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Newtown News of Interest
These Scoops are excerpts from articles published in local newspapers and other sources that may be of interest to Newtown area residents. Please click on the "From" link to access the full original article. Any opinions and "insights" appended to these article summaries are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity. Curated by johnmacknewtown |
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Scooped by
johnmacknewtown
July 22, 1:34 PM
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In the 2nd quarter of 2025 (April through June), I spent a total of 83 hours engaged in official Supervisor activities.
I keep track of the time spent on the following activities:
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johnmacknewtown
July 22, 7:18 AM
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On 21 July 2025, nearly 56 years after the Beatles walked across Abbey Rd in London, several Newtown residents and notable politicians gathered at the Tara Blvd pedestrian crossing for what was billed as an "INFORMAL INAUGURAL" ceremony.
State Senator Steve Santarsiero (D-10) and Representative Perry Warren (D-31) hosted a press conference at the event to celebrate the state and local partnership resulting in Newtown Township's newest pedestrian safety improvement. They also did the same at new the Silo Dr crosswalk on N Sycamore St (see "North Sycamore Street Pedestrian Safety Timeline"). Supervisors John Mack and Dennis Fisher also said a few words at these events.
Supervisor John Mack thanked the residents of Newtown Walk for being proactive, showing up at township meetings, and voicing their concerns. "I know it took a couple of years, but we now have a much safer crossing." (Read "Pedestrian Crossing Warning Signals Debut At 2 Newtown Twp. Locations").
Getting these crosswalk improvements made was a long process. Too long in my opinion (see "Tara Blvd Crosswalk Improvement Timeline"). In fact, the Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons were not operational until - suspiciously - one hour before the event!
The next pedestrian safety project to keep an eye on is the concrete walkway along Newtown-Yardley Rd so that people crossing that road safely at Tara Blvd can safely walk to the Borough.
Supervisor John Mack thanked residents for their proactive approach to pedestrian safety and keeping the issue at the forefront. “Walkability is a big thing,” Mack said.
Valerie Mihalek, a Newtown Walk resident and candidate for township supervisor, said the Newtown-Yardley Road project was the culmination of three years of work.
Read: Safer Pedestrian Crossings Completed In Newtown Twp.
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johnmacknewtown
July 18, 6:18 AM
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Residents of Upper Makefield Township in Bucks County sought answers and accountability on Tuesday (July 15, 2025) during a town hall meeting that addressed concerns over the town’s drinking water getting contaminated with jet fuel.
State officials told Upper Makefield residents Tuesday that new testing near a pipeline leak showing “elevated” levels of certain toxic chemicals is surprising and needs to be investigated.
“We are not dealing with a good actor here,” said state Sen. Steve Santarsiero, D-10 of Lower Makefield. “They have not done the right thing from day 1.”
DEP still hasn’t responded to a June letter from Santarsiero and state Rep. Perry Warren, D-31 of Newtown, asking DEP to take more enforcement actions, Santarsiero said.
“I’m irritated,” Santarsiero said. “There needs to be an enforcement action.”
U.S. Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick called for the EPA to intervene earlier this month, citing the “lack of information” from DEP after months of outreach.
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johnmacknewtown
July 15, 12:51 PM
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UPDATE (7/24/25):The tree has been removed and the postmaster informed me that the stump will be ground down later this week.
UPDATE (7/22/25): The Postmaster informed me that the P.O. has a tree company coming to take care of the tree within the week.
UPDATE (7/17/25): I hand-delivered a letter to a supervisor at the Newtown Post Office requesting that the P.O. "rectify" this problem (i.e., remove the tree) ASAP. View the letter here...
This dead tree seen on July 14, 2025, along the new Business Commons sidewalk adjacent to the Post Office parking lot on Terry Drive is destined to fall across the sidewalk and into Terry Dr. It won't take much wind or maybe none at all after the contractor shaved the roots to put in the sidewalk! It is clearly a danger to both pedestrians and motorists.
