New Berks County housing project needs some publicity

by Steve Reinbrecht

Giant machines are tearing up ground around an old stone house as work starts on a 107-home development in Lower Heidelberg Township near Wilson West Middle School.

Even though I live a mile away, I almost never drive on Gaul Road and hadn’t noticed the work, just north of the Toyota place on Route 422. To me, a new housing development is big news. A whole new neighborhood. Dust and noise. Road, water and sewer construction. 

Will the taxes the new residents will pay cover the costs of the new services they’ll require – road maintenance, mail service, police and fire protection, and seats in Wilson schools?
Housing starts are a closely watched metric of the economy. Builders pay workers pretty well. When people move in, they buy a lot of expensive stuff. 

By building on open space in the suburbs, Grande Development Corp. is bucking the housing trend in America and the world toward refitting urban spaces so people can drive less and meet more people. 

To me, the images of the “development” are ugly, green fields churned to mud, giant trees ground up, wetlands disturbed, woods and cropland turned into uninspired housing units where residents will likely douse their yards with pesticides and petroleum salts and ensure no pollinators nor amphibians will ever live there again.

The property’s stone farmhouse looks naked and slightly obscene, stripped of its landscaping and surrounded by debris and porto-potties.

Many people share my impulse – halt the bulldozing [as soon as we move in]! Preservation is a top concern for many voters. The state and county pay landowners to give up their rights to develop. Strict laws control new construction on steep slopes and in swamps and places with rare organisms. A zoning map shows about 90 percent of Lower Heidelberg is zoned “agricultural preservation.” Grande’s project is in “suburban residential.”

But land rights are also a strong passion for Americans. How far should the state go in telling us where to build and live? Preserving land drives its value up, making it harder for poor people to move out of cities and instead benefitting more-likely-to-be-rich owners. Just the idea of owning land astonished native Americans.

Grande bought the 49-acre property for $1.35 million from another developer, Greth Development Group, which has been selling land. 

County records show Greth owns 85 acres north and west of Wilson Middle School.

The new houses will be on both sides of Gaul Road. Most of the houses -- 77 -- will be single homes on lots. The remaining 30 or so will be semis. The township waived a requirement to build sidewalks on Gaul Road.

The farmhouse will be preserved. The remains of huge trees are stacked at the site. The property is just south of the Little Cacoosing Creek. A bit more than 8 acres will be preserved, including about three acres of wetland. 

The plans, filed in late May, show Grande will plant more than 300 shade trees, evergreens and trees for drainage basins.

The names of the streets: Regina, Stella, Merganser and Goldeneye.