The Limerick Township Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Tuesday to approve the final development plan for Hawthorne Square, a 51-unit townhome and twin-home community proposed along West Ridge Pike — clearing the final major planning hurdle before construction can begin.
Developer W.B. Homes anticipates breaking ground in late July, pending submission and approval of a planning module through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
What's Being Built
The project, located at 319 West Ridge Pike, will include townhomes and two sets of twin homes designed to reflect the architectural character of the surrounding village commercial district. Several existing commercial properties along the Ridge Pike frontage — including Platinum Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning and the post office — will remain. The Giamo Real Estate office will be demolished to accommodate the development.
Six units are planned as rentals, including two twin homes along the Ridge Pike frontage. The remaining units are expected to be owner-occupied. The developer’s team indicated that the for-sale units will likely be listed in the low $500,000 range, while the six rental units would lease for between $1,800 and $2,000 per month.
Board Adds Conditions Before Approving
Board Chair Connie Lawson raised a series of questions that resulted in plan modifications being added as conditions of approval.
The most significant change requires the developer to add a pedestrian walkway connecting a parking lot to six residential units that lack private driveways. The change addresses concerns that residents carrying groceries or managing strollers would otherwise face an impractical walk through the development. Those units are planned to be rentals.
The board also required the developer to add evergreen trees near units 50 and 51, located near the center of the development, to provide privacy screening from an adjacent overflow parking area.
The developer agreed to both conditions without objection.
Supervisors also raised questions about snow removal logistics in the shared parking lot, crosswalk placement, lighting along newly planned walkways, and the grinder pump sewer system serving the lower-elevation units, all of which the applicant addressed during the meeting.
One Dissenting Vote
Supervisor Patrick Morroney cast the lone dissenting vote. When Supervisor Linda Irwin questioned Morroney about “his legal basis for voting no,” he cited concerns that the development is too dense, a position he said he has maintained throughout earlier reviews of the plan.
“I’m entitled to vote the way I want to vote,” Morroney said.
Other supervisors also expressed personal concerns about the project while acknowledging they could not legally deny the application under the current zoning.
"I think Limerick has enough townhomes," Supervisor Cheryl Walraven said.
During public comment, Limerick resident Martha Bell echoed those concerns, raising questions about traffic along Ridge Pike and urging the township to address density and open space through the upcoming comprehensive plan process. In response, Irwin encouraged Bell to participate in that process and consider applying to join a related committee.
Lawson also suggested that higher-density projects such as Hawthorne Square illustrate the types of issues the township should examine as it updates its comprehensive plan, zoning regulations, and ordinances.
“Just because you can, it doesn’t mean that we should,” she said. “My goal is to develop responsibly and to alleviate points of friction within our communities. I want people to love living in Limerick, and love their experience in their home and in their community. It’s really important to me.”
The Limerick Township Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the plan during its May meeting.
This article was generated with AI assistance. All content was reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by John McGuire.