UPDATE (7/16/25): I reported this to the Township Manager Micah Lewis (215-968-2800, x250, micahl@newtownpa.gov) who said "I'll send this to the Code Enforcement Officer to address." On further inquiry he explained: "Maintenance responsibility for trees/vegetation (even in the rights-of-way) are the responsibility of the underlying lot owner. So in this case, the USPS is responsible for the tree." That's what I call a township "MANager" version of "MANSPLAINING!" I am concerned that the USPS may not act fast enough being a gov't agency or may balk because of funding cuts. In any case, the contractor has worsened the situation by chopping off the roots on one side along the sidewalk making it much more likely that the tree will fall and fall in that direction. Why did the Township Engineer, who oversees this project, allow this to happen? The latest Engineer's Report does not mention this - it merely states "Construction is underway." This is why I request the Engineer to attend BOS meeting - so she can answer questions in public. Another issue is the dead limbs above the new sidewalk - they can easily fall and hit a pedestrian. The township, IMHO, needs to take a more pro-active approach to "protect the health and well-being of citizens," which is part of the oath that supervisors take when being sworn in. Just sayin'
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johnmacknewtown
July 15, 7:58 AM
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9UPDATE (7/17/25): Residents of Newtown Walk who helped make this crosswalk happen, invite the public to use the crosswalk on Monday, July 21, at 3 PM, when they plan to "inaugurate" this integral Pedestrian, Bicycle and Wheelchair Safety feature as part of The Newtown Trail and The Gateway To Newtown that has taken exactly three years to initiate and complete.
UPDATE (7/16/25): Email from the Township Mgr: "The contractor has indicated that the project will be complete by the end of the week. RVE will be issuing a punch-list shortly thereafter, which will include a fix for the height of the signage that conflicts with the RRFB signals."
Yesterday, July 14, 2025, I drove by the Tara Blvd crosswalk on Newtown-Yardley Road and noticed that the yellow [orange?] "reflective stanchions" on the pedestrian refuge island look like they are a bit too high up the poles - partially blocking the flashing beacons on the pedestrian island IMHO.
The photo above was taken from my car while driving by towards Terry Drive (clearly a traffic offense if the driver took the photo while driving). Seems the diamond shaped yellow signs could be lowered a notch or two and still serve their purpose whatever that may be.
I notified the Township Manager and Township Engineer and Charles Feuer - a resident to Newtown Walk where the crosswalk is located - added this:
"Yes, John, Valerie [Mihalek, candidate for Newtown Twp Supervisor], Don and I were in the crosswalk and on the refuge island on Friday looking at that specific issue. We thought that, perhaps, PENDOT would do their own inspection upon project completion?
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johnmacknewtown
July 12, 7:14 AM
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This is my personal summary of the July 9, 2025, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary. See 2025 BOS Chronicle for details.
Minor Approval
Newtown Joint Municipal Sewer Authority
Reports of Committees, Boards and Commissions
Manager’s Report
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johnmacknewtown
July 5, 12:22 PM
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Welcome to the VIDEO EDITION of the July 2025 News of Interest to Newtown area residents e-newsletter. You can view all the articles and links to videos and other information via the online version. Use this link: https://rebrand.ly/Jun2025noi
This video includes additional information about the topics included in the newsletter. It also includes my personal comments. So I must mention that the views and opinions expressed here are solely those of John Mack and do not represent the opinions of any other person or entity.
P.S. If you are not already a subscriber, I urge you to subscribe so you can receive the newsletter each month via email. You can easily opt-out at any time with just ONE CLICK! Use this link: https://www.johnmacknewtown.info/news.html
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johnmacknewtown
July 3, 6:38 AM
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After negotiations failed to produce an agreement, the borough will use eminent domain to acquire Liberty Street property, which is owned by the Newtown Fire Association (NFA).
According to borough solicitor Greg Heleniak, the borough has been in negotiations with the fire association for the past several months but were unable to reach an agreement “to reflect a financially supported rent” for the borough.
