Housing is so expensive that people earning $200K qualify for help
Across the country, as housing and other costs continue to outpace income increases, many middle-class homebuyers are finding they can’t easily scrape together a down payment. That has prompted city, state and nonprofit programs to expand eligibility for down-payment support — with some areas offering loans to people making more than $200,000. According to Down Payment Resource, a company that compiles information on more than 2,700 home-buying programs, more than 115 programs have raised their income threshold requirements since 2023. The median U.S. home price now tops $405,000. The Urban Institute found that home sales prices have risen 80% since 2017, while wages have grown 38%.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/9/2026

Episcopal Diocese to convert 26 Philadelphia-area churches into new uses
The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has partnered with a private developer on an initiative to convert nearly 30 church properties across Greater Philadelphia to new uses. The Diocese identified 26 properties in prime locations to be monetized, including multiple locations in Center City. The initiative could create more than 1,000 new residential units in Philadelphia and its four collar counties. The properties targeted for redevelopment have not been disclosed. The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania has 136 congregations in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. It is targeting locations where churches have phased out regular operations or have underutilized property that could be developed, or where churches with smaller populations can be consolidated.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/9/2026

Yardley to hold information session on earned income tax
Yardley Borough Council is considering enacting a 1% earned income tax (EIT) to address budget shortfalls, as the borough has hit a cap on revenue it can raise through property taxes. Yardley is one of only three municipalities in Bucks County without an EIT, and the proposed tax would apply to active wages — not Social Security, disability payments, capital gains or military pay — and could be paired with property tax relief for fixed-income residents. Councilwoman Martha Howlett, who raised the proposal, warned that without a new revenue source the borough would face painful cuts to services like policing, while Councilman Paul Mencel noted the tax could also bring back wage taxes currently paid by Yardley residents who work elsewhere. An informational public session is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, with any final decision expected in the fall during the next budget cycle.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 3/4/2026

Doylestown planning commission to continue Hart tract discussion
Doylestown Township's planning commission is again set to discuss plans to sell the historic 24-acre Hart property along Route 202 to local builder Zaveta Custom Homes. The builder plans to renovate the site's four existing historic structures and add 36 new luxury townhomes. The Bucks County Historical Society, which received the land as a donation in 2003, decided to sell it to refocus resources on its core mission of preserving Henry Mercer's legacy at Fonthill Castle and the Mercer Museum. The plan requires a zoning change that would mandate preservation of the historic buildings as a condition of development. Some preservationists oppose the sale and envision the land being repurposed for public education and recreation, but historic preservation expert Jeff Marshall cautioned that Zaveta's proposal may be the best realistic option to save the aging structures, since the current zoning offers no protection and a future owner could legally demolish them. The planning commission added the issue to its March 12 agenda, and any commission vote would constitute a formal recommendation rather than final approval.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 3/10/2026

Northampton to advertise wastewater ordinance
Northampton Township's board of supervisors has unanimously voted to advertise an ordinance establishing uniform wastewater requirements for properties connected to the Warminster Township Municipal Authority sewer system. The rules will help the township to comply with the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s National Pre-Treatment Program under the Clean Water Act. While most of the township's wastewater is routed to Philadelphia for treatment, roughly 400 residences and businesses in the township's northwest corner and along parts of Bristol Road in Ivyland feed into the Warminster system, requiring a separate local compliance structure. Supervisor Joe Lombardo explained that federal law obligates municipalities to regulate local contributors to publicly owned treatment works, and that without such an ordinance the authority would lack the enforcement backing needed to ensure users meet pretreatment standards. The vote to advertise does not immediately enact the ordinance but kicks off the formal adoption process.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 3/9/2026

Fire services standoff ends in Newtown
Newtown Township supervisors unanimously approved moving forward with a $275,000 fire services agreement with Newtown Borough for 2026, settling a standoff that had temporarily limited fire coverage to emergency-only calls. The deal, already budgeted by both municipalities, is considered a temporary measure while longer-term, cost-sharing negotiations continue for 2027 and beyond. Some residents argued the figure was too low given that the true annual cost of the township's transition to paid staffing is estimated at $450,000 to $500,000, but supporters contended that securing some funding now was better than none. Board members acknowledged the amount is not sustainable long-term and committed to developing a fairer formula going forward.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 3/3/2026

Morrisville warehouse lease is one of largest industrial leases in area
Automated warehouse company Exol has signed a 973,200-square-foot lease to fully occupy the South Penn Logistics Center at 2300 S. Pennsylvania Ave. in Morrisville. It marks one of the largest industrial leases in the Philadelphia region in recent years and the biggest so far in 2026. The facility, completed last year by Chicago-based developer Logistics Property Co., sits along the Delaware River across from Trenton and will serve as Exol's sixth location and first in the Philadelphia region. Founded in 2023 and formerly known as GreenBox, the California-based company specializes in AI-driven automated fulfillment. The deal ranks as the fourth-largest single-building industrial lease in the Philadelphia market since the start of 2024, behind only DrinkPak's 1.4-million-square-foot, build-to-suit in South Philadelphia, Performance Team's 1.2-million-square-foot lease in Cinnaminson, and Cirro's 1-million-square-foot expansion at the nearby Keystone Trade Center.
Source: Philadelphia Business Journal; 3/5/2026 

