Here's the deal.
I think at this point it's fairly safe to assume that something is going to be built on the home of the former Don Guanella School off Sproul Road in Marple.
The question is what.
Carlino Development was before Marple commissioners this week to get conditional approval for a development of more than 200 homes - even though that's not really what they want.
What do they want? The Town Center at Marple Preserve, which would combine some retail with a new Wegmans supermarket and a commercial shopping center. That plan also would preserve a huge chunk of the 213-acre tract, and also offer space for new athletic fields for township youth organizations. But they need a zoning change to do it.
In the meantime, residents are concerned about traffic.
And a local grassroots group believes the town center is simply too large for the surrounding area.
There are three possibilities here:
- A massive housing development, which would see the entire tract and acres of forest bulldozed.
- The town center, which would preserve a huge chunk of the tract, and offer a new shopping venue and athletic fields.
- A smaller shopping center.
Which one would you like to see built there? Or would you rather have nothing built there. I don't think that's happening.
We talk about it on today's editorial page.
Comments