Delco Pulls Plug On Mental Health Facility At Don Guanella Property

MARPLE TOWNSHIP, PA — Delaware County officials Wednesday said they are not pursuing hosting mental health services on the land tract known as Don Guanella.

In a statement Wednesday, officials said they abandoned the idea after learning more about the building they sought to use as a Long-Term Structured Residence for mental health treatment.

"The County has determined that the building located on the Delco Woods [Don Guanella] property is not a viable option for an [Long-Term Structured Residence] due to its physical condition and the costs of renovation," the statement reads. "The County continues to look at other locations in Delaware County to treat community members and address the mental health crisis in our community."

Despite the change of course on mental health services, officials said they still plan to challenge Marple Township's rezoning of the property.

"The County intends to pursue the other challenges to the zoning ordinance to maintain its rights to the property as purchased," the statement reads. "The County, however, is willing to work with Marple Township on amending their open space zoning to avoid further litigation and ensure zoning for the property meets the needs of the County in creating a park that serves all of Delaware County for generations to come."

The county appears to have made a request to use other existing structures on the property for administrative offices in an addendum to their filing with Marple Township as it seeks to retain its rights on the property.

According to Save Marple Greenspace, a local group that was instrumental in keeping the property from being commercially developed, an addendum to the county's filing that seeks to retain the former zoning on part of the tract mentions using two buildings there for administrative offices.

In total, it would be about 64,000 square feet of office space, per the addendum.

"We're way beyond inappropriate now," Save Marple Greenspace co-founder Ken Hemphill wrote in a newsletter. "Having the largest two buildings on site used for office space would be an arrow to the heart of the promised park hub and may even violate the law by failing to adhere to the stated purpose of their condemnation ordinance in 2021."

The county's statement says the council was "vocal and transparent in its position to potentially use three existing buildings," which included the Long-Term Structured Residence and two administrative buildings.

"Because our work was still in very preliminary stages when Marple Township announced a special zoning hearing, it was still undetermined if and how we would use the existing buildings on the property, so we included several buildings in our use permit," the statement reads.

The statement affirms the county's position that it has always been committed to using the beloved tract of land to create a park and preserve open space and claims using an existing building for a Long-Term Structured Residence would not have affected the open space use or the plans to create a county park with many amenities.

"I applaud County Council for backing away from their mental health facility proposal for one of the former Don Guanella Village buildings," Hemphill said in an email to Patch Wednesday. "My hope now is that they now take steps toward building a world class park gateway into the 180 acre forest they saved in 2021."

See the county's full statement below:

Delaware County, like many counties across the United States, is experiencing a mental health crisis, and there is a desperate need to treat members of our community suffering from mental health disorders. Long-Term Structured Residences (LTSR’s) are licensed, highly structured, therapeutic residences to treat people with chronic mental health conditions who do not require in-patient hospitalization. This is an essential service that is in short supply in our county, particularly due to the closure of LTSR beds at Norristown State Hospital.

The County identified a provider for this service over 3 years ago but is still looking for a location. We have explored more than 25 possible locations over the past three years, most recently an existing building at the Delco Woods property. Earlier this year, as the County was still in the preliminary stages of assessing the viability of the location, Marple Township voted to re-zone the property as open space, which would prevent the County from utilizing the building located on the property.

During Marple Township’s April 15 Zoning Board Hearing, the County’s legal counsel submitted public comment and a five-page document detailing the County’s position to preserve its rights to use the space and buildings as it is currently zoned. The County was vocal and transparent in its position to potentially use three existing buildings – the space for the LTSR as well as two administrative buildings. Because our work was still in very preliminary stages when Marple Township announced a special zoning hearing, it was still undetermined if and how we would use the existing buildings on the property, so we included several buildings in our use permit. The potential use of multiple buildings was openly discussed at the April 15 meeting in front of over 100 attendees.

The County has always been committed to using the Delco Woods land to create a park and preserve open space, as indicated when the County committed $22M to prevent a private developer from buying the 213-acre property and clear-cutting much of the land for development. Using an existing building for an LTSR would not have affected the open space use or our plans to create an extraordinary County park with many amenities.

This week, having received more detailed reports on the building, the County has determined that the building located on the Delco Woods property is not a viable option for an LTSR due to its physical condition and the costs of renovation. The County continues to look at other locations in Delaware County to treat community members and address the mental health crisis in our community. Regardless of the feasibility of this particular site, the critical work of identifying an appropriate location to provide this essential service continues. We must also work to destigmatize mental health treatment.

The County intends to pursue the other challenges to the zoning ordinance to maintain its rights to the property as purchased. The County, however, is willing to work with Marple Township on amending their open space zoning to avoid further litigation and ensure zoning for the property meets the needs of the County in creating a park that serves all of Delaware County for generations to come.