April 04, 2024
Source/Google Earth
An aerial view shows the former Don Guanella property in Marple Township that will become the site of the Delco Woods park. Delaware County officials also have proposed using the existing buildings on the 213-acre property for mental health services.
Delaware County's plan to preserve the former Don Guanella School property in Marple Township could include providing mental health services at existing buildings on the land, which was acquired via eminent domain in late 2021.
The 213-acre property along Sproul Road, formerly owned by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, is the largest remaining open space in the county. Marple Township rejected multiple development proposals for the land before the county acquired it for $21 million, envisioning a wooded park with enhanced trails, bike paths and other amenities.
At a County Council meeting Wednesday night, the property was officially renamed Delco Woods and council members discussed their plan to potentially use the buildings on site for residential mental health treatment. The county is seeking a permit from Marple Township to preserve its rights to use the buildings for that purpose.
"The area that we're currently talking about for institutional use is currently zoned for institutional use," Council Member Kevin Madden said. "There are no trees that would be cut down for this purpose."
Delaware County is still in the process of defining what the future park will look like, which involves securing various rights as the owner of the land.
"Currently, the way the ordinance is written from Marple, we wouldn't be able to build a playground on the property," Council Chair Monica Taylor said. "We are reserving our rights to be able to form the property in the way that we would like to have it."
In recent months, the county's plans for the property have fueled rumors that the buildings could be used to house undocumented immigrants. The county issued a statement in March emphatically denying that such a use has ever been on the table, saying unfounded blogs and social media posts are spreading hatred and paranoia.
At Wednesday's meeting, multiple attendees grilled county officials with questions about immigrant facilities and warnings about more crime entering the county.
"No one ever said this was going to be used for purposes of holding immigrants — legal, illegal — and immigrants (have) never been part of the conversation about preserving Delco Woods," Madden said. "I don't know where this comes from other than the blogosphere."
The former Don Guanella buildings, mostly located off Sproul Road, once were used as residential facilities for children with special needs and later for adults. After the Archdiocese of Philadelphia closed the school in 2015, the land was targeted by multiple developers, who sought to use it for residential and mixed-used projects that would have preserved large sections of woods.
Delaware County is mandated to provide facilities for mental health care services and considers the Don Guanella buildings suitable for the purpose. The campus opened in 1960.
"I think we've spent a lot of time discussing this and thinking about it, and now we're looking at the viability of us to provide these services in that location," Taylor said. "And that is all we are doing."
Officials said the small area of the property that would house mental health services could be gated or otherwise cordoned from the park portion of the project.
Council Member Christine Reuther said she opposed using the buildings for county mental health services, calling the idea incompatible with the intent of purchasing the land to be turned into a park.
"I do acknowledge that our county desperately needs a spot to put this very hard to locate institutional use," Reuther said. "In my mind, the fact that we desperately need a spot does not equate to an acceptable spot being in the middle of a public park."
Madden disputed that the buildings are in the middle of the property, which he said is the most viable and ready location for mental health services. The county is exploring alternatives, but officials didn't say which other sites have been considered.
"The problem is that people don't want this facility in their backyard, so you get this NIMBY dynamic where communities don't want to change zoning to allow for this," Madden said. "We can't allow this to continue. We have an area that can currently be used this way. We can do so in a way that's not going to compromise the use of Delco Woods."
Despite her opposition to the plan for mental health services, Reuther condemned the bigotry that has surfaced in conversations about the park.
"I find some of the rhetoric that was shared today to be shameful and embarrassing," Reuther said. "And I want just to say that the leadership of this county does not agree with that shameful rhetoric. Someone said tonight that our job is to protect and work for the common good. The common good is accepting and welcoming people from all over. That's what this country is about."
Madden argued that if the county neglects to intervene and help more people suffering from mental illness, there will be a greater likelihood of downstream effects like crime and a growing prison population. He said the plan for the Don Guanella building will save lives.
"If you don't deal with the mental health challenges within society, they turn into bigger issues — and that's what we currently have," Madden said. "We have people who are in jail who shouldn't be in jail."
