Thursday, March 21, 2013
The federal government this week announced 250 jobs coming to the Horsham Air Guard Station, but progress at nearby Willow Grove air base is expected to be much slower.
In the projected time it takes to establish and man a drone command center at the Horsham Air Guard Station, the status of the abutting former Willow Grove air base will be virtually the same. The 862-acre former military base will still be vacant, still be federally owned and its buildings will still be standing, albeit in disrepair, an official told Patch. It will be next March "or thereabouts" before Horsham officials are able to negotiate the transfer of land from the federal government to the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority, according to HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee. McGee said the HLRA's consultant, Matrix Design Group, is fact finding and gathering information pertaining to the real estate market in the Delaware Valley. …
Monday, March 11, 2013
With a focus on fundraising for its multi-million dollar aviation museum, the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association changed the structure of the organization recently.
Members of the volunteer-run Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association have their work cut out for them. In order to "build the museum we want to have" in Horsham, President John Rehfuss estimated that the group would need to raise between $20 million to $25 million in the next three to four years. How will DVHAA do that? For starters, DVHAA is in the process of establishing a board of trustees with former president Retired Major General Ron Nelson at the helm as chairman. "General Nelson is well-known around here," Rehfuss said. "(As president) he didn't have enough time to leverage the people he knows, aviation enthusiasts ... It's kind of hard to run (the organization) and fundraise." DVHAA reworked its bylaws late last year to …
40.201335
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The Wings of Freedom Museum
1155 Easton Rd, Horsham, PA
/articles/dvhaa-restructures-to-build-new-air-museum
867927
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Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Band-Aid fixes planned as Hatboro-Horsham School District awaits the transfer of Willow Grove air base from the federal government to local ownership.
If Willow Grove air base takes the projected 20 to 30 years to redevelop "that would be a problem" for Hatboro-Horsham School District's future middle school, according to a district official. The aging Keith Valley Middle School will remain "functionally sound" with minor improvements and modifications for the next seven to 10 years, according to Bob Reichert, the district's director of business affairs. According to a capital projects update presented during Monday night's school board work session, the district recently carried out $117,000 in improvements at Keith Valley, including the $10,000 rebuild of a baseball field and an $80,000 cost to replace carpeting. For 2013-2014, roughly $800,000 in maintenance is planned, including the…
Friday, January 25, 2013
Horsham-based Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association received approval to fix and relocate a P-3.
It took six months of red tape, but the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association finally got the go-ahead to access its P-3 for repairs and relocation. Since the space the volunteer-run, Horsham-based group's Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Museum is situated on is federally owned, DVHAA has had to make requests to the federal government to carry out seemingly simple tasks like extending its fence line and fixing a plane. During the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority's meeting this month, officials shared an executed license agreement between the Navy and DVHAA, which would allow DVHAA representatives to access the 142,000-pound plane to repair it and relocate it. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee joked that the group has "…
Friday, January 18, 2013
A Horsham resident expressed interest in the shuttered Willow Grove air base being used to film movies.
Instead of letting nearly 900 acres of shuttered Willow Grove air base sit vacant, long-time Horsham resident Bill Randel had another idea. "It looks like a perfect location for movies or a TV program," Randel told the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority during the board's monthly meeting this week. "Why not notify people in the entertainment industry that you have a large property?" HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside said the board has done just that. Whiteside, who attends other communities navigating through a military base closure, said "that type of use is available." "The movie industry is aware that the property is available," Whiteside said. But, being "available" simply has not been enough to bring would-be actors and film crews …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority chose the Matrix Design Group to lead the next roughly year-long phase of Willow Grove air base’s future.
After several months of reviews, interviews and discussion among an ad hoc committee, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority picked the consultant team to guide the next step of Willow Grove air base’s lengthy redevelopment. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve execution of a $567,000 contract to the Matrix Design Group. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee said he expects the contract to be finalized in the “next several days” and work to begin thereafter. Once that happens, the consultant team will begin the roughly 12-month process of leading the board in devising a business plan and pro forma. The firm’s study will encompass everything from traffic, water and sewer, stormwater management and other factors analyzed in large…
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority anticipates appointing a consultant in January to lead the next redevelopment phase for Willow Grove air base.
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority expects choose a consultant in January to lead the next phase of acquiring - and over the next two or three decades - redeveloping the bulk of Willow Grove air base A consultant will likely be appointed from the two submissions received in October related to devising a business plan and pro forma. That process is expected to take about 10 months and is a necessary part of obtaining the land as part of an economic development conveyance. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee explained it previously as a way to acquire the land on "layaway" of sorts. HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside and Vice Chairwoman Joanna Furia have interviewed both of the professional firms, Matrix Design Group and Weston …
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Following confusion over Navy meetings in which an airfield was one of four options presented, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority said an airfield is not planned for Willow Grove air base.
As the Navy continues with its two-year-long environmental impact statement of 862 acres of shuttered Willow Grove air base, local officials said the land will not be home to flying missions in its next life. The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority reiterated its mantra Wednesday, on the heels of a pair of Navy open house meetings in which four options - including an airfield - were presented on posters to the public. For more news and updates about Hatboro and Horsham, subscribe to our free newsletter,"like" us on Facebook or follow @Hatboropatch on Twitter. Officials said phones have been ringing and email inboxes have been flooded by residents concerned over the possibility of an airport. Their question, officials said, is …
Friday, December 7, 2012
The Navy is holding a pair of open houses and is collecting comments on the shuttered Willow Grove air base.
Are you concerned about increased traffic coming in and out of what is now Willow Grove air base as 862 acres are redeveloped? Do you worry about the condition of the land where a new middle school is planned, or where more than 1,400 homes are expected to be built? If these, or other concerns are on your mind, the U.S. Navy wants you to share them. As part of the government's roughly 18-month-long environmental impact statement, which has been underway since summer, the BRAC Program Management Office is holding a pair of public open houses on Dec. 13 and Dec. 14. The meetings had originally been set for late October, but required rescheduling as a result of Hurricane Sandy. "We would very much like the public to come to the (Environmental…
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority hopes to have a consultant in place by January for the next phase of the reuse process for Willow Grove air base.
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority will likely wait another two months to select a consultant to lead the board in the next steps of its roughly 10-month process aimed toward redeveloping Willow Grove air base. Given that only three of five HLRA board members were present for Wednesday's meeting, Executive Director Mike McGee said it would be best to wait until the full board could be present to discuss what's next for the lengthy redevelopment process, which is expected to take 25 years to complete. The most immediate action is for the board to select a professional firm from the two submissions received last month to the board in devising a business plan and pro forma. McGee told Patch that he hopes to conduct interviews with …
Mike Shortall
10:49 pm on Friday, March 22, 2013
Well, the good thing is, if it can't be developed, there would be no need to remove the runway or worry about sewage and water infrastructure, etc. I don't think that would happen, because eventually that land will become sought after as more and more land is developed in the area. Pretty sure the Township will require any developer to pay the bulk of any infrastructure costs. more ›