PROJECT DESCRIPTION:

Hopewell Manor, an age restricted retirement community located in Elverson, PA, consists of 72 apartment units located on approximately 2 of a roughly 6.5 acre tract.  Undeveloped portions of the tract feature preserved woodlands and a newly constructed walking trail located along an abandoned railroad line.  The development of the site involved the re-use and rehabilitation of the Elverson Fire House.  Because the site involved multiple parcels – including Borough owned land – and different zoning classifications, the approval process required changes to the Borough Zoning Map, a land swap involving Borough property and coordination with County agencies to ensure the proposed trail location fit with the current regional rails to trails plan.  Major technical design components of the project include the following: Layout of buildings, curbing, parking, paving, site grading, erosion controls and stormwater management.  Overall site utility design including water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer.  Securing of all regulatory permits required to construct project including PADEP, PADOT, CCCD and approval from the local municipality.  Several engineering challenges presented themselves throughout the construction phase of the project.  Rock was unexpectedly encountered during excavation of an underground stormwater system. D. L. Howell was able to quickly prepare an alternative design and work with all reviewing agencies to allow for its implementation.  A during construction addition of parking to service Borough owned historic structures was needed.  The design of additional parking stalls was sensitive in that they needed to work aesthetically with the historic nature of the existing buildings and comply with all of the current ADA regulations.

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