According to a source close to the negotiations, after 15 years of leasing the building to the borough for $1500 per month, the fire company asked for an additional $4,000 a month going forward, boosting the rent up to $5,500.
“We’ve been charging Newtown Borough $1500 a month at our own loss,” the source said. “We finally said fair market value based on tax assessment database numbers and square footage price. They said no. And that’s no in the face of they just discontinued their agreement with the township on what they will pay to the fire company (read #NewtownPA Borough Terminates Fire Agreement with Township).”
The council plans to introduce a resolution at its July 16 meeting exercising its power of eminent domain to acquire the property for continued use as a police station.
* It appears to me that the Borough is reluctant to provide sufficient funding to support the NFA on an ongoing yearly basis. It may use its Eminent Domain ploy to force an agreement with the Township that is less than adequate, forcing the township to pay more than its fair share to support NFA on an ongoing basis.
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johnmacknewtown
July 2, 7:52 AM
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UPDATE (7/9/25): At the 9 July 2025 BOS meeting, a new motion was made to appoint Dennis Fisher to the NBCJMA Board. The BOS voted 4-0 after Mr. Mack confirmed that Mr. Fisher opposed the sewer treatment plant and Mr. Calabro mentioned that Mr. Fisher’s term ends December 2026. Mr. Fisher, however, may intend to step down before then. Meanwhile Ms. Snyder said she would not seek to be re-appointed to the Sewer Authority Board after her term ends on December 31, 2025.
In a July 1, 2025, email forwarded to all Newtown Supervisors, BOS member/Vice Chair Dennis Fisher wrote:
*The "impasse" that Mr. Fisher referred to was the inability of the BOS to appoint a representative at the 11 June 2025 BOS meeting (read “#Newtown Township Supervisors Delay Appointment To Newtown Sewer Authority Board"). Also, Supervisor Elen Snyder, who is currently on the NBCJMA Board, signaled her intention to resign in a June 13, 2025, email to the township manager and supervisors.
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johnmacknewtown
June 27, 12:39 PM
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On June 26, 2025, the Newtown Creek Coalition held a public meeting to present plans for the Newtown Creek Pedestrian Bridge. This video was created from audio and photos at that meeting. Not all visuals are available.
In November 2024, Newtown Township, Newtown Borough, and the Newtown Creek Coalition received a $1 million state grant to fund the design and construction of the Newtown Creek Pedestrian Bridge. Spanning the creek between Frost Lane in the Borough and Sycamore Street in the Township, the new bridge will provide safe pedestrian and bicycling circulation between the residential and business districts of Newtown Borough and Newtown Township. The project is expected to be completed in 2027.
Some questions I had:
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johnmacknewtown
June 27, 6:43 AM
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View is along Lower Dolington Rd looking south toward the Frost Lane intersection. Just needs new paint for the "fog line" along edge of road. Recently, the township purchased a Striping Machine for $7,228.26. The twp mgr informed me that this is used for lines on roads and parking areas.
UPDATE: The June 27, 2025, Public Works Report says that "joint sealing and fog line painting are scheduled for next week."
UPDATE: On July 10, 2025, it was noticed that the fog line was painted. Thus, the "Dolington Deep Ditch" repair is complete after 2 years since it was first reported.
This ditch began oddly enough when Lower Dolington Road was repaved s few years ago, For some reason, the pavers left a cutout in this location, which filled with after every time it rained (see image here: “Lower Dolington Rd “Deep Ditch” To Be Repaired”) although the township engineer claimed the cutout had something to do with managing rain water! Many a time cars and trucks would run into the ditch making it deeper and even more dangerous.
I called for this repair back in 2024. Read "The "Dolington Deep Ditch" Must Be Repaired! I'm Just Sayin'" I and at least one other local resident also pointed out the danger to motorists back in 2023; read "Lower Dolington Road Trail Punch Lists”.
