Court: Big Newtown Square development can proceed

A multiyear legal battle over development of a 210-acre parcel in Newtown Square, Delaware County, concluded this week as the state Supreme Court ruled that the ambitious project can move forward.

BPG Development received approval from Newtown Township in 2008 for Ellis Preserve Town Square - 465,000 square feet of retail space, offices, housing, a hotel, and a community park at Routes 3 and 252.

But Claude de Botton, another local property owner and developer, filed suit against BPG Development and the township, claiming plans were not specific enough and were out of step with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code.

After years of appeals, the Supreme Court, by a vote of 4-3 on Wednesday, rejected that argument. With the decision, construction could start as soon as April 2015, starting with a Whole Foods grocery store in Newtown Square, Stephen Spaeder, an executive with the firm, said Thursday.

De Botton argued that the approval should have been denied because the plan failed to identify a single type of use for each building. De Botton owned adjacent land and in 2013 opened the Shoppes at Marville at Alice Grim Boulevard and West Chester Pike, a 300,000-square foot shopping center.

The court ultimately disagreed, de Botton's lawyer, John W. Nilon, explained. "We're disappointed, obviously," said Nilon, an attorney with Petrikin Wellman Damico Brown & Petrosa of Media.

"This was the right decision," said Vincent Mancini, a Media-based lawyer and special solicitor for the Newtown Township zoning board.

The court decision sets the stage for a change in the nature of Newtown Square. BPG owns the Ellis Preserve, a huge corporate campus with old trees and gray stone cottages from its days as the Charles E. Ellis College for Fatherless Girls. Part of the acreage was acquired by various companies over the years for offices, including Arco, SAP, and Sunoco. Today, the main schoolhouse is a conference center, and the dormitories are office space.

BPG changed its name two years ago to Equus Capital Partners. Executives were exultant over the court decision.

"For 10 years we've been working on this, and yesterday we got the word we prevailed," said Spaeder, president of BPG Development and senior vice president of Equus, based in Philadelphia. "We're looking forward to bringing to life the vision."

On its curvy pie-slice shaped land, current tenants include Main Line Health, Catholic Health East, Ameripath Quest, Davis Vision, PetPlan, Medstaff, and Graham Investment Partners. BPG Development also leases space to Premier Orthopedic Associates, CIS, Creative Benefits, and SAP.

On the remaining undeveloped land, "Whole Foods is very interested" in opening a store on the site. "We're finalizing store specs with them, along with a hotel," Spaeder said. The plan is to build 400 residences, including apartments, town houses, and single-family homes, he said.