Cecil approves Cool Valley site plan
Action clears hurdle for long-delayed mixed-use project
The Cecil Township Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an illustrative site plan for the Cool Valley project during a Monday meeting, clearing a critical hurdle for the long-delayed mixed-use development.
The developer, T&R Properties Inc., went before the board in July requesting approval of an updated illustrative site plan that specified the different categories of land use across the approximately 215-acre site located between Interstate 79 and Morganza Road.
The board instead tabled the scheduled vote, telling the developer it needed to meet a range of conditions prior to any subsequent approval.
These conditions included guaranteeing a range of traffic improvements on surrounding roads; clarifying residential access into the gated section of townhomes; implementing dust abatement measures during construction; and preserving a 50-foot forest buffer around the Maple Ridge development, among others.
T&R Properties was able to satisfy the board’s list of conditions in a hearing prior to Monday’s meeting, securing the necessary approval with the project.
Representatives from T&R told the board in July they hoped to have “shovels in the ground” for site preparation work by the end of the year, with the first retail pads open by 2029.
The revised project will include more than 1,100,000 square feet of commercial and residential space divided between seven retail pads, approximately 70 townhomes and 225 apartment units.
As part of the project, the developer also committed to a number of roadway and intersection improvements on surrounding roads to accommodate the increased traffic load from the development.
The developer must return to both the township planning commission and supervisors for approval of individual subdivisions and specific projects on the sites.
The illustrative site plan only demarcates what portions of the site are reserved for retail or residential use, not final details of any subsequent construction.