POTTSTOWN PA – As real estate developer David Swinehart was creating the Woodgate residential community on the southeast side of Lower Pottsgrove, back in the late 1970s, he decided a roughly 13-acre parcel – much of it wetlands – was unsuitable for construction. He offered it to the township as open space, for free.

The Woodgate community, bordered on the north (top) by Pruss Hill Road; east, Rupert Road; west, Snell Road; and south, Hartenstine Creek.

At the time, current Manager Rodney Hawthorne recalls, the municipality couldn’t foresee a use for the property either. It declined the offer, effectively saying “thanks, but no thanks.”

Today (Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2010), more than 30 years later, it’s decided to accept.

The property, located off Rupert Road near Hartenstine Creek, has since changed hands and for several years has been owned by township resident John Kelius. Its value, determined in an independent appraisal paid for by the township, is estimated at about $40,000, Hawthorne said. Kelius, however, has agreed to sell it to Lower Pottsgrove for a fraction of that amount.

The final sales price is likely to be somewhere between $5,000 and $10,000, according to Hawthorne. Kelius and township representatives are scheduled to meet later today to settle the sale, write the check, and transfer the deed.

Hawthorne announced the settlement date to members of the Board of Commissioners during their meeting last Monday (Dec. 6).

Because the board can legally discuss matters like real estate transactions in executive sessions, which members of the public are not allowed to attend, there’s been relatively little openly said about the pending deal.

The last indication a purchase might be at hand came during June (2010), when commissioners unanimously voted in a public session to pay Pottstown real estate appraiser James Capinski $1,500 for his estimate of the property’s worth. The board later also hired the Pottstown office of Tyree Environmental Services to conduct a site inspection for hazardous materials. It determined the property was clean, Hawthorne said.

The parcel will join hundreds of other acres of township-owned park land, but there are no immediate plans to develop it for recreational purposes. It does, however, fit into Lower Pottsgrove’s longer range intent to assure the area has easily accessible park space.

Only months ago the township completed plans for the future development of the nearby Snell and Norton Park, and over time this purchase could fit with it. Hawthorne just hopes it won’t take 30 more years to bring other pieces together.

Related (to the Lower Pottsgrove Board of Commissioners’ meeting of Dec. 6):

• Township Settles Today On Newest Open Space Purchase
• Even With 2011 Transfer, Township Cash Cushion At $1.7M
• Slowing Down In Sanatoga Proposed As A ‘Groovy’ Idea
• With Keim Bridge Out, Signal Coming In To Lower Pottsgrove
• Township OKs New Fire Police Law, Approves Members
• Township, Moyer Estate Settle Late Treasurer’s Accounts
• Commissioners Meet Tonight, With A Busy Agenda