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Thursday
April 11, 2001
Bucks County Courier Times
NORTHAMPTON
Supervisors Preserve
Spread Eagle, School
By James
E. Stanton
COURIER TIMES
jstanton@calkinsnewspapers.com
With
the board's chairman calling the moves " a major step in the revitalization
of downtown Richboro," the Northampton supervisors last night approved
two actions that will upgrade the appearance of Second Street Pike.
The two moves will please preservationists
who have fought to keep two old structures in the renewal area from
being razed.
In one move, the board voted 5-0 to award
a $228,000 contract for renovating the exterior of the long-abandoned
Spread Eagle Inn, located down the street from the town's main crossroads.
The Twining Construction Company of Newtown was the lowest of four bidders.
Five months ago, the inn, a town landmark,
was moved down the street, a short distance from the juncture of route
232 and route 332, to property owned by the Giaimo family, owners of
the Giuseppe's Restaurant
The supervisor's agreed to restore the
inn's exterior as part of deal to sell the structure to the Giaimos.
The family has not yet announced what commercial tenants it wants in
the building.
Township Manager Bruce Townsend said the
work, expected to begin in late spring, will consist of new roofing,
new windows and doors, and restoration of three walls and a front porch.
The supervisors voted 4-1 to settle a
long-standing dispute with a developer who wants to develop the site
of the old Richboro Elementary School, located a short distance up the
street from the Spread Eagle. Portions of the Spread Eagle date back
two centuries, the school, to 1913.
The settlement, which is awaiting county
court approval, will permit the Site Development Inc. firm to build
a Commerce Bank and a Burger King on the present school site. The boarded-up
school will be moved back from Second Street Pike to an elevated position
near the rear of the property.
Under the settlement, the firm has dropped
plans for a daycare center on the site as well as a playhouse that would
have been attached to the Burger King.
Supervisor Arthur Friedman was the
lone dissenter in the compromise vote. When the supervisors rejected
the original plan 10 months ago, Friedman called the venture "a
very crowded plan for a spot too small." The rejection led to a
court fight.
The bank and Burger King are to share a common
driveway with the adjoining School House Shopping Center and a new traffic
light will be installed to allow motorists access to the two developments.
Supervisors Chairman James Kinney noted
that the bank and fast-food restaurant will be built to meet the town's
architectural standards.
"I believe that in the next two years,
Richboro will take on an additional aesthetic value," Kinney said
at the board meeting.
The supervisors also voted to reject two
contracts related to construction of the township community center,
effectively killing plans for the center.
The $15.8 million center became a controversy
a few months ago when private health and swim club owners contended
that the venture would hurt them financially. A number of residents
joined the owners in opposition.
The
supervisors accepted a report from a township-appointed study panel
that the plan be scrapped.
After
the meeting, Kinney said that the plan for an enlarged senior center
was still alive but that a location has not been determined.
The
center was to have been included in the community facility.
Click
any link below to read Historical
articles
from the Bucks County Courier Times
Group
wants to preserve
86-year-old school building
Wednesday, March 31, 1999
Home
Sweet Home
Sunday, April 18, 1999
The
Pleasant Plains Public School
Built
in 1871
People
Are Flocking to Northampton
Living with Past Choices
Monday,
May 24, 1999
Cornerstone
Reveals Old Memories
Friday,
July 23, 1999
History
Set In Stone
Sunday,
September 12, 1999
Landmark
Restaurant to Make a Move
Friday, August 10, 2001
A
Lightning Move for the Spread Eagle
Thursday, December 6, 2001
Spread
Eagle's Move Went Well
Wednesday, December 12, 2001
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