Businessman Details Updated Sketch Plans For Liberty Centre In Newtown

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — He’s calling it Liberty Centre, a 125-unit residential development and Town Square envisioned for a nine-acre parcel of land in the heart of Newtown Borough.

Newtown businessman Jim Worthington and a team of professionals on Tuesday night walked borough council and the community through revised sketch plans for the redevelopment project, which is promising to be transformative.

They also briefed the council on a proposed Greenway Redevelopment Overlay Ordinance, a land planning mechanism that would allow the project to move forward.

The plan is proposing to redevelop about nine acres of land extending south from Centre Avenue along the Newtown Creek to behind the Wine & Spirits store, including the former wine and spirits store, which will be demolished as part of the redevelopment.

Key elements of the project include a 14,000 square foot Town Square designed for public concerts, performances, tree lightings, and community events; an enhanced greenway trail connecting the borough with the township via a new pedestrian bridge; 55 public parking spaces within an easy walk of State Street; and 125 high-quality rental units.

The project site extends along the Newtown Creek from Centre Avenue (far right) south to the far end of the project. Three new residential buildings are proposed. The building in the foreground is the Wine & Spirits store.

One of the residential buildings being proposed. (Minno Wasko)

The former wine and spirits store will be demolished to make way for part of the project. The building is one of the few remaining A&P buildings still standing. A&P was the largest U.S. grocery retailer from 1915 to 1975 before a long, steady decline. Its stores had the iconic cupola, weather vane, and A-frame front, which once held the store's signature red and yellow logo. (Jeff Werner/Patch)

Worthington, who owns the Newtown Athletic Club, acquired the property from developer Allan Smith in early 2025 after Smith approached Worthington with an offer to sell.

Smith had secured plan approvals for Steeple View, a mixed-use redevelopment project that had been on the table for a quarter of a century and envisioned up to seven multi-story buildings housing apartments, retail, and restaurant uses.

Worthington has renamed the project Liberty Centre in homage to the town's role in the American Revolution and reflecting "the same spirit of resilience, community, and civic pride that defined Newtown at America's founding."

Since acquiring the land and after talking with key stakeholders, Worthington said he dropped the retail and restaurant uses from the plan, reducing the project’s overall traffic impact by 1700 trips per week or 85,000 a year.

“We heard it time and time again - too much traffic. We addressed that,” said Worthington. "People were also concerned about off-site parking. Allan's plan had people parking down at the Stocking Works. We came up with a plan that basically handles all the parking on-site. People were also concerned about limited public parking. We are providing much more public parking in our new plan."

The biggest thing, said Worthington, was that the business community didn't want to see more competition. "They didn't want another restaurant. They didn't want another coffee shop. They said it's hard enough now to compete without bringing in more restaurants and retail. What they wanted is more people in the community that will walk to their stores and restaurants. So what I was originally going to do was scrapped because it wasn't right for the community."

What he’s keeping from the original Steeple View plan is a proposed greenway trail along the Newtown Creek and a public plaza, which he proposes to triple in size from 5,000 to 15,000 square feet.

“The town square I’m proposing would take the town to the next level," said Worthington. "We took the 5,000 square foot plaza and we’ve tripled the size of it. Every place we could improve on Allan's plan, we did. We want it to be a real town center.

This shows the entrance drive (left) into the site from Centre Avenue and the Town Square and pavilion (right). This is the view from the First National Bank building into the site. (Minno Wasko)

Top and bottom: Renderings of two of the proposed residential buildings. (Minno Wasko)

"This plan - on its merits - adds to the community," said Worthington, who owns several properties in the borough and will be purchasing the Bird In Hand on South State Street this spring. "I have a vested interest in this plan and in this community."

At the heart of the redevelopment project will be three new residential buildings, each housing about 30 to 40 units each built along the western side of the property and overlooking the Newtown Creek.

Worthington has hired the Lambertville firm of Minno Wasko, which specializes in downtown redevelopment and revitalization, to design the project to fit in with the surrounding downtown.

"I have a big smile on my face tonight. I'm a Newtown Borough resident and this plan is going to be what Newtown needs in this location," said David Minno of Minno Wasko. "We've had an eyesore in this location for years and years. We'd like that to end and do something that's not just a development project. This is something special that the community needs and will benefit from."