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DELAWARE COUNTY VETERANS MEMORIAL ASSOCIATION
Articles
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Marville Village - Just Right for Newtown
By Elena Perri
Perseverance and patience. These qualities have been an integral part of developer Claude de Botton's vision of developing land he purchased decades ago in Newtown Township.
In the early 1970's, de Botton began his quest to develop the land he bought from the Truscott estate. "At that time, our vision was to create a mixed use development with housing, offices, hotels, restaurants, a business park, industrial park and shoppes," he says. He then proceeded to obtain all the necessary zoning changes for his property.
Yesterday's concept of a mixed-use development is comparable to today's Lifestyle Village. The last part of the puzzle was finally put into play when he received unanimous preliminary land development approval from The Newtown Township Supervisors on March 26, 2007. The Village is part of the overall Marville development located approximately one mile from the intersection of Route 3 and 252. "Fortunately, because we're a mile away, we believe that we will cause significantly less traffic congestion at this intersection of Newtown Square than if the development was located in the center of town."
The Marville project also has a loop road separating the different elements of the development. The loop road was named Alice Grimm to honor a distinguished teacher in the Newtown Township Schools. The naming was at the request of various township residents that were very fond of Alice Grimm and wanted to remember her.
The developer says the Shoppes at Marville will have a more rural village feel due to its natural green spaces, its flowing design and mostly one-story buildings. There will be a main street feel "with shoppes on both sides providing a village atmosphere and areas to meet and mingle." In addition to upscale shopping, the site will include a cultural center, a hotel, a non-denominational chapel and a Veterans Memorial Monument.
For de Botton, the Veterans Memorial is another element that makes this project special. "The veterans were looking for a high visibility, high traffic location," he says. "They asked me if I was willing to work with them on it, and I was very touched, proud and honored to be able to do something for those who have done so much for our country."
A unique aspect of the memorial is that it will be built with small holes next to the names of the veterans, so that family members can leave notes or mementos at the memorial. The non-denominational chapel will be located across the street from the cultural center, which will have an auditorium for theatrical and musical productions as well as meeting rooms for community groups. Open space and wetlands have been considered and included in the design plans.
He adds that the loop road will separate the housing from the retail part of the Village. "We believe it is better planning to have houses close to the Village, rather than in the Village," de Botton says. “This alleviates the noise from delivery and trash pickup trucks that could disturb residents."
If his vision and dreams come true and the Village is built, de Botton will construct a walking trail for nearby residents’ convenience and enjoyment. The walking trail will be placed along the creek that separates the housing from the shops. If the Village is not built, the property will be developed for other uses in accordance with existing zoning.
Many people have asked him, “Why haven't you proceeded with the development since you have received your approvals? The answer is simple: The sanitary sewer system has been delayed.”
Marville site has been rough-graded and construction was to have begun, but de Botton had to delay the project. "The reason we did not continue with the process is that even though we received approval to install a private sanitary sewer plant to serve the development, we were approached by different local groups to join them in a common integrated sewer system," he says. "We then decided to stop the construction of the buildings until the sewer issue is resolved by the Central Delaware County Sewer Authority. However, we are prepared to move expeditiously once the sewer becomes available."
The goal is to have major sewer connections for all of Newtown Square as well as portions of Edgmont Township. This will include areas struggling with older and/or failing private on-site septic systems in Florida Park, Echo Valley and Castle Rock.
On a personal note, de Botton has named the site after his dad Mario, an Italian citizen. He took "Mar" from his father's name and added "ville" to it, which means "a small town" in French; Marville is the "Town of Mario."
de Botton says, "I am 74, and it is my vision as well as my dream to one day walk into the completed Town of Mario, MARVILLE, with residents and neighbors of Newtown Square praying with the veterans, walking along Main Street, appreciating the picturesque green spaces, visiting the chapel, hearing a concert at the cultural center and saying “Dad, you were with me at the start of this vision decades ago, your soul is here with me now.'"
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