What’s the 422?

Home Depot has canceled plans to build a home improvement store at Ridge Pike and Township Line Road, according to Limerick officials.

In a recent interview, Supervisor Renee Chesler said the township first learned of the pull-out in late April. Economics were likely a factor in the decision, as Chesler noted a significant drop in new Home Depot openings nationwide.

The Limerick store would have been located next to Acme supermarket and the Sonic fast food restaurant. According to Township Manager Dan Kerr, another large retailer may eventually develop the 21-acre lot.

“(The) last piece of the puzzle is the PennDOT highway permit which they are almost complete with as well. We have been told they are working to complete all issues and have it ready for another retail user,” Kerr wrote in an e-mail.

In March 2008, the board of supervisors reached a settlement agreement with Home Depot to resolve several issues. The terms of this agreement call for a $500,000 contribution to Limerick’s open space fund.

Both Kerr and Chesler said the contribution was not budgeted for in 2009 or any other year.

Just how the parties got to a court settlement is a bit complex. In June 2007, the  supervisors approved a zoning change which removed “building materials supply center” from the highway commercial district (where the store was proposed). This occurred one month after the developer applied for land development approvals, according to the agreement.

The ordinance amendment also limited the size of any building in the highway commercial zone to 65,000 square-feet. The Home Depot plans showed a 178,000-square-foot store and 28,000-square-foot garden center.

If this land is developed in the future under “existing” regulations, then the $500,000 contribution is still payable to Limerick, the agreement states. But if the developer “elects to construct some other building(s) under the then current zoning regulations this agreement shall be null and void.”

According to Chesler, the township’s primary point of contact has been the land developer – Limerick Partners I LP, of Plymouth Meeting.