Patterson Farm Preparing For Next Steps

LOWER MAKEFIELD TOWNSHIP, PA —Now that Patterson Farm's master plan has been approved, what's next for the historic 234-acre parcel?

"The Patterson Farm Master Plan Project has been brought to a successful crescendo," said Dennis F. Steadman, chairman of the LMT Ad Hoc Property Committee. "This property has a brighter future today than any time in the past couple of decades."

The Lower Makefield Township Board of Supervisors has fully funded Stage One of the project.

Steadman said he believes that Stage 1 costs to begin the preservation over a three-year period would range around $500,000 to $800,000.

Stage One includes progress on seven fronts:

• Patterson Farm is to be managed by a dedicated, focused non-profit.
• Ready the submission for listing on the National Registry of Historical Places.
• Water abatement to keep all buildings dry.
• Painting of buildings and some carpentry to both protect and enhance the property.
• Conduct any necessary environmental clean-ups.
• Create new and improved access for the farming operations, for the public access and design of a nature trail.
• Prepare a few buildings that will be the earliest opportunity to lease for compatible uses.

Steadman said that the master plan is ‘at the printers’ and will be distributed as it comes off the press. "Thus, the 2022 assignment to the volunteer Ad Hoc Property Committee is completed and delivered," he said.

He said the committee has recommended that a new “Implementation Committee” be formed to continue the cooperative working relationship with the township to help guide the funded Stage One elements of the plan for the next 3 years.

Lower Makefield Township has owned Patterson Farm since 1998. But it has sat in a "state of disrepair" for more than a decade, Steadman said.

The 15 buildings on the Mirror Lake Road property, purchased by the township for $7 million, are mostly unavailable to the public due to active farming operations and the unsafe condition of most buildings. One building is used by a local artist and another by a local non-profit art organization.

“There is a lot of information that will be key in going forward and guiding the Township for what develops at Patterson Farm,” Ad Hoc Committee Vice Chairman Fred Childs said.

The completion of the master plan, its approval, and funding by supervisors is the "most significant progress made towards the protection, preservation, and community utilization" of the historic Patterson Farm site since it was purchased from Thomas and Alice Patterson in 1998, Steadman said.

Formed in June 2021, the Ad Hoc Property Committee —comprised of seven volunteer residents with the requisite mix of skills defined by the board of supervisors —has worked countless hours, held 26 public meetings and two public forums which were attended by nearly 200 interested community members, Steadman said.

Ad Hoc Committee members said that the community-led planning project has allowed residents to become more informed, more aware, and more ready and willing to be engaged with this property.

"Even a journey of 1,000 miles starts with a single first step," Steadman said.