Save Rural Andover Borough - Builder to hold information session

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Builder to hold information session
Friday, June 24, 2005
By Kathy Stevens, Herald Staff Writer

ANDOVER BOROUGH -- An informational session on a proposed 590-unit project for about 260 acres between Route 206 and Route 517 will be held at the borough firehouse from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Beazer Homes, of Trenton, which has corporate headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., is planning to purchase the property, which was approved for 590 homes in June 1989. The approval was for mixed housing units, including single-family homes, condominiums and garden apartments.

Both project attorney Kevin Kelly and Beazer Homes Executive Vice President Robert Stout said the property retains the general development approval, which Kelly said is good for 20 years. Beazer Homes plans to alter the types of housing proposed and make other changes.

According to Stout, 200 of the 590 proposed homes will be for active adults and the remainder will be single-family homes and townhouses. The developer is also seeking 30,000 square feet of retail space and 150,000 square feet of industrial space on the Route 206 side of the property. A sewer plant proposed for the project would contain enough capacity to also serve about 150 nearby existing homes with failing septic systems, he said.

The project would more than double the population of Andover Borough, which has about 660 residents. It would also increase the number of homes in the borough by more than 200 percent. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, there are 273 homes in the borough.

A site plan showing the layout of the project has not yet been submitted to the borough, although Stout said he expects to submit a plan within the next couple of months. Mayor Shirlee Bollard said the developer may come before the Borough Planning and Zoning Board in September.

The property, formerly known as the Francisco farm, is zoned agricultural and is the site of a horse farm, Stout said.

Beazer Homes builds 1,700 homes per year, according to the company's Web site.