Leacock Township supervisors gave a $45 million tourist draw proposed for Intercourse three key approvals Tuesday night.
The proposal by Merle and Phyllis Good, owners of Good Enterprises Ltd., includes two hotels, a large family restaurant, a market building, a food court, a welcome center and shops and galleries.
Plans also call for luxury apartments on the upper floors of some of the buildings.
Village Green would be built near Kitchen Kettle Village on 26.6 acres adjacent to the Goods' publishing business, Good Books, in the 3500 block of Old Philadelphia Pike.
Supervisors held a hearing on the plans Tuesday night and then granted all three conditional-use approvals requested by the Goods.
"It was pretty cut and dried," Supervisors Chairman Frank Howe said today. "No one spoke out against it, which is surprising because it's a pretty big deal."
Sidney R. Kime Jr. of David Miller Associates presented the plans for the project. About 10 residents attended the hearing but none asked for party status to the proceeding, Howe said.
The Goods needed one conditional use to build the project in five separate phases in a 10-year period.
Another was required for a project with retail sales establishments of over 4,000 square feet.
Howe said supervisors made sure a large retailer wasn't in the Goods' plans. They instead propose a market center with many small retailers each under 4,000 square feet, he said.
The third conditional use was needed to build hotels in the commercial district.
Howe said the project's first phase includes a 197-room hotel with a water park, outside courtyard area, welcome center and some small retail uses.
A 200-room hotel and five extended-stay cottages are among the things planned for future phases. Those phases were not detailed Tuesday.
The Goods still need to get land development approvals before any building can begin, Howe said.
If it goes forward, the project would become an extension of the "Village Overlay Zone," which calls for buildings to be built close to the sidewalks with parking along the sides and behind the main buildings.
The Goods bought the property in 1995. It is behind their businesses on Route 340, directly across the street from Kitchen Kettle Village.
Staff writer Ryan Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032.
(489)
