Larger residential lots, 30 percent fewer homes and more land for a middle school.

That was the crux of the directives the Horsham Land Resuse Authority outlined Wednesday afternoon as it suggested tweaks to the redevelopment plan for 862 acres of the shuttered Willow Grove air base.

The largest recommended adjustment that HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee shared with the board, and, by conference call, its consultant Russell Archambault of RKG Associates, was a revised mixed-use residential plan, which scaled back the originally proposed 1,999 units to 1,416 on a total of 176 acres.

“I believe that a good working number is 1,416,” McGee told the board.

The board, which did not vote on any of the recommendations, seemed to agree. Several members affirmed McGee’s request that the one-quarter acre single family homes be expanded to half-acre lots and the density cut from 169 to 90 units.

Board member Steven Nelson, the Montgomery County Commissioners’ director of policy, questioned why McGee suggested that the proposed 645 apartments and condos earmarked for a 22-acre parcel be reduced to 300 units. McGee said he could not find any other instances where that many units were built within a similar parcel size.

Making room for a school, aviation museum

The Hatboro-Horsham School Board had requested 60 acres for a new middle school and playing fields. All seemed surprised to hear RKG’s presentation in November which provided only 14 acres for the district. Under McGee’s recommendations, that number would be upped to 40 acres, along with township-owned contiguous open space.

The district “could easily have 60 acres to devote to school activities,” McGee said, adding that Superintendent Curtis Griffin – who sits on the HLRA board, but was absent Wednesday – supports the revision.

Representatives from the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association seemed to look less favorably on the board’s decision to earmark 14 acres as compared to the nonprofit group’s other requests ranging from 26 acres to 52 acres.

DVHAA President Ron Nelson, a retired major general in the Marine Corps, said the organization had hoped to secure the hangar for display, as well as the former Army Reserve building for classrooms, office space and administration.

“If we could have that hangar 175 it would save us millions of dollars,” Nelson said. “It would be a lot cheaper than building a new hangar.”

Peter Choate, executive director of the Horsham Preservation and Historical Association, also in attendance Wednesday, told the board he supported DVHAA.

“They need a hangar,” Choate said.

While McGee said the hangar would be “ideal for their use,” he said, “it would certainly set the tone for the development around it.”

McGee referenced a redeveloped military base in Glenview, Ill., in which a hangar was repurposed as a movie theater and department stores. Afterward, you could not tell it had been a hangar, he said.

Archambault chimed in that there is a lot of “competition” for the same land parcels.

And, since the 862 acres is “valuable property,” McGee said HLRA representatives sought out other aviation museums to see how much land each used. Some had more than 14 acres, while many had less.

“It replicates the size of NAS Wildwood and a number of other bases,” he said.

DVHAA officials said its current museum on Route 611, as well as additional land on the base totals about eight acres.

An empty military base

Horsham resident Bill Randel grilled the board about when the former military base, which ceased all operations on Sept. 15, would start generating revenue.

“You’ve got a base sitting there that you could do something with,” Randel said. “To see that base sitting there doing nothing day after day … appalls me.”

Since the property is still owned by the federal government and does not have electricity, water, or sewer, HLRA representatives said using it, or leasing it out, would be difficult. McGee said the earliest the property could change hands would be 2015. Until then, he said the government would continue to pay approximately $675,000 each year to Hatboro-Horsham School District in impact fees.

“We’ll need to make sure we hit a couple homeruns in terms of tax ratables,” McGee said, adding that once the land is transferred, impact aid would cease. “Six hundred seventy-five thousand is a significant number of dollars, but one street in one of our business parks generates more money than that.”

Once the base is built out – in a 15 to 20-year time frame – projections call for $5.2 million in revenue over and above expected expenses, he said.

Until that time, McGee said he will continue to review requests for use of the base, including a recent one from the Pennsylvania State Fair, as well as scout troops and fire departments.

“Is the revenue worth the expense?” McGee said the property could be leased for a profit share with the federal government, but it could open up Horsham to potential liabilities.

Putting the base on “layaway”

As the HLRA works to finalize and approve a redevelopment plan by the government’s March 31 deadline, McGee said an equal part of how the land will be repurposed is how new ownership will come to pass.

McGee said he would like the HLRA to apply for an economic development conveyance, which, in essence, would put the board in the driver’s seat for development.

Doing so would give the HLRA assurances that “the uses you designate will be there,” he said.

The downside of an economic development conveyance, McGee said, is the need for funding and “partners.”

Some such land conveyances rely on revenue sharing over a specified period of time, McGee said.

“It’s not a check you would write,” McGee said of taking ownership. “It’s kind of like a layaway program.”

The bottom line, Archambault said, is the government would negotiate prices – or assess values – to the land based on the intended uses.

“The value will be affixed to those areas of the plan,” Archambault said. “Obviously you can’t create that value without the investment … A huge investment is required to realize this plan.”

Moving forward

The HLRA board will meet on Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. in the Horsham Township Community Center. RKG representatives will present what will be the fifth version of a redevelopment plan. The board is tentatively set to act on the plan at its Feb. 15 meeting.