A planner outlined plans for a passive park at the former U.S. Navy base in Warminster at the recent township supervisors meeting.
WARMINSTER, PA —The future of Shenandoah Woods now has a concept plan attached to it.
The township unveiled its plans to transform the former U.S. Department property into a passive park at the recent Warminster Board of Supervisors meeting.
Judy Stern Goldstein, the township's planner from Gilmore and Associates, rolled out the concept plan for Shenandoah Woods, a relatively clean slate now after the township spent the past few years tearing down houses and removing concrete slabs.
The triangle-shaped park will feature paved trails and serve as an extension of Warminster Community Park, Goldstein said.
"It's a nice concept," Supervisors Vice Chairman Kenneth said at the Jan. 18 meeting. "This will be a nice showcase for other parts of the county and the state."
Goldstein said the park will have three concepts: for children's education, stormwater management, and passive recreation and education.
The first concept includes plans for a Storybook Walk, which would create a walk along a path in which pages of a story are featured. Then there's the Little Free Library, where books are left and people can take some as well. There's also the Born Learning Trail, which focuses on early childhood education like the ABCs, colors, shapes, animals, and bugs. The last is called Nature Play, which will use natural elements for play and outdoor classrooms.
Goldstein said this is an area where the township can get a lot of input. She foresees using the passive park as a showcase for being sustainable and green. This concept will feature pollinator parks, stormwater management gardens, and demonstration trails, a woodland restoration area, rain gardens with native planting, and bird blinds.
This will serve as a historic interpretation of the trails where people will learn about the site and how the park was used in the past "to make sure the history is not forgotten," Goldstein said.
After a decades-long effort to repurpose the abandoned U.S. Navy Department property and construction over the past six months to clear it, township officials declared in June that the remaining work on Shenandoah Woods was finished.
The RDA and township acquired the 55-acre property from the U.S. Navy in 2021. The site was a military housing complex and consisted of 199 townhouse units until it was vacated.
Shenandoah Woods was approved to be razed in 2012.
The vacant development was designated a blighted area in 2011 by the Bucks County Redevelopment Authority and the Warminster Planning Commission, given the area’s inadequate planning, faulty street layout, and economically undesirable land use.
"It's a lot to take in at once," Goldstein said about the concept plan.
"It looks great, doesn't it?" Supervisors Chairwoman Kathy Frescatore said.
Goldstein said the park will maintain vehicular access on Bristol Road, reuse existing infrastructure with a service road, and existing roads becoming trails.
"We don't want to disregard what is there and want to pay homage to what is there," she said.
There will be a small parking lot with 25 spaces at the park, a pedestrian connection to Warminster Community Park, and a small pavilion.
"A lot of stuff is packed into the site. We believe it's all doable," Goldstein said. "The overall concept plan can be implemented in phases as funding is available."
"We will have to shake some cages to get some funding," Hayes said. "I know some people right off the bat to start with: our congressman, two senators, and state representatives. We will move forward from there."
Township Engineer Craig Kennard said there was a recent meeting discussing the project's cost. He said the Parks and Recreation Director Jessica Fox is concerned about how high the cost may be for the passive park.
"This is a massive project," Hayes said. "It will be done in phases to make it affordable. It's a great start. We already got the houses removed. The DEP was on board and offered to help us. Now we have something to present to them. It's not going to happen overnight. Eventually it will be a beautiful passive area."