Horsham Township has big plans to redevelop former Willow Grove Naval base

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

A former military base in Montgomery County with a history of toxic PFAS contamination is closer to becoming a residential community and entertainment destination.

As remediation to remove so-called “forever chemicals” in and around the Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove in Horsham Township continues, local officials are making moves on a much anticipated redevelopment plan. 

The plan calls for the development of homes, an office park, hotel and conference center, a school, an aviation museum, green space and recreational opportunities. Township officials say it could create 7,000 full-time jobs.

“We’re just looking to incorporate that property back into the community. It was taken from the community a long time ago for airport use, and now we’re looking to reintegrate it into the community,” said Michael Shinton, executive director of the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority. “We’re looking to improve the township, and make sure that we can integrate that property back into the town as a whole.”

Historic use of firefighting foam at the Horsham military base contaminated groundwater, surface water and soil with PFAS chemicals, which made their way to peoples’ taps. Residents who live in the area have high levels of the chemicals in their blood, likely from their drinking water, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The so-called “forever chemicals” were manufactured to produce hundreds of everyday products such as nonstick cookware and waterproof clothing, as well as firefighting foam, and have tainted water supplies across the U.S.

PFAS have been linked to serious health problems, including some cancers, thyroid disease and developmental delays in children. The health risks associated with the chemicals, which can stay in the environment and the human bloodstream for years, have prompted federal and state regulations for drinking water.

Long before PFAS were detected in Horsham, the site was added to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Priorities List in 1995 because of groundwater contamination with volatile organic compounds.

Township officials have had their eyes on redevelopment since the base was ordered to close in 2005. However, since PFAS were detected on the grounds following its official closure in 2011, and later in public drinking water in 2014, the redevelopment plans have been in limbo.

Township officials shifted their focus to installing water filtration treatment to remove PFAS in its public drinking water, which are currently at nondetectable levels.

The property is adjacent to the Biddle Air National Guard Base, which is also remediating PFAS chemicals.

As remediation efforts progress, the township and the military are collaborating on a phased transfer. Developers can begin work on parts of the site that have already been cleaned up, while the military continues to clean up other areas of the base.

The site would include apartments, townhomes and single family lots, as well as 70 permanent supportive housing units for people experiencing homelessness, and even a middle school.

The mixed-use community would also boast an aviation museum and a town center, which could offer restaurants, an ice skating rink and a movie theater.

The ideas for the site were developed around feedback from the community, which was calling for a town center, Shinton said.

“The township residents were very, very particular in what they wanted to see happen there, and we wanted to make sure that the redevelopment of the property would happen in harmony with the existing township,” he said. “So as the township surrounds it on all four sides, we wanted to make sure that it was able to blend in.”

Horsham Township Council in June adopted an ordinance to rezone the base from industrial to residential. Later this year, they will take on a more comprehensive rezoning effort to flush out the uses proposed in the redevelopment plan.

Officials recently entered an agreement with the Navy to transfer about 100 acres of the property that sits along Maple Avenue. The next step is to complete environmental reports and the necessary clearances to transfer the property to the township.

Officials don’t have a timeline for the project, but are hopeful it could begin within the next 12 to 18 months, Shinton said.

Any contamination will be remediated before development, he said. A majority of the soil on the property is no longer contaminated, Shinton said, and homes will be connected to public drinking water, which is treated. The groundwater on the property will be prohibited from use.

“There are two landfills that the Navy just finished remediating and there’s a protective cap in place. So, those areas will be protected in perpetuity to prevent anyone from coming in contact with anything that’s there,” Shinton said. “We will work hand in hand with the Navy, with the EPA, with Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to make sure that all concerns are addressed prior to anybody ever living on them.”

The next Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority meeting is scheduled for Oct. 15.