Solebury Township will receive an $800,000 state grant to help offset the cost of purchasing a 166-acre former quarry that has long been considered a local nuisance. The grant was part of more than $1.8 million awarded to Bucks County communities through Pennsylvania’s Conservation and Recreation Program. The funding supports Solebury’s 2025 joint purchase with Solebury School of the former New Hope Crushed Stone and Lime Co. property for $3.2 million, with plans to reclaim the site as a protected lake, future public park, and public safety resource, including a Central Bucks EMS station, a training site for the Bucks County Public Safety Dive Team, and emergency water access for fire departments. Lawmakers estimate the grant will reduce the township’s net cost to about $500,000, aided by cost-sharing with the neighboring private school, while officials continue to develop a long-term reclamation plan for the property, which includes a 70-acre lake.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 1/15/2026