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Developers present Brandywine View plan; analysts say LERTA needed to make 562-unit project feasible
Summary
Developer representatives told the Coatesville Area School District finance committee on Sept. 9 that the 75-acre Brandywine View project at 320 Adams Drive would require a LERTA tax-abatement schedule to be economically viable; a district fiscal analysis projects about 68 public-school students at full build-out and a net positive district revenue after year five.
Developer representatives and their fiscal analyst presented the Brandywine View proposal to the Coatesville Area School District finance committee on Sept. 9, asking the district to consider a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) schedule to make the 75-acre project feasible.
Attorney Gina Gerber, representing the developer, said the site is "a property at 320 Adams Drive" in Coatesville and stressed topography and rocky conditions have made previous efforts unsuccessful. She described a project scaled to about 562 total housing units across multifamily apartments and townhomes and said the city has been supportive of the proposal.
David C. Babbitt of David C. Babbitt & Associates LLC, who presented the fiscal-impact spreadsheet, projected an assessed value at build-out of "about $53,200,000" and estimated the development would generate roughly "68 public school students in this development at build out" under the methodology used. His model assumes incremental tax capture under a LERTA that phases from 0% to 100% by year 11. In that scenario, the district would see an initial net deficit for the first several years, reach break-even around year five, and realize a cumulative net surplus of about $2.66 million over 11 years.
Board members pressed analysts on assumptions that affect student yield and revenue: the demographic multipliers, reliance on older census-based methods, and the rent/pricing assumptions that influence earned-income tax and assessed-value estimates. A number of board members and public commenters questioned the apartment rent figures cited in the presentation — one-bedroom units were listed at roughly $1,700 and two-bedrooms at $2,000 — and asked whether those numbers are binding or simply developer pro formas.
Developer John Joffe said the apartments would be built and occupied first and that LERTA timing is typically tied to building-permit activity: "The apartments will come online first, and then you sell through the remainder of the community." Presenters also emphasized they reduced the overall townhouse count during entitlement to improve economics and that the site’s engineering challenges make public-sector cooperation necessary.
Chair Liz Muirhead said the committee would not vote on the LERTA request that night and would take more time to review the financial analysis and solicit community feedback. Public commenter Lori Shannon Bailey urged the district to seek provisions for lower-income or sustainable housing in any negotiated agreement.
The committee took no formal action on the LERTA schedule; presenters left materials with district staff and the item will return for further review and community engagement.