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johnmacknewtown
June 25, 11:05 AM
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Some topics included appointment of Newtown Township representative to Sewer Authority Board - Latest Info (the recent Patch article does not have the latest news regarding this issue), Billboards in Newtown? Pedestrian Safety (crosswalks, etc.), Roadwork - Contract Awarded, Newtown Twp/Boro Fire Services Agreement, New Fire Station - Concept Plans, Scope, & Budget, Newtown Creek Bridge Public Meeting, What's Happening with Steeple View Property?, Holy Family Student Housing Project... View the PPT and Notes: https://rebrand.ly/23Jun25_MMM_PPT
This is not an official Newtown Township meeting. It is hosted by Newtown Supervisor John Mack to learn more about issues of concern to Newtown Township residents and to share ideas on important issues.
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johnmacknewtown
June 25, 10:58 AM
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At the 24 June 2025 public meeting of the Newtown Bucks County Joint Municipality Authority (aka Newtown Sewer Authority) Advisory Board, several residents in attendance voiced opinions about several issues including making these meetings more accessible to the public. Residents also had questions about the future of the land purchased by the Authority.
At the end of the meeting, the Board discussed a new policy for public comments at meetings as if to say, "We heard you. Now we need to codify/limit(?) how the the public can make comments at our meetings."
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johnmacknewtown
June 23, 7:40 AM
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This is my personal summary of the June 11, 2025, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary. See 2025 BOS Chronicle for details.
Reports of Board Members
Consent Agenda
Manager’s Report
Other Business
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johnmacknewtown
June 22, 7:32 AM
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UPDATE (7/11/25): Local residents still don’t know how long the pipeline was leaking. They don’t know how big the spill is, either. But they’ll soon have a public forum to ask these questions, as DEP employees have scheduled a town hall meeting in Upper Makefield at 7:30 p.m. July 15 at the township building along Eagle Road.
Two Bucks County lawmakers have sent a letter to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection urging them to bring an enforcement action against Sunoco/Energy Transfer to compel the remediation of contaminated wells near the Twin-Oaks-Newark pipeline leak in Upper Makefield.
The letter, authored by State Senator Steve Santarsiero and State Rep. Perry Warren, accuses Sunoco/Energy Transfer of not taking its responsibility to remediate the leak seriously and putting residents and the environment at continued risk for long-term damage.
The legislators specifically noted that Energy Transfer has failed to delineate the plume, limiting its ability to assess the full scope of the impact of the jet fuel release.
The letter states:
"It is unacceptable that Sunoco/Energy Transfer has not delineated the plume. Without this [delineation], there is no way to assess the impact of this release on ground water and the number of residents [including Newtown residents?] impacted."
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johnmacknewtown
June 18, 8:19 AM
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Despite the rainy weather, a huge crowd turned out at the Summit Square Shopping Center Saturday afternoon to take part in a national mass mobilization of protestors who object to Trump Administration policies.
The event, dubbed the "No Kings" protest, was staged next to U.S. Congressman Brian Fitzpatrick's office at 1 Summit Square and was hosted locally by Indivisible Bucks County.
Addressing the crowd were Democratic candidate for Bucks County District Attorney Joe Khan; Democratic candidate for Bucks County Sheriff Danny Ceisler (view video). Pennsylvania Policy Center Campaign Director, Dwayne Heisler; former Bucks County Prothonotary and current candidate for Lower Makefield Supervisor Judi Reiss; and Democratic candidate for Bucks County Prothonotary, Donna Petrecco. More than 1,350 people signed up to attend, although organizers say more than that showed up on Saturday.
I was there in my "Make America's Constitution King" hat and T-shirt.
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johnmacknewtown
June 18, 6:53 AM
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The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors at its June 11 meeting tabled an appointment to the Newtown, Bucks County Joint Municipal Authority until its next meeting.
Supervisor John Mack opposed the nomination of Deutsch, citing what he perceived as the candidate’s pro-development stance and the need for sewer capacity.
In a 4 to 1 vote (Elen Snyder voting Nay), the board put off the decision to give members more time to vet the candidates who have stepped forward to fill a vacancy on the six-member board created by the resignation of township resident Linda Bobrin.
