Developers of the Campbelltown Village Square project, first proposed last fall, are continuing to seek public input and support as they hone the specifics of their plan.
A new website has been created at CampbelltownVillageSquare.com to serve as a centralized location for updates on Ethos Residential’s envisioned 15.15-acre development on former Alger farm property that spans either side of U.S. Route 322 in Campbelltown. The acreage was purchased by Ethos Residential in September 2022 for $995,000.
Ethos Residential managing partner Christopher Albright said that the goals of the website are to engage the community and get their feedback. The digital presence builds on in-person outreach begun last year, such as at the Oct. 25, 2023, public meeting held in the arched roof heifer barn located on the property.
Read More: Developers plan Campbelltown Village Square, seek feedback from community
Albright said he wanted to reach the entire community without needing to be face-to-face, and that this public feedback – along with input from South Londonderry Township and PennDOT officials – would be used to redesign a plan that can then be taken to township officials with community support in hand, and feedback incorporated.
The website allows visitors to provide input on ideas for use of the southern parcel, which is adjacent to Campbelltown Community Park; preferences on exterior options for residential and commercial buildings on the site; and suggestions on what types of commercial tenants the community would like to see operate there.
The website also features a crowdfunding interest form. Crowdfunding wasn’t meant to be a major focus of the website, Albright said, and that it was in some ways premature given that the project is in the approval phase. However, he wanted community ownership to potentially be an option not just in a metaphorical sense, but a literal one as well.
With the upfront costs of adding a crowdfunding mechanism to project financing estimated to be up to $100,000, Albright said that there would need to be interest in the $500,000 to $1 million range for crowdfunding to make sense financially.
Regardless of whether there’s interest in crowdfunding, this project would not be a quick flip. Albright said he’s focused on having a successful project for the long-term.
Albright said he’s been in real estate and construction his whole life, and that his experience and knowledge in real estate are the most beneficial skillsets he brings to the table. He didn’t expect to pursue a project of this scale quite so soon, but he saw the opportunity for the unique site, and a chance to execute on a community vision for Campbelltown town square that was already taking root.
“I am local,” said Albright, who grew up in the area and whose parents now live in North Cornwall Township, where they operate a soy candle business.
“I want to be able to be proud of this project and I think in order for it to be successful and to be proud of it, it has to be something that the people in the community are proud of and enjoy, too.”
The land is zoned low-density residential, and a project along the lines proposed would require a mixed-use overlay and text amendment to township zoning. Albright said the project is being sized based on current multi-family density zoning, with one possible variance already identified – seeking reduced setback requirements so that the streetscape can fit neatly into the existing layout of homes and other buildings along Route 322.
Plans for the property make use of the arched roof dairy barn as well as the historic early 1800s farm house.
“They are definitely historically significant to the community,” said Albright.
Albright said that the idea of a village square at this location makes sense given its proximity to Campbelltown Community Park and the center of town.
Among the largest details of the project still being studied and worked out is the transportation aspect.
Albright said that traffic studies and preliminary conversations are still underway, and he wants to defer to the experts (notably PennDOT, which would need to approve a highway occupancy permit for the site), but the current thinking is that a conventional size roundabout could be placed at the intersection of Lawn Road and Route 322 to avoid a traffic light and slow traffic. It would likely require a realignment of Lawn Road, curving away from Londonderry Inn and then back to Route 322 so traffic could enter the roundabout at a natural angle. In the process, a little green space could be opened up next to Londonderry Inn, Albright said.
Although this roundabout improvement would require significant site work and cost, it’s feasible, said Albright. It would also make for much safer pedestrian walkability and navigation by bicyclists, a particular selling point for local civic advocate Pat Krebs who lives nearby.
“Walkability is sorely lacking in Campbelltown and this project will make a big start in making the village pedestrian-friendly,” said Krebs. “For those residents who live in Stone Knoll, Lyndel, and Lawn roads, this project is anticipated to provide a safe way to connect to Horseshoe Pike. Presently, this is a dangerous intersection.”
Krebs said she also supports the project for its potential positive impact on the Campbelltown business and civic community, and how it could “encourage lingering beyond having a meal or a drink at the several well known places to eat.”
“So much of Campbelltown is a collection of subdivisions without pleasant and safe ways to connect to each other,” she said. “Owning both the south and north sides of Horseshoe Pike, the Village Square developers envision how to connect people on both sides of this road barrier.”
Krebs said the openness by Albright has been refreshing, and that she hopes the project gets traction soon so the original vision can be realized – and prevent the land from being sold to others who aren’t as interested in how a project there could fit into “enhancing the heart and life of the village.”
On the other side of the development, a proposed connection from Old Farm Road could follow a now-gone farm lane that once passed through the property. Albright said that although Old Farm Road was originally a suburban development road, with the increase of population in South Londonderry Township, it’s now something closer to a through road. He said those concerns came up at the October event and he’s intent on addressing them for the families that live there.
“I know the folks that live on Old Farm Road are really concerned” about traffic levels on the roadway, Albright said. He said access from the project site to Old Farm Road could be designed so that parking lots shut off or discourage any attempted through traffic from Old Farm Road to Route 322.
Similar concerns came up in Lebanon in the planning for redevelopment of the former Lebanon Catholic site, with that project redesigned so that through traffic was prevented while still allowing for access by emergency vehicles.
Read More: Revised plans for Lebanon Catholic site draw community support, keep unit count
Albright said that he’s focused on being flexible with the community and seeking strategic partnerships to make sure Campbelltown Village Square becomes the best possible project. He said that he’s also being diligent about who he partners with – builders, lenders, designers, architects, engineers, etc. – and giving preference to local and Pennsylvania-based firms. Above all else, he is seeking to have a positive impact for the community, both in terms of what it brings to Campbelltown in terms of offerings, but also how it affects traffic along the Route 322 corridor.
Although any land development plan may still be months away, Albright says he’s taking all the feedback he can get, either through the website (CampbelltownVillageSquare.com) or face-to-face, such as someone coming to a Campbelltown Community Alliance meeting and seeing him in person (as well as “seeing other great projects being done in the community”). Albright said he tries to attend most CCA meetings.
“We did work through a lot of ideas,” he said of the project to date. “We’re hoping the website relays this as well that this is the right type of project for the site and community.”
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