Eastern looking into VFMA property

Recently, there has been a lot of buzz that Eastern may purchase part of the Valley Forge Military Academy property.

Available for purchase is a substantial portion of land containing several houses and a spacious parking lot.

An article in Main Line Suburban Life on March 30 reported that Eastern and VFMA were discussing a land sale.

President David Black recently cleared up some of these rumors.

According to Black, Eastern has “long been interested in acquiring houses for possible faculty housing” in the area.

These houses, Black said, are not in poor condition. They would serve as long-term living accommodations for Eastern faculty members and their families.

Because of the high cost of living in Radnor, some faculty members must drive long distances to reach the main campus. The houses on the VFMA property would give them the options of affordable, local housing.

A few other ideas that Dr. Black mentioned were the possibility of building a performing arts facility or a new science building, which, until now have not been possible because of the wetlands on campus.

An early suggestion was to convert the houses to student apartments. This idea was discarded when it was discovered that Radnor zoning laws prohibit more than two unrelated students living within a 1,000-foot radius, and a special license must be acquired by the landlord declaring the housing as “student” housing.

The best option, in order to comply with Radnor zoning laws, would be to offer the housing as single-family living.

No definite plans have been made, but Black indicated that a decision must be made in May, during the monthly board meeting, to determine whether Eastern will purchase the property.