The candidates include planning commission member Craig Deutsch and engineering consultant Marc R. Bjorkman. Following the meeting, a third candidate, Keith Terry, withdrew his application from consideration, citing a potential conflict of interest.
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johnmacknewtown
June 13, 10:24 AM
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My survey asked residents to tell me who I should vote for as a Newtown Township representative on the Sewer Authority Board. For background, read ""#NewtownPA BOS Discuss Sewer Authority Board Appointment".
That vote, however, has been tabled to be dealt with at a future BOS meeting – probably in July 2025.
See the detailed results, including comments from respondents about the applicants....
Aside from mentioning qualifications regarding their choices, many respondents also expressed opposition to any restart of the sewer treatment plant as a reason.
At the 11 June 2025 BOS meeting, the Chair and the Township Manager made the argument that "we [the CURRENT BOS] issued a letter to the sewer authority saying that the township vehemently opposes any construction of a sewer plant. For the sewer plant to even happen would would require this board [emphasis added] to authorize the township engineer to amend the act 537 plan to include a sewage treatment plant. So until this board [emphasis added] does that, there's no forward progress with this."
The problem is that "this board" will not be the same after the 2025 election. Two new Supervisors will be elected to replace John Mack and Dennis Fisher whose terms will expire on 31 December 2025. Who's to say that the new BOS will not rescind the aforementioned letter and vote to amend Act 537 [The Pennsylvania Sewer Facilities Act]? You have to ask yourself: Why would the Sewer Authority undertake this if it did not believe Act 537 would be amended? Did the Newtown representatives on the Sewer Authority Board assure them that would be the case?
It is imperative, therefore, that we appoint someone who has expressed opposition to the sewer treatment plant. I agree with the majority of survey respondents; i.e, that person is Marc Bjorkman, who has publicly (and privately to me) expressed his opposition to the sewer treatment plant. I spoke with Craig Deutsch who refused to say that he is outright opposed to such a plant in Newtown.
In addition, Mr. Deutsch already serves on 3 Newtown commissions. While I appreciate his service to the community. naming him for another position while rejecting a new volunteer is just the wrong optic that sends the message: "we appoint only our friends."
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johnmacknewtown
June 5, 10:20 AM
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Are you concerned about over development in Newtown, tax increases, traffic, quality of our roads, preserving open space or about any issue that has or will come before the Board of Supervisors (BOS) and other township boards and commissions?
Consider attending my "Meet Mack Monday" Zoom meting on 23 June 2025, at 7 PM. The AGENDA includes:
Short PPT Presentation by John Mack - Review of recent Newtown area news/issues followed by discussion. Some topics include appointment of Newtown Township representative to Sewer Authority Board - Latest Info (the recent Patch article does not have the latest news regarding this issue), Billboards in Newtown? Pedestrian Safety (crosswalks, etc.), Roadwork, Newtown Twp/Boro Fire Services Agreement, New Firehouse Plan, Newtown Creek Bridge Update, What's Happening with Steeple View Property?, Holy Family Student Housing Project, more...
Privilege of the Floor - What's on your mind? Fill out the RSVP form to tell me...
Fill out the RSVP form to let me know if you are interested in attending this Zoom meeting. It will take only 1 minute to complete. Also, let me know other issues that should be discussed at this meeting. Upon completion of this form you will have access to the login information. If you cannot attend or miss the meeting, I will send you links to the presentation and discussion. Just fill out the form so I know where to send the information.
This is not an official Newtown Township meeting. It is hosted by Newtown Supervisor John Mack to learn more about issues of concern to Newtown Township residents and to share ideas on important issues.
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johnmacknewtown
June 3, 7:44 AM
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Members of the Newtown Borough Council are scheduled to meet this week with Newtown Township officials to discuss the terms of a new fire services agreement.
Due to escalating costs, at its May meeting the council voted to notify the township that it is terminating its participation in the current agreement with a goal of re-evaluating and restructuring the terms.
