Promenade Construction to Begin Soon, Developer Says

Outstanding waivers needed so that the Promenade development on Sycamore Street can move forward have been granted. 

The Newtown Township Board of Supervisors on Wednesday unanimously approved the waivers, which were related to an easement needed by the Promenade owners to install improvements, known as rip-rap, to an existing storm water system, board member Jen Dix explained in an email to Patch Thursday.

The mixed-use development, located at the former Acme site, was approved in 2012 and the decaying building was torn down months later but construction stalled due to a sewer moratorium impacting Bucks County. But even once the sewer issue was resolved, an easement was required for the project to move forward.

However, the adjacent property owner did not want to comply. Dix said the easement would have actually benefited that property as well by controlling runoff.

“We did put a 90 day window on the waiver in hopes of trying one more last ditch effort to persuade the property owner to allow the easement for a reasonable cost,” Dix said.

When complete, The Promenade will feature 20,000 square feet of retail space. There will be five retail tenants, as well as 26 apartment units. Anthropologie, a clothing and home decor retailer, is the anchor tenant.

Property owner Jim Worthington said he estimated construction would take between eight to 10 months, the Bucks County Courier Times reported.