The Daily Local (dailylocal.com), Serving Chester County, PA
Today's Stories
Friday, September 26, 2008
By ANNE PICKERING, Staff Writer
WARWICK — Three years ago St. Peters Village was a shabby collection of buildings that, despite its spectacular setting along a swiftly flowing, boulder-strewn stream, didn't exactly attract a throng of money-spending tourists on the weekend.
It mainly attracted local youth who congregated on the paths along the stream and hung out at an abandoned quarry on a hill above the town.
Township officials worried particularly about safety at the old quarry.
Board of supervisors Chairman Charles Jacob said there had been some incidents at the quarry over the years. It was hard to keep the kids away.
"The village was drifting down. We had a lot of crime. It was always my vision since I came to the board of supervisors in 1999 to have a total rebirth of the village," said Jacob on Thursday.
The rebirth came in Tom Drauschak, president of Earth Cos., a Phoenixville-based
land-development company.
Drauschak, a local resident, had visited the village frequently and liked what he saw. "It reminded me of these small, picturesque villages in Bavaria built on the side of a hill."
Armed with a vision, the company started to buy up land in and around the village 2½ years ago. But the village came with a host of problems.
The local, private sewer plant, Warwick Drainage Co., had a serious problem with aging pipes that allowed rain to infiltrate. When it rained, the plant couldn't handle the additional burden.
"Every time it rained, 100,000 gallons of raw sewage flowed into French Creek," said Drauschak. "It was the single largest point-source of pollution in the watershed."
"It was a long-standing problem," said Pam Brown, conservation director of French & Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust. While the state Department of Environmental Protection knew about the discharges, nothing was ever done. The DEP in 1985 did put a moratorium on new connections.
Earth Cos. bought the plant and spent $550,000 to upgrade the sewer pipes to keep rainwater out. Now it is in the midst of building a new $3.5 million plant to handle the villages of St Peters, Knauertown and other areas.
The water company was next. Earth Cos. bought that and embarked on a $1 million upgrade of the plant.
So far, Earth Cos. owns about 250 acres in and around the village and has invested $25 million. The inn and other shops along the main road have been renovated.
The public has rediscovered the village.
Last year, St. Peters held its first Oktoberfest and thought about 500 people would attend. Instead, 6,000 people showed up. This year's Oktoberfest will be on Oct. 19 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
New parking for the village has been carved out of the hill, across from the Inn. A road leads up to the quarry that is filled with water, and a man-made waterfall cascades from the top of the quarry's bluff to the lake below.
Called The Falls, it is the entrance to a new 121-home development under construction. At the moment, 12 homes are under construction and four will be model homes.
A conservation easement has already been placed on 37 acres of woodlands, steep slopes and other sensitive land in the development as well as a trail easement. French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust already holds an easement on a 5-acre parcel along French Creek in the village.
"We are not interested in doing any project that the local community would view in a negative way," said Drauschak. "Whenever we're doing a project, we coordinate things with all the conservation groups."
The vision for the village is a place where people can live, shop and have access to 25 miles of trails.
A commitment to building sturdy, energy-efficient houses led to the decision to provide geothermal wells for heating and cooling in each home. Local materials are used, including stone from the quarry and wood from trees removed during construction.
"It would have been easier to build a fresh village from scratch somewhere," said Drauschak. "But you can't duplicate what you have here, a charming historic village in a spectacular setting."