New Construction Proposed for Red Leaf Manor in Wynnewood

The Building and Planning Committee of the Lower Merion Township Board of Commissioners discussed a “preliminary open space land development plan” to construct six homes on the Red Leaf Manor property in Wynnewood on Wednesday night.

But the committee tabled its vote after additional concerns were raised about how best to protect an old beech tree during construction.

Chris Leswing, assistant director of building and planning for the township, said Red Leaf Manor is a “beautiful old estate” where the greystone carriage house and manor house were previously converted into condominiums.  The property, originally “Redleaf,” is located at 510 Lancaster Avenue, just east of Wynnewood Road and across the street from the back end of the Wynnewood Shopping Center.

The owner, Red Leaf Corp., says it intends to raise money for the continued upkeep and preservation of the historic Tudor-style property, designed by Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, by constructing six new single-family, semi-detached homes—with attached garages and individual driveways, Leswing said.

A nearly three-acre preservation area would be created around the manor house, Leswing said.

‘Redleaf,’ and a Red Flag

Built in 1880 on about 50 acres of land that was once a part of Thomas Remington’s 276-acre estate (extending to City Avenue), the mansion had some 50 rooms, including an art gallery and ballroom. The stables and carriage house served the , which once took place on the property.

After conversion to an apartment co-op, there were 10 apartments carved from the main house and six others in the carriage house. The property itself now consists of 5.5 acres.

Some of the trees are more than 300 years old, and the name “Redleaf” is said to have come from the stand of enormous copper beeches throughout, which Leswing called “magnificent.”

Township staff worked with the developer to insure that as many existing trees as possible are preserved, by moving the locations of where pipes and utility lines were initially planned to be installed for the new homes on the property, Leswing added.

However, the beech trees have not been pruned in years and township staff are concerned about one in particular. As a result, one of the conditions added to the preliminary redevelopment plan is that the applicant make every effort possible to limit construction impact to the particular 40-foot beech tree along Ashton Road, Leswing said.

Board of Commissioners President Liz Rogan suggested that the entrance of one of the proposed home’s garages be changed from a side entrance to a front entrance in order to move construction 30 feet away from the tree.

Rogan said she is “very excited” about having the project move forward because the property has been “in serious need of some big investments for quite a while.”

After making it clear that she was in favor of the proposal, Rogan made a motion requesting that the committee table its vote while the applicant’s architect looked into whether it would be possible to change the location of the garage door.

The development applicant’s attorney, Mark Rhodes, and the developer, Scott Brehman, of B&H Investment Properties, said they were in favor of preserving the trees on the property, but Brehman expressed concerns about the beech tree’s condition and Rogan’s request.

“There’s a large hole in the side of the tree,” Brehman said.  “I need someone to tell me the health of that tree before I come up with language to change around the whole development.”

Support From Neighbors

Brehman said he had a potential buyer who was shying away from purchasing the house to be built near the tree, as they want it cut down. Brehman said he was shifting that buyer to another house.

Leswing suggested adding a condition of approval to have the developer evaluate the feasibility of changing the design of the garage. The committee approved the new condition Leswing suggested, but voted 6-4 to table the vote on recommending the plan to the full Board of Commissioners.

Two residents spoke during public comment, neither in opposition. Wynnewood resident Carl Watson said he and his neighbor, who was not able to attend the meeting, are in favor of the proposal.

“Both of us are the most affected properties and both of us support this,” Watson said.

Watson said his neighbor, who asked him to speak on his behalf, is pleased that the development will include a new storm water management system on the property, which is currently without one.

Watson said he himself is “very pleased” that the wood fence along the property’s Lancaster Avenue side will be replaced with an estate fence, that declining vegetation and trees along Lancaster Avenue will be removed, and that the major trees on the property will be preserved. “That’s a very great benefit,” Watson said.