EAST BRANDYWINE, Pa. (June 2017) – After more than six years in the planning process, the Giant-anchored East Brandywine Center has received final township land development approval, after East Brandywine Township supervisors on June 21 approved a development plan to build a new shopping center that will include a Giant supermarket.
Township residents have been without a grocery store since September 2015, when its only store closed its doors. That store has remained vacant since then.
Giant first expressed interest in opening a store on the property, owned by the estate of the late Frank and Beatrice Watters, in 2010. The 10-acre-plus site will be home to East Brandywine Center, a 65,000-square-foot shopping center, 51,500 of which will be anchored by Giant. The remaining 9,500 square feet of retail space will be leased to businesses which meet the community’s daily needs.
Among the infrastructure improvements required by PennDOT and East Brandywine Township are a relocated traffic signal on Route 322 and a connector road from Route 322 to North Guthriesville Road.
A vocal majority of area residents have supported the plans to bring a Giant store to East Brandywine Township from the outset, citing increased convenience, job opportunities, and tax revenue as potential benefits, along with the advantage of having a clean, well-stocked grocery store in town.
“We are grateful to the township supervisors and area residents for their support for this project over the years,” said Peter Miller, president of Carlino Commercial Development, the developer of the property. “It has been a long road, but we are proud to be able to bring a modern, convenient grocery store and all of the benefits that go with it to the East Brandywine community.”
Plans to build the new Giant store have long been impeded by litigation from an adjacent land owner. Although the litigation has delayed the development of the shopping center by several years, it has been unsuccessful in deterring the developer or Giant from moving ahead with the shopping center.
The continued legal actions have frustrated some area residents, who began a Change.org petition to support the building of the Giant shopping center. Having a modern grocery store in the community will eliminate the twenty-minute drive residents now must take.
The project will generate construction jobs, and an estimated 80 full-time equivalent jobs once the Giant is open. The new store will contribute real estate and sales taxes to the township, county, school district and the state. The roadway improvements to Rt. 322 and the Connector Road will improve traffic safety on Rt. 322 near North Guthriesville Road, which has seen a high incidence of traffic accidents and has been labeled as an “aggressive driver area,” according to the township police chief. Traffic is estimated to increase in the next few years, as nearly 500 housing units are in various stages of land development and approval in the immediate vicinity of East Brandywine Center.
Carlino has worked closely with the developers of those neighborhoods, Pulte Homes and NVR Homes, and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) to coordinate improvements to the surrounding roadways, including deceleration lanes, turning lanes, traffic signals, and road widening. Once completed, these improvements will increase the traffic capacity of the roadways and will allow for free and safe flow of traffic.
With the township’s final approval in hand for East Brandywine Center, the building project could be underway within a few months. However, continued legal opposition from the adjacent landowner will continue to delay the start of the construction project.
About Carlino Commercial Development: Carlino Commercial Development develops, redevelops, acquires, and manages retail, office and residential properties in the metro–Philadelphia area. The commercial developers have been building strong relationships with communities, tenants, banks, brokers, funds, and other developers for 30 years.
