Over the past few years, DL Howell and Associates has been lucky enough to work with some of Chester County’s biggest real estate developers on four great projects all within ½ mile of each other in West Whiteland Township.
Starting back in 2019, Bentley Homes received approval for 140 townhomes and the renovation of two historic single-family homes on the Lochiel Farm property. Lennar, one of the nation’s leading home builders, purchased the property from Bentley Homes and is currently about halfway through construction, and from what we can see, these homes are in high demand.
The second project, Exton Knoll, is directly to the east of Lochiel Farm. This project is a joint venture between Bentley Homes, E. Kahn Development, and Cornerstone Tracy. It will consist of 99 luxury for-sale townhomes and 220 rental townhomes.
This community will also have a direct connection to the Chester Valley Trail, naturalized walking paths, picnic areas, dog parks, and a community building with a pool. This project has received final approval and is hoping to break ground in the coming months.
The third and fourth projects are located further west on the other side of Ship Road. Both projects have received Conditional Use Approval from West Whiteland Township and are in the design engineering phase. Ship Run has 95 single-family homes and is being developed by local developer Joe Behrle. This community will be generally located behind the Laborers Union facility, with access to Lincoln Highway and Ship Road, and preserves roughly half of the tract as Open Space. Homeowners will also have walking and biking access to the Chester Valley Trail. The last project, which will be on the opposite side of the stream from Ship Run, is being developed by E. Kahn Development and consists of 68 townhomes and a separate commercial area on Lincoln Highway for a convenience store with gas pumps. This project will support the Township’s Plan to reduce Ship Road traffic and congestion by installing the southern leg of the new North-South Couplet Road. The couplet will also provide a new public trail that will eventually connect the Chester Valley Trail with the County’s future extension along with the out-of-service freight rail line south of the Exton By-Pass.
DL Howell would like to thank all the consultants and regulatory agencies involved in the approval and construction of these great projects, including traffic engineers, McMahon and Associates and Traffic Planning and Design, landscape architects and land planners, Stuart Associates, Heuser Design, West Whiteland Township, PennDOT, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the Chester County Conservation District.
