Delaware Township

For this 120-acre farm, we worked closely with township officials and community members to create a preservation and development plan that maximized the potential and ecological health of this property.

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Designing a development plan is not a science. What we discover through our research is often harder to define than simple facts such as distance and soil type; we work with variables like beauty, emotional connection, and ecological value. Sometimes the perfect plan is obvious and reveals itself early, and other times the plan will go through several changes as new stakeholders provide information that needs to be incorporated into the design. Our project in Delaware Township, New Jersey, is an example of a design plan that went through several stages in response to the many stakeholders that were part of the process.

The 120-acre property appeared to be the perfect place to build a country hamlet. It is directly across the street from a well used park with ball fields and other amenities, which would be within walking distance of the development. The entire site was available for construction, but half of it is a working farm with prime agricultural soils, which we feel is a resource worth preserving. Additionally, the townspeople place a high value on the site’s scenery, which they enjoy on their way to the park. Staying open minded and flexible, we amended our plans and were able to preserve 100% of the prime agricultural soils, and 90% of the viewshed from the road, all while creating a walkable sense of place for our country hamlet.

When we presented our new plan to the township, it created a great deal of interest and excitement. The incredibly positive response we received from the community made it clear that allowing our plan to be flexible was critical to its success. Some of the features that generated the most buzz included: