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TODS-TRIDS and WHAT REALLY IS GOING ON AT THE WILLOW GROVE MALL ??

THESE DIAGRAMS WILL TELLYOU MORE OF THE STORY

Current location of  Willow Grove Train Station  with TOD (1/2mi) and TRID (1/4 mi)
As I understand TODS and TRIDS , the 1/2 mile outer circle is  the standard TOD-Transit Oriented District boundary.  That is hwere you will find Federal funds available for denser developoment within a half mile around a train.  A TRID - Transit Revitalization Investment District  generally connotes even denser development - and the monies derived  from TRID development go back into the TRID district to inspire more development

Look carefully at the Mall property and the entire BC WG Mall District which is the square that the mall is in. The Plaza ( "Dick's Sporting Goods" strip mall)  is included in the light blue ring around the Willow Grove train station,  as is the At Home and Visionworks . That ring which, as said, indicates 1/2 mile from a train (2650 ft ) and would have the same rights as any new apartment building,  if a true TOD were to be implemented. They reduced the number of feet  by 150 feet-  to 2500 - we haven't  figured out why yet . 

The 1/4 mi ring in a TOD is gnerally more densely developed  and could be designated for TRID development, where the monies earned there are largely reinvested in the same district - speeding up developement there.  None of this has been discussed - even though we have sat through 3 meetings. 

What was the reason for the 2500 ft instead of 2650?  Give me your best guess.

  The Willow Grove Train Station  is slated to move lightly farther away in 2021  ( Plans for the move has been in the works for over 10 years - originally it was to be closer .....near the Olive Garden etc)

The Crestmont Train Station - The Mall is also included in any TOD around  the Crestmont Train . see that below

  No Single page for this issue is being offered. For years we have battled to get that.  Developers profit at taxpayer expense.
   Township Manager Richard Manfredi was asked but would not provide the ordinance documents in a separate page that could be easily found, read and shared by the residents affected.  Manager Manfredi  did however, expend  a great deal of time, money and resources on behalf of the developer - even providing  our Township Planner to help write the ordinance.  (Did you approve that - I'm sure I didn't ..it wasn't in the budget. It is a liberty that I believe is  taken contrary to the interests of the people the Manager is there to serve) 

  the WILLOW GROVE train --- AN AMATEUR ATTEMPT AT DEFINING the 2500 linear feet from the WILLOW GROVE train at its current location 

Note again that parts of the existing Mall itself, plus all of Dick's strip, all of the Visionworks complex and  parts of the At Home  property are inside the ring. 

 
Current Willow Grove Train Station --  2500 feet Walk Distance radius

 

the CRESTMONT TRAIN  --- AN AMATEUR ATTEMPT AT DEFINING the 2500 linear feet from the CRESTMONT  train at its current location 

 

       MANY PROPOSALS  WERE CONSIDERED FOR MOVING THE WILLOW GROVE TRAIN STATION  CLOSER TO THE WILLOW GROVE MALL
As early as 2010 , 11 and 12 this was going on ...but, perhaps because of difficulties obtaining the necessary lands or for other reasons, they re-grouped and made arrangements to move the train station further away from the Willow Grove Mall rather than closer.   Septa aquired 412 Davisville Road - and it appears that the main station may be right ajacent from  318 Davisville. There were many components to the new train station area development as you can see below. We are unclear where the "border is" in order to draw a linear 2500 feet .  There appears, however,  to be an attempt to obtain the H-12 zoning asap in early 2021 BEFORE the station  moves.  2500 linear feet from the current station would provide more area in the Business Center  with the H-12 zoning.  Mr Kaplin,  PREIT and Bel Canto forgot to mention any of this in their 11-9-20 presentation.  Those diagrams should have been provided so they could be checked.

