New Garden Township held a joint open house with the architectural firm YSM that saw 200 area residents provide a wish list vision for the future of Saint Anthony’s in the Hills, a 137-acre property that the township purchased for $1.5 million in 2018. When the initial plans for the development of the property now known as New Garden Hills were first introduced in 2021, YSM estimated that the price tag was $18 million. In a presentation to the board of supervisors, Township Manager Christopher Himes and parks superintendent Mike Buck said that the original estimate failed to include the price of demolition, the rehabilitation of buildings, the construction of new buildings, water, sanitary and electrical service, parking, and other vital components of the park’s development. The estimated actual costs for New Garden Hills will be closer to $30 million. At a Sept. 18 meeting, Buck and Himes further put a damper on plans for the multi-phase development of New Garden Hills, saying that the township has larger spending priorities. Phase 1 of New Garden Hills development — a nature trail estimated to cost $56,000 — is scheduled to open to the public in late October. The cost of completing phases 2 through 8 — which include a playground, dog park, more trails, open space, a welcome hub, a maintenance facility and refurbishing the amphitheater — is estimated at $26.8 million. The township does not want to tap into the $22 million remaining from the township’s sale of the wastewater system to fund the remaining projects in the park’s construction, as the money is already slated for capital projects. Himes noted that a general obligation bond in the amount of $28.8 million could help pay for the park work, though it would lead to a tax hike for residents. 
Source: Chester County Press; 9/20/2023