After listening to the development plans for the Flats from Iacobucci Homes and JED Development, the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority board members indicated they would be willing to reconvene and vote on a proposal earlier than their regularly scheduled meeting next month.

Iacobucci wants to build 112 townhouses on the north end of the Flats and use the south end for commercial development anchored by a restaurant with outdoor dining.

JED Development is only interested in the 10-acre portion south of the railroad arches, and another two acre piece across West Lincoln Highway.

From Tuesday's story:

Joe Jesuele, one of the founders of JEB Development, told the RDA all of its projects are joint ventures.

During Jesuele’s presentation describing plans for a shopping center anchored by a grocery store, he said Coatesville’s population, proximity to other supermarkets, the size of the Flats and the finance of the city’s residents all made it unlikely that his company would be able to attract a larger chain grocer, like Acme, Shoprite or Wegman’s.

Instead, he said, it is more realistic that the city pursue one of the discount, no-frills chains like Aldi or Save-a-Lot, which have a “lower price point than a Wegman’s and Giant, and they are going to be serving the blue-collar, working-class people.”

“We truly feel there is a need for a grocery store in Coatesville,” Jesuele said. “We are hoping there is a want for a grocery store in Coatesville.”

The RDA's board and City Council must approve a plan before the RDA can go forward with selling the property.

Iacobucci is scheduled to present it's $5 million proposal to develop the Flats at Monday evening's meeting of the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority.

Start time is 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.

Be there or ... wait to read about it in Tuesday's Daily Local News.

City officials have said Iacobucci Homes, a.k.a. Baker Residential, will make public its proposal for the Flats at the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority's meeting on April 21.

Little has leaked about the developer's plan, except that they are prepared to offer the RDA somewhere in the neighborhood of $5 million for the old industrial property west of Rt. 82 and north of West Lincoln Highway.

Still, those in those in the know, like Assistant City Manager Kirby Hudson, predict the people will be pleased.

"I think it’s what people have been waiting," Hudson said Monday.

Penguin Real Estate Investors -- the development company owned by city-resident Robert McNeil -- is no longer in the running to buy the Flats.

McNeil sent a letter to RDA president Joe DiSciullo on Monday officially notifying the authority Penguin was no longer pursuing the property. Read a copy of the letter here.

The letter also had been e-mailed to Council President Karen Jorgenson and City Manager Harry Walker. Walker unexpectedly had to leave work Monday and did not attend the council meeting, and at the meeting Jorgenson said she had yet read Penguin's letter.

Council's session was uncharacteristically short last night and there was no discussion about the Flats or the latest offer from developer Iacobucci Homes, although council members apparently have received copies of the company's proposal. Several several council members were seen leaving the meeting with green folders marked with gold lettering that read "Baker," as in Baker Homes the parent company of Iacobucci.

Coatesville officials have in their hands copies of Iacobucci's proposal for the Flats, and City Manager Harry Walker sounds excited:

“I think the public will believe it is better than anything else we have on the table,” he said, adding “It’s what the city has been waiting for.”

(Update: link should work now.)

City Manager Harry Walker said FPL Energy is now considering city-owned land in Valley as the site for the gas-fired power plant.

This proposal was news to officials in Valley.

At Thursday's combined meeting between the RDA and City Council, it was revealed that the companies bidding to build a power plant on the Flats are investigating other possible locations within the city.

The city is also expected to receive a proposal from a fourth developer, Iacobucci Homes, interested doing mainly residential construction at the Flats, City Manager Harry Walker said. Iacobucci is a familiar name in the city as the developer of the Brandywine View community.

Members of City Council and the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority will conduct a joint, public work session this evening, at 6:15, at City Hall.

Readers have asked for a map showing the exact location of the Flats in Coatesville. I give you two maps.

First, an aerial shot of part of the city. The Flats are highlighted in blue.


View Larger Map

Below is a second map of Sayreville, N.J., where Coatesville officials toured Saturday. The location of the FPL power plant there is shown in red, and a second facility within the borough is colored yellow. Downtown Sayreville is the populated area located north of both sites.


View Larger Map

On Saturday, some Coatesville officials toured an FPL-owned power plant in Sayreville, N.J. (That's it to the right.) City Manager Harry Walker came away with this impression:

“It’s essentially a closed book whether there any public safety issues with regard to the modern, gas-fired steam turbine and its effect on the surrounding community,” he said. “Now, the question for the city is: What is the highest and best use of its real estate?”

Florida Power and Light -- the parent company of FPL Energy, one of the outfits that has proposed building a power plant in Coatesville -- had a rough day in its home state yesterday.

Maybe they really do
need that power plant in the city...

Here's a link to a copy of the FLP Energy literature titled "Questions and Answers about the Proposed Coatesville Energy Center."

It was distributed to the audience at the last City Council meeting by Fourth Ward Councilman Kurt Schenk.

Officials from Penguin Real Estate Investors were back before the Coatesville Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday evening, pitching their plan to redevelop the Flats with a mix residential and commercial buildings.

Two power companies, LS Power and FPL Energy, are separately vying for the 26-acre land, too. They would use the space to construct a natural gas-fired electricity generating facility.