Pennhurst buyer open on plans

By Michael Hays

EAST VINCENT � Although the company that recently purchased 111 acres of the Pennhurst property has no reported plans, a key partner has a history of proposing mixed developments of office, retail and housing on old state hospital sites.

Together, Richard N. Chakejian and Mark Mendelson bought Eastern State School and Hospital in Bensalem for $8.5 million back in 1997. Chakejian of West Vincent is a partner of Pennhurst Acquisition, the company that bought a portion of the abandoned Pennhurst site for $2 million from the state.

Mendelson, an Allentown developer, is not involved with Pennhurst Acquisition, although he was a partner in Pennhurst Associates, Chakejian said. The two businesses are separate entities, according to Chakejian.

The two men paired with O�Neill Properties of King of Prussia to turn the decaying Eastern State School and Hospital into the Horizon Corporate Center. Located off Route 1 in Bucks County, the complex also features businesses, restaurants and both a Lowe�s and a Wal-Mart.

Asked if Horizon could be a model for Pennhurst, Chakejian said, �Bensalem was a completely different demographic and location.�

He looks forward to having a �positive dialogue� with the township and seeing what kinds of developments they would like to see. He wants the final product to be something the township, its residents and neighbors can be proud of. But the project should also be �fiscally responsible,� Chakejian stated.

�We have no proposals for what we would like to do there,� said the West Vincent developer, adding that big boxes have not been closely considered.

For the 101-acre Bensalem development, Mendelson and Chakejian were doing business as Hampton NE Associates, a company which has since dissolved. They were also in the running for the purchase of Philadelphia�s Byberry State Hospital in the late 1990s, only to eventually lose out to Westrum Byberry LP of Fort Washington. Demolished in 2006, this former psychiatric hospital still sits largely abandoned today.

On the preservation side of things, Chakejian said he would �love to� pursue an �adaptive reuse� of Pennhurst buildings. Much of the property is overrun with brush and fallen trees. Pavement is laden with potholes and broken asphalt.

The developer acknowledged that Pennhurst was largely �left to rot,� but a reuse might be able to preserve some of the buildings.

�Some are very beautiful,� Chakejian said.

At a township supervisors� meeting last week, the topic of code enforcement at Pennhurst surfaced. Responding to questions from the supervisors about the possibility of boarding up buildings, Solicitor Stuart Cohen recommended the board talk to Chakejian and make their wishes known. After all, he will be coming before the supervisors at some time in the future to ask for development approvals, Cohen said.

It was reported last month that East Vincent supervisors met in executive session Feb. 20 to discuss the possible purchase of Pennhurst property by the township. Supervisors Christine McNeil and John Funk both stated the closed door meeting was not about Pennhurst, but rather other real estate matters.

Environmental remediation for asbestos and other harmful elements was necessary at Byberry State Hospital. Pennhurst may have some issues as well. Chakejian said he is aware of an environmental review conducted at Pennhurst in the 1990s. He intends to look again at the property�s bill of health, including possible further study.

The next step toward construction is the land development process. Despite receiving waivers back in November when Pennhurst was subdivided into four parcels, Chakejian expects to complete all studies �that are necessary and required � I�m happy to do so.�

The 111 acres now under the control of Chakejian and his partners are zoned rural conservation, low-density residential and agricultural preservation.

Doing business as Pennhurst Associates in November, he received the following waivers at the public hearing: a statement of intended use of all non-residential lots and parcels, performance guarantees, conservation plan, stormwater management plan, improvements and construction plan, landscaping plan, wetlands survey and all required impact studies, according to township documents.

Funk, the current board chairman, voted against the November subdivision, criticizing Pennhurst Associates for not being more forthcoming about their intended use. Former supervisors Walter Zaremba and Ryan Costello provided the two �yes� votes.

Costello, who is now Chester County�s recorder of deeds, said recently that all such reviews and plans will be part of the land development process.

�Just because we waived that stuff, it doesn�t give them anything. They�ll have to go through that process,� he said. �The plan must comply with zoning ordinances, then as they go through land development, they�ll have to comply with that.�

A benefit of the state�s sale to Pennhurst Acquisition is a new opportunity for township recreational land.

East Vincent residents will likely receive at least 70 acres to use as they see fit, said state Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-19th Dist. A legislative bill for 70 to 80 acres, along with other land dedications throughout the state, could be finalized this spring, Dinniman said recently.

Costello added that this added perk would never have been realized without last November�s subdivision approval.

Calling the project a �sizable challenge,� Chakejian said he looks forward to a meaningful dialogue with the township going forward.

Keeping track of all the Pennhurst businesses incorporated in Pennsylvania can be tricky. There are 21 active businesses throughout the state that start with �Pennhurst,� according to the Department of State.

Among them are Pennhurst Corporation, Pennhurst Burial Co., and Pennhurst Food Distributors.Chakejian�s partnership, Pennhurst Acquisition, is headquartered at 30 Valley Stream Parkway in Malvern, the law offices of Stradley Ronon. Pennhurst Acquisition partners include South Morton Properties and East Vincent Acquisition LLC, Chakejian said.

This well known former hospital first opened in 1908 as a state facility for the severely mentally disabled, under the operation of the Department of Public Welfare. In the beginning, the site had 40 buildings spread across 1,200 acres. Today, the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs runs the Southeastern Veterans Center on an adjacent parcel.