     HERE IS THE PLAN FOR THE NEW WILLOW GROVE STATION
see all the diagrams at this link   : http://uppermoreland.org/DocumentCenter/View/1499/2019-Relocated-Willow-Grove-Station?bidId=

 

 

  if the 2500 ft were to the new willow grove station Below is an amateur's attempt at figuring out the new 2500 linear feet  from the NEW  station -----   The 365  apts don't even appear to qualify - but since we don't know just where the edge of the station is, this might not be at all accurate.   We have been through 3 meetings and still do not have theis information

 

     So ... is the H-12 text going in before the new Willow Grove station is built in 2021 ?  Will the zoning stay with the property even if the  2500 feet from the new station does not include one of the properties - only the old station included them ? Where are the actual calculations of what is included in the 2500 linear feet ? .  It seems clear that at least a corner of the Dick's Sporting Goods strip (The "Plaza")  will be in the  2500 ft - does that qualify it for the H-12 zoning even if a tiny part of it is 2500 feet away?  
We needed Mr Kaplin and Mr Herman  to present these details instead of the "history of shopping" .
Residents had a right to have all of this information in their 3 prior presentations, before the Jan 26 2021 Planning Commission.  

 

No longer relevant  - but of interest..........

     ORIGINALLY THERE WAS A PLAN  TO BUILD THE NEW TRAIN CLOSER TO THE MALL -NOW SCRAPPED

Nearly the entire  Mall Property and all the others in the  BC WG Mall  district would have qualified for the new zoning. They chose 2500FEET - slightly less than the 1/2 mile... we DO want to know why.

  Original ( now scrapped) proposed new Willow Grove Train Station - showing ¼-mile (and 1/2 mile) Walk Distance

 

    HERE ARE 2 MORE BUSINESS DISTRICTS IN ABINGTON THAT ARE  and or will be AFFECTED BY TOD AND TRID DEVELOPMENT  .   On the left is NOBLE   and on the right is the FAIRWAY  district .

UNDERSTANDING TODS AND TRIDS

 
   TOD = TRANSIT  ORIENTED DISTRICT
 https://www.tcrpc-pa.org/transit-oriented-development#:~:text=TOD%20policies%20can%20be%20applied,quarter%2Dmile%20of%20bus%20stops.
TOD policies can be applied to an overall transit network, but they are generally considered on the sub-regional level, specifically within a half-mile of commuter-rail stops or a quarter-mile of bus stops. In TOD areas, higher densities and mixed-use development are preferred. Additionally, street patterns are highly connected with adequate sidewalks and bicycle facilities. Finally, parking policies should limit or eliminate minimums and may even impose parking maximums.

MORE ON TODS
 http://13.113.225.178/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Transit-Oriented-Development-Types.pdf


   THE TOD INSTITUTE - LEARN ABOUT TODS
http://www.tod.org/certification/howitworks.html                              

   TRIDS  - TRANSIT  REVITALIZATION INVESTMENT DISTRICTS
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/li/uconsCheck.cfm?
excerpt:  CHAPTER 8   GRANT OF TRID REVENUE

Section 801.  Establishment.

There is established a special fund in the State Treasury to be known as the TRID Fund. Moneys deposited into the fund and interest which accrues from those funds shall be used for the purposes delineated in this chapter.

Section 802.  Approval.

(a)  Submission.--A management entity may apply to the department for the purposes of funding an eligible project or for covering debt service payments related to debt incurred to fund an eligible project..........

 

 

................Section 803.  Additional powers of management entities.

In addition to other powers and functions of management entities granted under this act, a management entity shall have the power to borrow money for the purposes of executing a TRID or TRID planning study for which an application has been approved under section 802.......

804(a)  Matching funds.--The amount of money transferred from the TRID Fund utilized for the construction, including related site preparation and infrastructure, reconstruction or renovation of facilities, shall be matched by other sources of funding at a ratio of two fund dollars to one private dollar.....

 

TRIDS : yr=2016&sessInd=0&act=151

TRIDS: https://www.dvrpc.org/trid/pdf/10-201107TRIDFinal_Opp_Chal.pdf


IMPLEMENTING TRANSIT  REVITALIZATION INVESTMENT DISTRICTS IN PHILA
                 https://rhls.org/wp-content/uploads/Econsult-ExecutiveSummary.pdf

A TRID can be best understood as a transit-oriented district that uses value capture as one of its funding mechanisms: the transit stop is the midpoint of the district, and any new tax revenues generated within the district’s boundaries are captured for the TRID. it is therefore similar to a tax increment financing (tif) district, although tifs in philadelphia tend to capture tax revenues only at the newly developed site, while TRIDs would capture adjacent tax revenues as well, reflecting the enhanced value of being near the transit stop (see figure e.3). it is also not unlike a business improvement district (bid), which has been shown to be doubly beneficial to neighborhoods, by enhancing property values as well as capturing locally generated tax revenues for local use.

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