'Victory Lap' For Shenandoah Woods In Warminster

WARMINSTER, PA —They finally reached the finish line.

It was late June and township officials announced that work at Shenandoah Woods had finally been completed.

Township Manager Tom Scott told Warminster Township Supervisors at last Thursday's meeting that they should take a "victory lap on this."

After a decades-long effort to repurpose the abandoned U.S. Navy Department property and construction over the past six months to clear it, the project's cleanup is now in the rearview mirror. What remains is its future as an addition to the township's parks system.

"The houses were demolished. The slabs were removed," said Scott, who was delivering a report on capital projects the township has undertaken in the past year.

"This is a huge accomplishment. The board should have a great deal of pride," Scott said. "It's gone. It's done. It's over. This was a great undertaking by the board and the township."

The RDA and township acquired the 55-acre property from the U.S. Navy in 2021. The site was a military housing complex and consisted of 199 townhouse units until it was vacated.

Shenandoah Woods was approved to be razed in 2012.

The vacant development was designated a blighted area in 2011 by the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority and the Warminster planning commission, given the area’s inadequate planning, faulty street layout, and economically undesirable land use.

The township, in conjunction with the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority, received a $600,000 grant from the Commonwealth Finance Authority for the demolition of Shenandoah Woods.

Township officials designated $289,000 of that to have 200 building slabs removed after houses had been demolished.

Scott said that the next step is for Shenandoah Woods to transform into a "passive recreation facility."

He said that Parks and Recreation Director Jessica Fox is working on a concept plan to "put meat on the bones" for the part project. That plan may come before supervisors within the next few months.