Schuylkill Center to sell 22 acres

by MICHAEL J. MISHAK

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education riled Roxborough residents at a closed meeting last week when center officials announced their intention to market a 22-acre parcel at Eva Street and Port Royal Avenue for development.

The meeting was called by Councilman Michael Nutter to bring the area's various civic groups together for presentations by both Westrum Development Company, a Fort Washington-based developer, and the Heritage Conservancy, a Bucks County-based nonprofit conservation group.

Following Westrum's presentation of its plan to develop half the Upper Roxborough Reservoir, Schuylkill Center executive director Tracey Kay told residents the center had issued a request for proposal to several developers, realtors and other interested parties.

The 22-acre site, referred to as the Boy Scout tract, is outside the center's 500-acre core holding and does not play a significant role in its master plan, said board chairman George Riter in an interview. The parcel was deeded under the premise it would eventually be sold to enhance the center's endowment, he said.

Approached by a developer late last year, the Schuylkill Center's board spent considerable time in deliberation before voting unanimously to market the land, Riter said. "Any implication that we have moved posthaste, full-throttle to develop this land is inaccurate," Riter said. "We're not convinced we want to develop it. There's been no offer, no agreement. If we don't get something we're comfortable with we won't go with it."

If sold, any developer would be barred from building to maximum density and required to use environmentally sustainable construction practices, he said.

Jamie Wyper, vice president of Roxborough Greenspace Project, criticized the center for a decision he calls "deeply contradictory" to the center's mission. "[The Schuylkill Center] was the last organization we would have expected to propose more development," Wyper said. "They are not acting as stewards of the environment and we're going to call them to task on this."

Wyper said that board members who view the tract as a "convertible asset" fail to understand the community and the nature of the land. Citing persistent operating deficits, he called on the center to institute better fiscal policies before selling the land. Without reorganization, he said, the center may find itself selling more land to close future budget gaps.

Riter said the center's decision was motivated by future improvements, not deficits. If the land were to be sold, a portion of the profit would be directed to installing a public water line for the center, which now relies on well water and a septic system, he said. "We've been so measured and thoughtful," Riter said. "We don't intend to do this and be frivolous."

Meanwhile, Riter said the Schuylkill Center is working to preserve its core parcels, many of which were individually deeded without development restrictions. Likening the parcels to the patches of a quilt, Riter said the effort aims to protect the land as open space in perpetuity.