A overview of the proposed development.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
Development of one of Lower Bucks County’s largest remaining farm properties appears to be moving forward.
Metropolitan Development Group has an agreement of sale for the 168-acre Stone Farm property that sits off Langhorne-Newtown Road across from the George School in Middletown, according to township officials. In recent weeks, signs advertising the planned 120-plus home development have cropped up and a webpage by the developer has been established.
The preliminary plans submitted to Middletown building officials show 122 homes being constructed at the farm that currently is owned by the family of famed actors Ezra Stone and Sara Seegar, who dominated stage and screen during their careers last century.
While the plans submitted to township officials show 122 homes, Metropolitan Development Group’s website states 135 homes could be built on the large farmstead.
The development is currently in the early stages of the approval process and has not yet made its way before the Middletown Board of Supervisors.
Township solicitor Joseph Pizzo said Middletown is speaking with one of the Stone decedents to possibly purchase their stake in the property. If a deal is struck, the portion of the 168-acre property would be saved from development.
Whether the township is able to come to an agreement to purchase a portion of the farm or not, the housing development proposed to the site is among the largest build in Middletown in years.
LevittownNow.com broke the news of the possible development last summer after reviewing planning documents and tips from Middletown residents.
Credit: Tom Sofield/NewtownPANow.com
According to a BucksLocalNews.com article from 2013, actors Debbie Reynolds, Jackie Cooper and Gary Merrill were among the many celebrities who joined the Stones at celebrations at the farm.
“I remember Burl Ives singing ‘Jimmy Crack Corn And I Don’t Care’ in our living room, and having my secret crush Jack Cassidy serenade me on our front lawn,” Francine Stone, daughter of the actors, told BucksLocalNews.com.
A Philadelphia Inquirer article from the early 1990s reported Ezra Stone and Sara Seegar began living on and off in Bucks County in 1946 and moved here full time from Hollywood in 1979.
Several years back, the Middletown Board of Supervisors attempted to preserve the farm as open space but their efforts failed.
Officials from Metropolitan Development Group did not return calls for comment.
