News Briefs for July 31, 2026
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Langhorne Hotel, a historic Bucks County tavern owned and operated by the Asta family since 1972 and anchoring the corner of Maple and Bellevue avenues since 1704, closed permanently on July 18. New owners plan to renovate the property and reopen under a new name.
Photo: Hshuvaeva (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Builders adjust to affordability challenges as new housing law takes effect
Home builders are increasingly turning to price reductions, mortgage-rate buydowns and other sales incentives to attract buyers as affordability challenges persist, according to the National Association of Home Builders' latest Housing Market Index. The survey found that 37% of builders cut prices in July, while 63% offered sales incentives. The trend comes just weeks after the bipartisan 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act became law. NAHB says the legislation's zoning, regulatory and financing reforms should help expand housing supply and lower housing costs over time, although many of the changes will take time to implement.
Source: National Association of Home Builders; 7/16/2026
Harvard’s housing report highlights affordability challenges
Affordability challenges and economic uncertainty persist across the U.S., according to the 2026 State of the Nation’s Housing report from the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. The report found that household growth slowed for the third consecutive year in 2025, falling by 15% to 1.1 million net new households. This was below pandemic averages of 2.0 million in 2020-2021 but similar to the pace of the 2010s. Drivers of housing demand have slowed due to several factors, including a weakened job market and a near-record-low consumer confidence level. Residential mobility also fell to a record low of 11.2% in 2024, and mortgage rates remained above 6.5% in 2024 and 2025. JCHS reported that total housing starts fell slightly by 1% to 1.36 million last year, extending the slowdown from the pandemic-era surge. Single-family home starts fell 7% in 2025 to 940,000, down from 1 million units in 2024 and the 1.1 million-unit peak in 2021. In Pennsylvania, inventory is down 47% compared to 2019 with about 29,800 listings on the market in February 2026. In March, listings were up 5.6% year-over-year, according to PAR’s housing market report.
Source: PAR JustListed; 7/20/2026
Shrinking student populations cause spike in public school closures across U.S.
School closures have spiked 35% across the country over the past four years, propelled by a shrinking youth population and the end of covid-19 relief funds that had propped up education funding in some places. For the fourth year in a row, the number of school closures rose nationally last year, according to data from the National Center for Education Statistics released last week. Districts closed more than 1,000 schools in 2025-26, compared with 755 in 2021-22. And more closures are planned, including districts in Houston, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Broward County in Florida. “We call it the big shrink,” said Marguerite Roza, who tracks school funding as director of Georgetown University’s Economics Lab. “Enrollment at public schools is declining, partly because there are fewer kids in the U.S.” Read more in the Inquirer.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/31/2026
Bristol Township adds two more to blight reduction list
Bristol Township's decade-long blight reduction program has cut its vacant housing list from 204 properties in 2015 to just 21 as of July. Five of the 21 are already being redeveloped through the Redevelopment Authority of Bucks County. The latest action targeted a subdivided lot at 5606-5608 Tremont Street, where the owner—who has owned the property since 1988 but hasn't responded to enforcement letters since 2025—let one unit fall into fire-damaged, utility-less disrepair while the other sat nearly abandoned, prompting the township council to formally declare the parcel blighted under Pennsylvania's Urban Redevelopment Law.
Source: LevittownNow.com; 7/27/2026
Pilot program in Bucks County aims to help families avoid eviction
The Bucks County Opportunity Council (BCOC) and the Gene and Marlene Epstein Humanitarian Fund have launched a new Eviction Prevention Program to address the county's eviction crisis. Bucks County ranks sixth statewide in eviction rates. The Epsteins are matching donations up to $50,000 between July 20-31 to help fund the pilot project, which aims to assist 25 households by preventing housing loss, connecting families with legal aid, and supporting employment and income growth. BCOC—a 60-plus-year-old nonprofit serving low-income families through services like rental assistance, utility shut-off prevention, and weatherization—hopes to raise $150,000 total. Read more in the Bucks County Herald.
