach that will honor our trails and our nature,” Buck said. 

Additional plans and funding sources

The introduction of this long-term plan to redesign New Garden Hills comes on the heels of two recent presentations by Stonewall Capital, LLC, who introduced their plans to develop White Clay Point, located just to the north of New Garden Hills that proposes to build a mixed-use development that will include 620 high-density condominium units an opportunities for retail and commercial progress. 

Given its close connection to the planned development, Buck said that the new plans for New Garden Hills include two proposed footpaths connecting the development to the park, as well as two vehicle entrances – one along Reynolds Road and a second that will provide transport from Route 41, through White Clay Point and to the park’s parking area near its Limestone Road entrance.

Buck said that the township will pursue several regional and state grant opportunities with the following agencies: the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission; the PA Department of Community and Economic Development; the Watershed Restoration and Protection Program; a Local Share Account (LSA) Grant; the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources; and the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

The supervisors each gave their approval to the proposal.

In other township business

Burt Rothenberger, a governance board member of the Chester County Partnership to End Homelessness partnered with Cheryl Miles, the community housing development director for Kennett Area Community Services on a presentation that addressed the county’s housing crisis.

“It comes as no surprise to any of us that we have a housing crisis in Chester County,” Rothenberg said. “There are parts of our county where reasonably-priced dwellings to rent or purchase just aren’t available. There are large segments of our households that are either forced to live outside our county or are paying an unsustainable portion of their income in housing.”

The Rothenberg-Miles presentation will be profiled in an article that will appear in the Sept. 24 edition of the Chester County Press.

The township will hold New Garden Community Day on Oct. 4 at New Garden Township Park, from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. The event is expected to host more than 30 vendors and include entertainment, food trucks and activities for the entire family.

To contact Richard L. Gaw, email [email protected].