A late mayor’s legacy: 40 acres are now preserved for public use in this small Delco town

Fred Wood, then mayor of Chester Heights, launched a plan five years ago to save a 40-acre parcel from development in this small Delaware County community.

Wood died in 2024, but his plan has succeeded.

On Thursday, Natural Lands, a conservation organization, announced that the borough had been able to purchase the tract at Valleybrook and Smithbridge Roads for $3.4 million with the help of grants — about $340,000 less than its valuation.

“We did it, Fred,” current Chester Heights Mayor Gina Ellis said.

Ellis said in an interview Friday that when the former mayor first proposed buying the property, “it felt like a Herculean task.”

The borough of 2.2 square miles, or roughly 1,500 acres, has a budget of only $4.2 million. So raising $3.4 million to buy land presented a significant hurdle.

To jump-start the process, anonymous donors in the borough kicked in $750,000.

“This acquisition marks a wonderful chapter for the borough,” Ellis said. “My only regret is that Fred is no longer alive to see this project come to a successful conclusion.”

Chester Heights, home to about 2,900 residents, plans to build low-impact trails on the land, Ellis said. Building trails isn’t yet in the budget, so that could take some time, she said.

The effort to save the land began after a developer approached the borough to build 57 homes on 25 acres of the property and leave the rest as open space.

But Wood believed all of the property should be preserved. He and borough officials approached members of the Powell family, who owned the property, and asked whether they would be willing to wait until the borough could raise the money. The family agreed.

Ellis thanked the Powell family for their patience as the borough went through a trying process of obtaining grants.

They could have sold it for more money, and sooner, officials said.

“There were so many times we had to go back to them,” Ellis said, “I said ‘please, oh please, don’t give up on us.‘”

Eventually, the grants were approved, including a nearly $1.9 million federal grant.

The borough reached out to Natural Lands for help applying for the grants and negotiating with the property’s owner, Lorraine B. Powell.

Representatives involved in the deal thanked Powell for accepting what they called a bargain price.

“It’s always a cause for celebration when a community invests in open space,” said Natural Lands president Oliver Bass.

Natural Lands helped find money through a variety of sources including Delaware County, the National Park Service, the state, and the Nature Conservancy.

Officials involved in the deal said that, in addition to providing new public green space, the property will slow and absorb stormwater, helping to reduce flooding. The property will also filter runoff before it enters Chester Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River.

Ellis, the mayor, said the property will be the largest parcel of open public space in the borough.

“It has beautiful rolling hills,” Ellis said. “There is wildlife and wetlands. A tributary of the West Branch of Chester Creek runs through this land, which is actually one of our borders. It will be wonderful hiking because there are a lot of a lot of hills, and fishing. The idea of putting houses on that landmark was not attractive to anybody.“

The property is partially wooded with a large meadow.

Ellis said its preservation is a testament to Wood.

“This started with Fred,” Ellis said. “He told me that land is the only thing we can’t create more of.”