Source: Bucks County Herald; 7/20/2026
Historic Langhorne Hotel has closed
The Langhorne Hotel, a historic Bucks County tavern owned and operated by the Asta family since 1972 and anchoring the corner of Maple and Bellevue avenues since 1704, closed permanently on July 18. The property sold after being first listed three years ago for $2.5 million. The Astas hosted a final farewell party on July 19 and expressed gratitude to the community that supported the beloved gathering spot, known for its original arched walk-in fireplace uncovered during a renovation shortly after the family took over. The new owners, Joe and Megan Kontz, have announced plans to restore and renovate the building in preparation for its reopening under a new name that will be inspired by the town’s original name, Four Lanes End.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 7/9/2026
Facing ongoing deficit, Bensalem shelves middle school construction plan
Facing a $12 million budget deficit, the Bensalem Township School District has shelved its planned $100+ million Middle School Project. The proposal included three options—ranging from renovating both existing middle schools to building entirely new facilities—to address aging infrastructure and accommodate sixth graders who were set to move up from elementary school. The district is now focused on financial survival rather than expansion, and officials say the project is unlikely to resume for at least five years. The move leaves sixth graders in elementary schools that are operating above recommended capacity while board members acknowledge students are the ones bearing the brunt of the delay.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 7/25/2026
Quakertown freight house restoration receives grant
The Rail Yard Society, a nonprofit working to revitalize downtown Quakertown, has received a $1-million Main Street Matters Grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development to fund the second phase of restoring the historic 1902 freight house on Front Street. The freight house had sat abandoned for over 30 years before phase-one emergency repairs (roof replacement and structural stabilization) were completed last year. The new funding will support interior renovations, new freight doors, bathrooms, plumbing, and HVAC to transform the SEPTA-owned building into an event space for weddings, farmers markets, and concerts while preserving its historical industrial character. Construction is slated to begin in October with completion targeted for fall 2027, according to Rail Yard Society President Chris LaBonge.
Source: Bucks County Courier Times; 7/23/2026
Data center construction starts - then stops - at Superfund site in East Whiteland
Construction on a planned 1.5 million-square-foot data center in East Whiteland Township — being built by Green Fig LLC and Sentinel Data Centers atop the former Cyprus Foote Mineral Co. site — has been halted by a township stop-work order after residents raised alarms over building on a federal Superfund site. The site has been contaminated since the 1940s with lithium, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and other pollutants. While the EPA says the site remains on its National Priorities List with an ongoing groundwater contamination plume and elevated volatile organic compounds, it has also stated it doesn't expect the project to disrupt its cleanup remedy, leaving residents — who cite dust from construction, a nearby daycare facility, and unclear soil-testing protocols — at odds with developers and township officials who maintain the site is safe. The project has also been mired in repeated plan revisions: developers first sought to expand the footprint, then to shrink it, and most recently requested a "field change" to swap water-cooling systems for air-chilled units, a request that drew accusations from residents that it amounted to a substantial redesign being pushed through without full board review. As of early July, the township's supervisors tabled a decision on the amended plans pending more information, leaving the project's future — and the community's safety concerns — unresolved.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/9/2026 & 7/27/2026
Judge reverses township denial of luxury homes on hundreds of acres in Willistown
A Chester County judge has reversed Willistown Township's 2024 denial of a preliminary plan by developer Rock Hill Farm Acquisition LLC to build up to 22 luxury homes on the 246-acre Rock Hill Farm, ruling that the township erred in applying its open space conservation district overlay to the property's rural zoning district, since "residential district" isn't a designated zoning classification within the township. The ruling gives developer J. Brian O'Neill, who bought the land for $25.4 million, the green light to submit final plans, while Willistown's supervisors say they plan to explore an appeal. The grassroots "Save Rock Hill Farm" campaign—which has long fought to preserve the land as public open space—is urging residents to push the township to appeal.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/20/2026
East Nottingham to consider official map ordinance
The East Nottingham Township Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing on Aug. 8 to consider adopting an ordinance establishing the township's Official Map. The proposed ordinance would create an official map identifying existing and proposed public lands, rights-of-way and other mapped features to help guide future growth, land use and infrastructure planning. Supervisors will receive public comment during the 7 p.m. hearing at the East Nottingham Township Building, 158 Election Road, Oxford, and may vote on adoption of the ordinance at their regularly scheduled meeting immediately following the hearing.
Source: Daily Local; 7/13/2026
Goshen Fire Company earns $800K state grant
Goshen Fire Company in East Goshen will receive an $800,000 state grant through Pennsylvania's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program to fund a new apparatus bay, building renovations, replacement of aging components, and upgrades to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems, along with parking improvements. The award was announced by state Reps. Kristine Howard (D-167) and Chris Pielli (D-156), with Howard calling it crucial support for local emergency services, while Pielli said, "Our firefighters put their lives on the line every day to keep us safe. When our state dollars are going back to our first responders, that's responsible government at work helping to protect the health, safety and welfare of our residents."
