Redevelopment Plan For Willow Grove Air Base Inches Forward
By Jim Melwert
HORSHAM, Pa. (CBS) -- The group working to redevelop the former Willow Grove Naval Air Base has signed an exclusive negotiating agreement in a step they hope moves the process along.
"This is a gigantic step forward for us," says Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority (HLRA) director Mike McGee, who says the agreement with Catellus Development Corporation doesn't necessarilty let them see the light at the end of the tunnel but, in his words, it lets them see the tunnel.
One area where it will help, he says, is negotiating with the US Navy for transfer of the land.
"They want compensation for the property, understandably so, and we need to come up with a reasonable amount that they and we can live with," McGee tells KYW Newsradio.
He says it's important to have the company that could potentially be the master developer involved in those negotiations, but first they'll work the numbers as they finalize a master developer agreement with Catellus.
The HLRA plan includes nearly 1,500 residential units, commercial space, and a town center for Horsham.
