Chestnut Hill College to Bid for Sugarloaf Property

The college would develop student housing, parking and academic space on the 32-acre estate, which was placed on the market earlier this month

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

Nearly five months after Temple University exited the Sugarloaf Conference Center in Chestnut Hill, another academic institution is expressing interest in the 32-acre estate.

Chestnut Hill College told a small group of residents at a community meeting last week it hoped to acquire the property, outlining its vision in the event of a sale. The school, which celebrated its 80th anniversary this year, is seeking to accommodate the unprecedented growth it has seen since going co-ed in fall 2003.

The school’s announcement came one week after the Greenfield Foundation, the public trust that owns Sugarloaf, placed the property on the real estate market. The asking price is $15 million.

In January, Temple University returned Sugarloaf to the Greenfield Foundation, saying the conference center was not cost effective, given the business trend toward urban conferences. The school, which controlled the property for 36 years, was bound by a limited-use clause in its original agreement with the public trust that required it use the property as a residential conference center.

According to Sister Carol Jean Vale, president of Chestnut Hill College, the school first expressed its interest to Temple more than a year ago. At the time, Temple had already been discussing the possible return of Sugarloaf with the Greenfield Foundation.

In a statement, the foundation said it decided to sell the property “in order to better focus on its purpose of providing grants to strengthen civic and community life in Philadelphia.”

Perched on the edge of Northwest Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill College is faced with the challenge of expanding on a 45-acre campus restricted by steep slopes and its location in the Wissahickon watershed.

Since 2002, the school has seen its total enrollment jump 57 percent, exceeding the expectations of administration and consultants alike. The school is on track to best its all-time high of 600 undergraduate students next year, Sister Vale said. It expects to surpass 1,000 students by 2009 with an ultimate goal of between 1,200 and 1,500 undergrads, she said.

Enrollment has outpaced construction.

A new 155-bed residence hall, slated to open next year, will not satisfy the housing demand. During the spring semester, more than 60 students lived in Chestnut Hill Tower at 7600 Stenton Ave. The school estimates the number of students housed off campus to double in 2006.

Sugarloaf could remedy the problem. If acquired, the property would alleviate “tremendous pressure” on Chestnut Hill College’s main campus, said Peter Saylor, of Dagit Saylor Architects, the firm currently updating the school’s master plan. “We’re trying to stay ahead of the freight train running down the tracks,” he said.

Saylor outlined a preliminary plan that he said would “develop and preserve Sugarloaf at the same time.” Under the plan, about 75 percent of the 32-acre parcel would remain undeveloped. The large swath of land at Germantown Avenue and Bells Mill Road, though buildable by right, would be preserved with an easement, he said. The college would also undertake a significant forest restoration effort, he said.

Acquiring the site would also allow the college to maintain open space on its main campus and possibly restore some of the floodplain.

A mix of student housing, parking and academic space would be focused in the property’s core, Saylor said. Students and faculty would enter the site at Germantown and Hillcrest avenues.

The vision was well received by about 20 attendees at the June 15 meeting, billed by the college as the first in a series of community discussions.

“The concept is beautiful,” said local resident Ann Ward Spaeth. “It’s extremely sensitive to the community.”

Several others shared the sentiment.

Maxine Dornemann, president of the Chestnut Hill Community Association, said she would seek her group’s approval to draft a letter of support for the college. Woodmere Art Museum, located across the street from Sugarloaf, has already sent such a letter to the Greenfield Foundation, Sister Vale said.

“The growth of the college is good for the community,” said Sister Vale, adding it would bring both employees and business for local merchants.

It is unclear whether Sugarloaf has attracted other potential buyers. In a statement announcing the sale, the property’s broker, Jonathan Stavin, of the CB Richard Ellis real estate firm, noted that the residentially-zoned land “supports single family residential development” and that its proximity to public transportation and major highways “lends the property to creative development ideas.”

The college hopes another part of the statement will favor its bid: “When selecting a buyer, the Foundation will consider the balanced best interests of the community, the environment and the furthering of the Foundation’s mission in support of the public good.”

Stavin, the real estate broker, said his firm has received calls from “numerous entities,” Chestnut Hill College among them, but that the formal bidding process has yet to begin. That process is expected to start the first week of July, culminating with a call for offers in mid to late August, he said.