If home is where the heart is, the heart of Chester County housing these days is multifamily homes, particularly apartments.
There were nearly 3,000 multifamily units proposed in 2016, which was an increase of approximately 1,000 since 2015. In particular, there was a drastic increase in the apartment development proposals over the past year. There were 2,231 apartment units proposed in 2016 compared to 1,150 in 2015.
“We’re seeing a trend in more rental units than we’ve seen in the past,” said Carol Stauffer, director of the Chester County Planning Commission’s Infrastructure and Plan Review Division.
Many of the multifamily proposals are generally located in employment centers and older towns throughout Chester County, including East Whiteland, West Whiteland, East Brandywine, Upper Uwchlan, East Vincent, Kennett and West Goshen townships. There were also several multifamily proposals in the boroughs of Phoenixville, Downingtown and Oxford, according to Paul Farkas, a senior review planner at the Planning Commission.
The 10 largest official plan submissions reviewed by the Planning Commission in 2016 proposed at least 200 multifamily residential lots/units and/or 200,000 square feet of non-residential structural square footage; six of these plan submissions proposed at least 200 apartment units, according to Farkas.
“The county has seen an extensive number of apartments in our growth areas, particularly in our employment centers and older towns,” said Planning Commission Executive Director Brian O’Leary. “This trend supports the goals and vision of Landscapes2.”
Since 2005, the number of proposed multifamily residential lots/units in Chester County has exceeded the number of proposed single-family lots.
To check out a graphic of Chester County development trends, click here.
Wish there was a small 55+ community housing development in our area for independent living !! We have been living in East Whiteland township for over 35 years and love it here ! As were are seniors now we need to move to one level smaller houses ! Any plans in near future for this type of housing developments here !?
Since 2010, the Act 247 Plan Review section of the Chester County Planning Commission has been tracking plan submissions, which include age-restricted housing units. While none are located in East Whiteland, there are other units in the region: https://www.chesco.org/DocumentCenter/View/45027
Hi, Sorry for the late reply ! Thank you for your reply ! Living in Frazer was a wonderful experience ! Wish to live here as long as we can ! Lot of housing developments are coming ! some already built ! But this town will be one congested town once all the constructions finished ! Wish they had built a 55+ community here ! Would have been sold all the houses in a zip !! So many people who lived here are looking for 55+ community homes !! Too many apartments would create too much traffic ! Plus schools will be crowded ! Peace of this small town will be gone !! Hope there is still a chance they will consider building 55+ independent living homes ! Thank you !