“We have made it clear that we’re looking for a simple provider-customer type of agreement that doesn’t have all the stuff that’s muddying it down right now,” said Council President Emily Heinz.
Heinz said the township had already presented the borough with a number for 2026*. “In order to get to that number, we’d have to raise our millage to nine. The limit is 10,” she said. “We’re really going to have to talk about the cost,” she said.
The borough increased its fire tax millage in 2025 by two mills from 2.125 to 4.125 mills to pay for the fire services agreement. Under its 2022 agreement with the township, its annual cost has jumped from $147,000 in 2023 to $275,000** in 2025.
*Every year the Borough is informed of next year's recalculated number as the number of Township firefighters and capital expenses change. That number has gone up every year. When the Borough was presented with the 2026 number, they chose to terminate.
**I'm not sure where the Boro came up with the number $250,000 in 2025. The agreement calls for a 5% increase every year beginning with $147,000 in 2022. After 3 years of 5% increase every year that works out to be about $170,000 by my calculation. (Read my Blog post...) Add to this the $7,210 related to capital expense of purchasing a command vehicle and you get $177,200 by the end of 2025. Is the Borough being honest with the numbers or making a case to negotiate in public?
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johnmacknewtown
June 2, 7:19 AM
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After more than 18 months of discussion and planning, Lower Makefield Township officials have approved a 47-home development on the former Wright Farm.
Local homebuilder DeLuca Homes bought the 49-acre parcel in 2024. Construction is expected to take between two and three years.
Approximately 12.67 acres of preserved open space around the homes was originally intended to remain active farmland*, but after discussion with township officials, more than 1,000 trees are to be planted instead.
*The promise that this land would never be developed was a lie! Money dissolves all such promises.
This farm was featured in my standup comedy routine: "From my comdedyBefore I became SupervisorGUY I was PharmaGUY. That’s P-H-A-R-M-A, not F-A-R-M-ER in case you think by the way I look that I used to raise cows for a living in MOO-town. That’s what my Brooklyn relatives called Newtown because cows were the first living things they saw after exiting 95 or whatever it’s called these days! Now there are no more cows…BUT PLENTY OF CHICKENS! Not living chickens! I’m talking about fast food chicken shops."
The cows were a bucolic feature of the Wright Farm years ago.
Note that Deluca will also be developing housing on the Shady Brook farm across the road; read “Shady Brook Farm Selling Portion Of Property - Looks Like More Multistory Housing and Year Round Traffic Coming!”; https://sco.lt/87xG4W
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johnmacknewtown
May 30, 10:15 AM
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This is my personal summary of the May 28, 2025, meeting of the #NewtownPA Township Board of Supervisors (BOS). This is not a complete nor an official summary. See 2025 BOS Chronicle for details.
Reports of Board Members
Conditional Use Hearing
Consent Agenda
Manager’s Report
Public Comment
Other Business
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johnmacknewtown
May 30, 6:41 AM
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[UPDATE (6/4/25): After the BOS meeting, 2 additional applications were received from (1) Mr. Keith Terry and (2) Mr. Craig Deutsch who is also a member of the Planning Commission.]
The #NewtownPA Board of Supervisors (BOS) must appoint a new member of the Sewer Authority Board after Linda Bobrin resigned in April 2025.
At the 28 May 2025 BOS meeting, Board Chair Elen Snyder claimed to have “many letters from people” who want to apply to be appointed to the Sewer Authority Board. However, as Mack and other Board members noted, Board members received only ONE letter (from Mr. Marc Bjorkman).* Ms. Snyder has not revealed from whom she received letters and was chastised for acting independently without sharing information with the Board.
The appointment of a Township representative to the Authority Board is important because at the time of this discussion the Borough members outnumber the Township members by 3-2. Thus, it is possible that the Authority Board can reverse their decision to halt the sewer treatment plant project.
Unfortunately, the earliest the BOS can appoint a new member is at its 11 June 2025 meeting, which is one day after the next Sewer Authority meeting. As Mr. Mack said, "The Cat's Out of the Bag!"
