A preliminary plan has been submitted to Newtown Township that would redevelop the remainder of the old Goodnoe farm into a mixed-use complex.
The plan from Goodnoe Homestead LLC calls for a multi-story building at North Sycamore Street and Silo Drive that would include 73 residential units and retail space. The proposal outlines a total building area of 111,509 square feet, with 88,074 square feet dedicated to residential use.
News of the proposal was first made public on Monday in a newsletter from Newtown Township Supervisor John Mack.
The project is being spearheaded by a partnership that includes Jim Worthington, owner of the Newtown Athletic Club, attorney John Cordisco, and a third partner.
Worthington, a friend of President Donald Trump and GOP donor, and Cordisco, a friend of former President Joe Biden and former head of the county Democratic Party, can put political differences aside to work together, joked Worthington, who has been a buddy of Cordisco’s for years.
The plan includes a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments that range from 770 to 1,300 square feet, along with retail space on the first level.
The development would preserve the existing Goodnoe farmhouse and silo on the property and feature an underground and street-level parking structure toward the rear side.
The first floor of the building would include retail space, a lobby, and amenity space, while the second, third, and fourth floors would be exclusively apartments.
The plan calls for 73 total units: 28 one-bedroom and 45 two-bedroom apartments, and parking would be provided by 45 garage spaces and 84 surface spaces, according to the plans shared by Mack.
Worthington said the goal is to create a complex that “compliments Sycamore Street” and the larger community.
“Newtown Township doesn’t have a Main Street,” Worthington said. “This could be part of [making Sycamore Street] that.”
The plan is subject to the land development process, and several zoning variances are expected to be needed.
According to the submission form, the plan “seeks to establish uses that are allowed by-right in the TC, Town Commercial District, maintain or reduce the extent of existing non-conformities, and seek limited zoning variances.”
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Worthington added that he hopes clean up a four-acre site near the proposed development and turning it into a public park.
“There are detention basins and weeds there,” Worthington said. “I want it to be a plaza where you could have concerts, ice skating, and even a spot for judging the Christmas Parade.”
Worthington noted the plaza concept would cost as much as $2 million and would be an add-on if the township allows the development.
Just down Sycamore Street from the Goodnoe farmstead, Worthington helped redevelop the former Acme into the Promenade at Sycamore, a mixed-use building.
For both projects, Worthington sees them as meeting housing needs, increasing walkability, and bringing in more customers to local businesses.
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