Source: MyChesco.com; 7/18/2026
Former Parkside council president pleads in misuse of borough credit card
Former Parkside Borough Council President Dominic Capobianco recently pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of theft by unlawful taking for using a borough-issued credit card to buy approximately $2,500 in gasoline for personal use. Capobianco was sentenced to three years of probation by Common Pleas Court Judge Stephanie Klein, under the terms negotiated by Deputy District Attorney Doug Rhoads and defense counsel Art Donato. The plea had been signaled in May when Capobianco entered a negotiated waiver of his preliminary hearing. Rhoads and Donato agreed at that time that Capobianco would plead to a single theft count graded as a first-degree misdemeanor, downgraded from a felony. Two other felony counts of receiving stolen property and theft by deception were dismissed Monday. Capobianco had been a Republican member of council since his appointment in 2013 and was elected president at a reorganizational meeting in January. He had also served as the borough’s code enforcement officer since 2018. Capobianco was stripped of that title by a 4-3 vote of council during the January meeting, with Capobianco abstaining. Mayor Nadine Brandt cast the tiebreaking vote. Capobianco resigned from council in April after the theft allegations were filed March 30 by Delaware County Detective Ed Rosen. Councilman Doug Bull was elected president at that time and Theo McCleary was elected vice president.
Source: Daily Times; 7/20/2026
Brookhaven to update basketball hoop regulations
Brookhaven Borough Council will consider an ordinance updating regulations on basketball backboards and poles at its regularly scheduled meeting on Monday, August 3, 2026, at Borough Hall, 2 Cambridge Road, Brookhaven, PA. The measure would amend Section 1280.14 of the borough code to revise where such backboards and poles may be erected within the borough. The full text of the proposed ordinance is available for public inspection at Borough Hall during normal business hours.
Source: Daily Times; 7/20/2026
Inside the new Ikea at Granite Run
Area residents no longer have to trek to Conshohocken or South Philadelphia to get their Ikea goods. The Swedish furniture brand opened its first Delaware County store last week at the Promenade at Granite Run. Unlike its neighboring behemoths, this one is a “plan and order point” concept, where customers can meet with design consultants and order goods, or pick up items they purchased online. In Media, Ikea joins Michaels, TJ Maxx, Kohl’s, Boscov’s, and a slate of other stores that occupy the 830,000-square-foot retail section of the Promenade at Granite Run. The complex exemplifies how struggling malls can be reborn. After the Granite Run Mall closed in 2015, BET Investments spent more than $100 million to demolish the building and build the open-air town center in its place, according to president Michael Markman. Along with an array of retailers, the complex now contains 400 luxury apartments, as well as several restaurants and medical offices. Markman said in April that the retail portion of the complex is almost fully leased.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/9/2026
Delaware County Council appoints Deputy Executive Director, Human Services & Community Programs
Delaware County Council has named Chris Welsh as Deputy Executive Director of Human Services & Community Programs following a five-month interim stint, during which he worked to restore mental health services, address homelessness and eviction, and deploy Opioid Settlement funds for prevention and treatment while making Human Services operations more cost-effective. Welsh, who previously spent five and a half years as Delaware County's Chief Public Defender, also has experience as Executive Director of the University of Pennsylvania Law School's Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law, and nearly 13 years at the Defender Association of Philadelphia. In his new permanent role, he will oversee the Department of Human Services' various divisions along with the Office of Housing & Community Development, Libraries, the County Office for Support of the Aging, and Veterans Affairs.
Source: Delaware County; 7/16/2026
Plymouth Township data center dispute continues
Local officials and developer Brian O'Neill are locked in an increasingly bitter dispute over his proposed 2-million-square-foot AI data center on the site of the shuttered Cleveland-Cliffs steel mill at 900 Conshohocken Road in Plymouth Township. Plymouth Township Council Chair Lynne Viscio accused O'Neill of "bullying" and "intimidating" officials and dismissed his legal challenge to the township's zoning ordinance as "throwing a tantrum," stating council will keep opposing both the special-exception application and the zoning challenge "for as long as the application blatantly disregards the health, welfare and safety of the community." O'Neill calls the bullying accusations a "bold-faced lie" born of a "misinformation campaign," and insists he's negotiated in good faith and agreed to most of the township's conditions. He touted the project as quiet, self-powered, water-independent, and a major economic boon.
Source: The Reporter; 7/27/2026 & Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/28/2026
Closure of Souderton meat packing plant could bring lasting economic disruption
The JBS beef processing plant in Souderton, operating since 1877 and among Pennsylvania's largest private employers, will close on Aug. 14, cutting roughly 1,500 union jobs and 250 management positions—a toll that could exceed 2,000 once connected supply-chain businesses are factored in. The long-term local impact is expected to be significant, with lost earned income tax revenue and reduced spending anticipated to ripple across the region. Local nonprofits like the Keystone Opportunity Center are bracing for a surge in demand for food assistance and other services, particularly from older workers nearing retirement who may struggle to find new jobs. Officials note the closure's compressed two-month timeline leaves little room to cushion the blow to ranchers, transportation networks, and the food supply chain. Union leaders, JBS, and government officials are searching for a potential buyer, though the effort is considered a long shot, leaving the community caught between cautious hope and the likelihood of lasting economic disruption.
