Blog: Proposed Plan for Jimmy Duffy’s Property… Some neighbors the last to know!

The old Jimmy Duffy’s catering facility has sat empty on Lancaster Avenue in Daylesford for several years.  It is an odd-looking building that the owners added to as their catering business grew.  Wedged between the Paoli Vetcare and a large new office building, the Duffy property has seen its share of redevelopment interest over the years.

If you recall, back in 2006, Arc Wheeler proposed a townhouse community, ‘Station Square’ that would stretch along Route 30 between Glenn Avenue and Longcourse Lane in Daylesford.   The plan was to take fourteen existing single-family homes plus Duffy’s and turn them into 150+ residential units plus retail space. The plan created much backlash from the local Daylesford homeowners and many heated discussions, eventually leading to the end of that proposal.

Last fall, I attended Planning Commission meetings when a new sketch plan for the Duffy property was presented by the applicant, Capital Health Services.  The proposed plan would redevelop the former banquet hall into a residential care – assisted living facility.  As explained at the Planning Commission meetings, the proposed redevelopment project would require a zoning ordinance change.  The current C1 zoning district of the Duffy property does not permit an assisted living facility nor does it allow for a 5-story structure (the initial suggested height of the structure).  The September and October 2011 Planning Commission meeting minutes indicate that the applicant had spoken with Daylesford neighbors of the Duffy property and that they expressed support for the project.

I am a proponent for redevelopment and certainly Jimmy Duffy’s vacant building, now owned by the bank, is a prime location for a project.  To maximize the potential for a successful redevelopment project such as what is being suggested for the Duffy site, however, it would make good business sense for the developer to engage and get ‘buy-in’ from those most affected – the neighbors.

Unfortunately, in opposition to what was stated by the redevelopment project applicant at Planning Commission meetings, until about three weeks ago, many of the Daylesford homeowners had never heard about Capital Health's for an assisted living facility at the Jimmy Duffy's site.

Understandably, the neighbors located closest to this proposed assisted living structure have many questions, including the height of the building, footprint of the facility, lighting, screening, traffic, etc. As an example of the frustration, the Larkins home on Pennsylvania Avenue sits directly behind the Jimmy Duffy site and these homeowners were not notified of this project.

But this is not just about one family, and their possible loss of privacy. The project needs to be fully vetted by the community members that will be most affected by the proposed zoning change required in this redevelopment project.  It’s not to say that the project cannot move forward but it needs to be with the full knowledge and understanding of the plan by the Daylesford homeowners.

Ed Morris of Morris Realty Advisors, the developer for the project will meet with members of the Daylesford Neighborhood Association and interested members of the public tonight, 7-9 PM at the Carriage House at the Upper Main Line YMCA. 

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