Chestnut Hill College Holds Meeting to Update Community on Sugarloaf

Sister Carol Jean Vale, president of , held a community meeting at the college last week to dispel recent rumors floating around about the college’s expansion plan.

Vale began the meeting with a quick overview of the college’s growth over the years. After going coed in 2003, the school's enrollment greatly increased. In order to accommodate the growing number of students, the school purchased Sugarloaf, formerly owned by Temple University, in 2007. Sugarloaf is a 30-acre piece of land located at the corner of Bells Mill Road and Germantown Avenue.

Since the purchase of Sugarloaf, Vale along with a group of local architects have developed a master plan to build classrooms, office buildings, an underground parking garage, and residence halls on the property. They also plan to add a performing arts center and student union building on the main campus. The goal is to increase attendance to 1,500 students, which is as Vale said both small enough to maintain a close community feel and large enough to compete with the larger liberal arts schools.

At the meeting, Vale and the master plan group presented a 35-minute presentation mapping out every step of the plan. The meeting attracted about 100 people consisting of residents, faculty and staff.

The presentation brought mixed reactions from the audience.

One resident stated that the college and are the two institutions in town that have helped the community “culturally, economically and spiritually.” 

There were also a few concerns voiced. The major concerns focused on preservation of the land and the increase in traffic.

Peter Saylor, an architect and resident of Chestnut Hill, insisted just 13 percent of the project would be structures and 87 percent of the land will not be built on. Vale considers that to be the college’s “gift to the community.”

When Sugarloaf was purchased, the community made three requests: build primarily at the top of the hill, maintain estate grounds, and make hiking, biking, and walking trails. The college has agreed to these requests and has agreed to place the surrounding land under a conservation easement that will prevent future development.

The plan also includes an initiative to improve storm water management of the Wissahickon Creek by installing a series of underground storm water collection cisterns. The proposed underground parking garage will use state of the art green roof technology allowing trees to be planted on top of it. In effect, the development will create better conversation of the forest and creek.

As for traffic, the team has conferred with Philadelphia traffic groups and it was surmised that an increase in students would only create a 2 percent increase in traffic. Vale pointed out that freshman and sophomores cannot have cars on campus and students are not allowed to drive back and forth between campuses. They must use the shuttle system.

The college has said it is willing to continue to work with the community in an effort to remain a good neighbor. Vale made a point to remind all that the college will stick to the plan presented and they are not building just to have more. “We don’t build simply to build. We build what we need.” 

Have concerns about the Sugarloaf expansion? Contact the editor at kaitlyn.foti@patch.com.