Source: Main Line Media News; 7/17/2026
Upper Merion planning commission talks data center proposals
A contentious Upper Merion Township Planning Commission meeting on July 22 ended with officials unanimously declining to recommend approval for three of developer Brian O'Neill's five proposed data center developments, part of his larger 4.6 million-square-foot plan to convert office buildings on Horizon Drive and Renaissance Boulevard into data centers. Hundreds of residents packed the meeting to voice fierce opposition over health and environmental fears, with only one attendee speaking in favor. Commissioners repeatedly pressed O'Neill for missing technical details—including an incomplete presentation sent just minutes before the meeting—accusing him of submitting a rushed, unfinished application. O'Neill pushed back that his system would eliminate most emissions and questioned what impact his project would actually have on neighbors. The remaining two proposals now set for a follow-up hearing on Aug. 12.
Source: The Reporter; 7/24/2026
Norristown tables data center ordinance, aims to make it stronger
Norristown Municipal Council unanimously tabled a vote on its proposed data center ordinance—which would regulate such facilities by conditional use in the borough's Heavy Industrial District, covering everything from emissions and noise to setbacks and decommissioning—after officials decided they needed more time to incorporate "extensive comments" from both the local and county planning commissions, including concerns about unrealistic acreage requirements that could invite legal challenges and calls to more clearly distinguish data centers from incidental server equipment. Two residents at the public hearing urged the strictest possible rules to deter developers. Council member David McMahon reminded those in attendance that the borough is already protected under the "pending ordinance doctrine" while they refine the details. Officials cited regional pressure—including the recent contentious rejection of three data center proposals in nearby Upper Merion Township—as justification for moving carefully but urgently.
Source: The Reporter; 7/24/2026
Post Brothers are planning another large apartment building for Northern Liberties
The Post Brothers are planning a six-story, 241-unit apartment building called the Mercato at 1021 Hancock St. in Northern Liberties. It is a scaled-back version of an earlier 13-story, 280-unit proposal that would have included furnished units and commercial space. CEO Michael Pestronk said the smaller design better fits the neighborhood, keeps construction costs down, and allows for more affordable rents. The project, part of a cluster of sites the Post Brothers have developed in Northern Liberties since 2018, doesn't require zoning changes but will go before the advisory Civic Design Review board on Aug. 4. The Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association praised the building's brick materials but criticized the lack of ground-floor retail, which Pestronk attributed to the site's narrow streets making commercial loading and access impractical. Parking will be provided in an existing garage across Wildey Street, reflecting the company's finding that parking at its other Northern Liberties properties has been underused. Construction is slated to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026 and completion is expected two years later.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/22/2026
Philadelphia files stop-work orders for Mole Street’s redevelopment
Philadelphia officials have issued stop-work orders on the redevelopment of historic rowhouses on the 100 block of North Mole Street after determining the work did not match approved plans. The project, which would transform one of the city's last enclaves of historically protected, below-market-rate housing, was approved by the Historical Commission last year. City officials said staff observed construction that appeared to exceed the commission's approved alterations.
Source: Philadelphia Inquirer; 7/17/2026
Former Vanguard data center in Northeast Philadelphia sells at 80% discount
A vacant Northeast Philadelphia data center once occupied by Vanguard Group has been acquired for $14.5 million by an affiliate of Kansas City, Missouri-based NorthPoint Development, property records show. The seller of the property at 2000 Kubach Road was Mapletree Industrial Trust, a Singapore-based real estate investment trust. The two-floor data center spans about 124,190 square feet on a 25.6-acre parcel just west of Roosevelt Boulevard in the Byberry Industrial Park in the Somerton section of the city. The sale comes out to roughly $117 per square foot. The purchase price is 80% less than the $70 million, or $578 a foot, that Mapletree Industrial paid for the building in 2017, according to property records. The firm said in May that the building's lease ended in December 2024 and "interest in the property has been limited." It added that repositioning or redeveloping the property "presents challenges" along with "construction and execution risks." While data centers have been dominating headlines, the ones proliferating now are being built on a different scale than ones of decades past. They often occupy millions of square feet across multiple buildings constructed to fit the modern energy demands associated with artificial intelligence, and are typically built for a specific tenant.
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