Patterson Farm Preservation Plans Unveiled

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —It's like an oasis with farm fields, trees, ponds, and wildlife. It has a rich history from Pennsylvania Quakers to rich soil that produces plenty of produce from corn to cantaloupe.

This is Patterson Farm, 234 acres that stand out among surrounding highways and suburbs through its unique and beautiful features. And this is a farm whose future is weighing heavily on township officials and residents.

Architectural firm Seiler + Drury presented preliminary master plan recommendations on the long-term vision of the farm at a recent community forum, opening with the description above about the farm.

In showing two PowerPoint presentations, the consultants hired by the township to put together a master plan for the farm on Mirror Lake Road unveiled plans for the property's 15 buildings, offering two-to-three options each on how they can be refurbished and reused as public venues while still maintaining its agricultural spirit on land that has been farmed for more than 300 years without interruption.

"The meeting had a good turnout and we received further feedback on community priorities and their thoughts on what they want and don’t want to see on the farm," said James R. Majewski, the township's community development director.

The preliminary costs out of the gate were mentioned at possibly $5 million but the consultants said that there are no historical assessments, final use recommendations, final priorities and timing, or final cost estimates.

Patterson Farm on Mirror Lake Road is located at the entrance of the township from Interstate 95. Township officials said it's an "exceptional resource" for open space, farm fields, historic farmsteads, and natural beauty.

The property and buildings, purchased by the township in 1998 for $7 million, are mostly unavailable to the public due to active farming operations and the unsafe condition of most buildings.

But they could be.

The consultant, in presenting the recommendations, said that the 15 buildings are mostly structurally sound and include 44,278 square feet of floor space.

The Patterson site and its buildings are eligible for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, consultant Doug Seiler said, adding that historic district inclusion and National Register status would help with grants and funding.

The consultant believes Patterson Farm can capitalize on Bucks County tourism since visitors spend millions of dollars.

Visitors to the region like galleries, historic sites, restaurants, and festivals. And they also boast a household income of $74,000, the consultants said.

More meetings will take place with the Ad-Hoc Property Committee in the future.

The committee holds public meetings via Zoom on the 2nd Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Videos of past meetings are available for viewing on the Lower Makefield Township YouTube page.