* Actually, the supervisors also received a request from Keith Terry, a retired member of the Bucks County Water and Sewer Authority.
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johnmacknewtown
May 29, 9:18 AM
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At the 21 May 2025 Newtown Borough Council meeting, Borough Council President Emily Heinz: “I’d like to make a motion to authorize the solicitor to notify Newtown Township of the Borough's election to terminate the Borough's participation in the current fire services agreement.
The following day, Newtown Township received a letter via email from the Newtown Borough Solicitor notifying the Township that the Borough decided to terminate the Agreement with the Township for fire coverage effective December 31, 2025.
Obviously, the Borough does not like the terms of the current agreement. As the history of this agreement reveals, the Borough never did wish to pay what the Township thought was fair.
Negotiations will again likely be “difficult.” Keep in mind that the township hired four new full-time firefighters. In 2023, the township was awarded a FEMA “Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response” (SAFER) Grant of $1,556,953 to cover most of the expense of hiring and paying the salaries and benefits these firefighters but ONLY FOR 3 YEARS! Given the current FEMA situation, it is unlikely that the township will see further funding from the agency to pay for these additional firefighters.
At the 28 May 2025 Newtown BOS meeting, Board Chair Elen Snyder said “Unless something happens, as of January first 2025 they [the Borough] will have no protection.”
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johnmacknewtown
May 26, 6:38 AM
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Update (7/6/25): I accessed the ownership record of PARID: 28-001-020 using the Bucks County Parcel Map. This is part of the Steeple View property and former site of the Newtown liquor store. The own is CENTER OFF STATE LLC located at 120 PHESANT RUN, NEWTOWN, AP !8940. This is the address of Worthington's NAC. Thus, the rumor is true.
Adding to the layers of speculation surrounding the future of this ambitious project, a rumor has begun to circulate that Allan Smith has sold the Steeple View property to Jim Worthington of the Newtown Athletic Club (NAC). [See 7/6/25 UPDATE above.]
Such a transfer of ownership, if true, could significantly alter the project's trajectory, either accelerating its completion under new leadership or leading to an entirely different vision for the site, which in turn could further impact the fate of the proposed creek walk and public areas.
[Now that Mr. Worthington owns the land, it could amean that Mr. Worthington is no longer interested in developing a housing project on Lower Silver Lake Rd, which was claimed by the Newtown Sewer Authority via Eminent Domain for a sewer treatment plant. That plan was put on hold (read “Sewer Authority at a "Juncture." Which Road Will It Take in the Future?”) and there are rumors that the Authority has offered to sell the land back to Mr. Worthington for the same price it paid, which is allowable under Eminent Domain rules. If Mr. Worthington refuses to buy the property back the Authority may again pursue the sewer treatment plant idea. Or, it could donate the land to Newtown Township to prevent any future development. - my opinion]
The Steeple View project aims to redevelop a nine-acre parcel stretching from Centre Avenue to the former Stockburger property, incorporating residential, retail, and restaurant spaces across seven new buildings. Smith, a seasoned developer in Newtown with projects like the Stocking Works to his name, has seen his plans evolve considerably since their initial conception.
Proposed Pedestrian Creek Bridge
One of the most persistent difficulties has revolved around parking and traffic circulation. Another key point of contention has been the proposed pedestrian bridge connecting Newtown Borough to Newtown Township's Carl Sedia Park. While integral to Smith's vision of a connected community, the bridge project requires separate approval from the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors.
[My survey says the majority of Newtown Township residents are not fans of this bridge; read “Proposed Steeple View Pedestrian Bridge: Is It a Bridge Too Far?”]
This dual-jurisdiction requirement adds a layer of complexity, with the borough expressing concerns about the project's viability if the township doesn't approve the bridge. This isn't just a matter of waiting; it means engaging a whole new set of stakeholders, facing potentially different concerns, and incurring additional costs for separate applications and presentations. Should the township deny the bridge, the entire project's appeal and functionality could be significantly diminished, potentially rendering years of effort moot for that specific, crucial component.
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