Developer buying 2 prime Kennett Square office buildings, one slated for conversion
Wilmington-based 9th Street Development is set to purchase two downtown office buildings in Kennett Square for $6.6 million and redevelop them with about $34 million in additional investment. The plan would convert the 100,000-square-foot building at 128 E. State St. into 60 apartments, while retaining the 80,000-square-foot 101 E. State St. for office and medical space. The properties, built by Genesis Healthcare in 1998 and 2008, are being sold as the company downsizes following a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing last year. Plans call for ground-floor retail at the residential building — with leases already signed by Mayday Coffee Shop and Tinker — while the second building will be renovated and marketed to commercial tenants, reflecting the developer’s strategy to capitalize on demand for walkable, amenity-rich downtown office locations. Local zoning calls for ground-floor commercial space, an encouraging sign for 9th Street Development’s mixed-use plan.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/5/2026

Proposal to upsize data center heads to East Whiteland supervisors
The East Whiteland Township Planning Commission stopped short of fully recommending that the township’s board of supervisors approve an amended plan that would increase the footprint of a proposed data center to more than 1.6 million square feet. The commission said the plan is in compliance with local ordinances, its waivers were supported by professional consultants, and it adhered to zoning allowances made years previously. The commission also recommended the board revisit the special exemption that allowed for the site to be zoned for a data center in the first place. “We have the right to build a data center, and we will build some sort of data center,” said Lou Colagreco, the attorney for the developer. “The question here before the township, before the planning commission, is which one will it be?” The developers, Sentinel Data Centers and Green Fig Land LLC, said the new plans would update the project with modern technology, calling the approved 2024 plan outdated. The plan would increase the size of the data center by roughly 60% and remove two microwave towers, antenna yards and ground-mounted cooling towers. The planned location of the facility is a remediated Superfund site adjacent to Malvern Hunt, a neighborhood with about 280 homes, and it would be intersected by the Chester Valley Trail, an 18.6-mile route popular with walkers, cyclists and runners.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 3/10/2026

18 acres in Charlestown Township preserved as open space
French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust has announced the completion of a voluntary conservation easement to permanently preserve Hugh and Sally Willig’s 18-acre property along Sycamore Lane in Charlestown Township. The easement is another success in the longstanding partnership between French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust and Charlestown Township, according to the press release.
Source: Daily Local; 3/10/2026

West Nantmeal planning commission to review comprehensive plan update
The West Nantmeal Township Planning Commission will consider and make a recommendation on the township’s proposed 2026 comprehensive plan, which outlines long-term goals for land use and community development in West Nantmeal Township. A public legal notice said a copy of the proposed plan will be available on the township website. The planning commission will review the plan during a public meeting on Monday, March 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the West Nantmeal Township Municipal Building, 455 N. Manor Road, Elverson.
Source: Daily Local; 3/6/2026 

West Chester council to hold hearing on university campus plan
West Chester Borough Council will consider a conditional use application from West Chester University seeking approval of a University Campus Plan dated January 2025 and prepared by EwingCole. The master plan outlines proposed future development for university-owned property within the borough’s Planned University Campus District and is supported by studies including student enrollment projections, housing, transportation impacts, parking and stormwater management. Copies of the application and supporting documents are available for public inspection at the Borough of West Chester administrative offices during regular business hours. Borough council will hold a public hearing on the request on Monday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m. at the municipal building, 401 E. Gay St., in West Chester.
Source: Daily Local; 3/6/2026

New plan for UCF middle school
The Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board is reviewing an updated plan for the proposed new middle school, and the price will be going up. The new estimate for just the school is now believed to be about $153.3 million, with a completion date of May 2034. In January, the projected cost was $139.5 million. Superintendent Tim Hoffman said then that the timeline might have to be adjusted, and that’s what was presented during the March 9 work session. The new plan involves an adjusted timeline as well as revisions to the project scope and funding. The plan “incorporates the middle school project into the larger Secondary School Plan,” Hoffman said. Hoffman said several aspects of the design remain close to original estimates, but other costs like site work, demolition and construction were higher than expected. If the board approves the update plan, construction of the new middle school would begin in September 2031 and be completed by May 2034. Demolition of the old school would start in June 2034 and be finished a year later. The total cost for all phases is currently estimated at $166.3 million.
Source: Chadds Ford Live; 3/10/2026