East Marlborough: Work on the traffic island restarts

I'm happy to see that work has restarted on the traffic island in the middle of Route 82 at the 42-house development, "Unionville Walk," that Toll Bros. is building across from RP Nurseries. For months the unsightly, half-finished island has been sitting there surrounded by rough temporary pavement. The contrast is even stronger when you continue south on Route 82 and drive on the smooth, newly paved Union Street through Kennett Square. 
I'm guessing Toll Bros. is eager to install a more attractive entrance to greet prospective homeowners. House prices in the development start at $681,995.

A thriving garden at the Post Office

Have you noticed the pretty petunias and the burgeoning sweet potato vine in front of the Unionville Post Office? The pocket garden is maintained by Linda Kaat of Marshallton, who was doing some weeding when I stopped by to pick up my mail this afternoon. 

Linda said she started volunteering to take care of the garden when she moved here 25 years ago and creates three different "looks" each year: one for spring, summer, and Christmas. This spring's pansies, she said, were so long-lasting that they kept blooming into early July!

She buys her plants from Barnard's Orchards and is a big fan of the soil enhancements produced by Organic Mechanics of Modena. 

Linda notes that it actually takes a village to keep the garden in good shape, with the postal staff helping out with watering and paying for her materials. 

"Kennett Gateway": The latest proposal for Ways Lane

There's another Kennett Township development in the works, this one on East Cypress Street, across Ways Lane from the Italian American Club.

"Kennett Gateway," which just received preliminary approval from the township supervisors, encompasses 53 townhouses, 24 apartments, and 14,000 square feet of commercial space on 13 acres. The apartments would be built on the second and third floors of the businesses. 

The next steps for the developer, the Commonwealth Group of Wilmington, are (1) to work with neighboring property owners (Chatham Financial and the Italian American Club) to see how they can improve and maintain the narrow, private Ways Lane and then (2) to submit a final land development plan for the project. 

The property is on the southwest corner of the Ways Lane/Cypress Street intersection, next to the old Boy Scout cabin.

The site of the proposed Kennett Gateway development. The red canopy across Ways Lane is the entrance of the Italian-American Club. The white building behind the sign is the old Boy Scout cabin.

The site plan for the proposed development. Waywood Beverage Co. is across East Cypress Street from the project.

Now the Kaolin Road bridge is closed

So the Route 52 bridge over the Brandywine Creek at Lenape has reopened ... but now the Kaolin Road bridge over the west branch of the Red Clay Creek is closed starting July 13 for reconstruction. (That's the T-intersection with Marshall Bridge Road, south of Five Points.)

PennDOT suggests using Newark Road as a detour, as you can see on the map below, but alas Newark Road is closed between Old Baltimore Pike and Route 41 due to construction at the Hillendale Road intersection. Add to that the closure of the tiny bridge on West State Street in Kennett Square at the Creekside Diner, which makes it tricky for westbound traffic to get through Kennett, and motorists have quite a puzzle to work out. 

Probably the best bet is to take the Route 1 bypass all the way to Route 41, which is how truckers to the Manfredi warehouse in Toughkenamon are currently being rerouted.

The Kaolin Road bridge replacement is expected to take until February 15, 2021. The work is being done by J. D. Eckman of Atglen.

Here's the PennDOT-suggested detour route. Kaolin Road is the dashed road on the right and Newark Road is the dashed road on the left.

(Virtual) Town Tours & Village Walks

This summer's Town Tours & Village Walks will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursdays, just like they usually are -- but this year they'll be conducted via Zoom. Here's the schedule:

July 16, Art and Architecture in Phoenixville

July 23, Historic Sugartown

July 30, Hibernia Mansion

Aug. 6, Village of Yellow Springs

Aug. 13, West Chester

The final Zoom meet-up, Aug. 27, will be a preview of Kennett Square's "Occupation Day." 

Registration for the webinars is required at https://www.chescoplanning.org/hisresources/towntours.cfm.

This is the 26th year for the Town Tours & Village Walks, sponsored by Chester County.

So glad that restaurants are reopening!

It will come as no surprise to regular readers that Dearest Partner and I love to go out for dinner. During the quarantine, when restaurants were open only for take-out, we ate a LOT of meals in the car. I started keeping a stash of napkins in the glove box and bought Caffeine-Free Diet Coke in individual-sized bottles. 

So we've been delighted that restaurants have started reopening for dine-in service. In my experience, people have been really good about wearing their masks in common areas and removing them only at their own tables. Tables have been spaced out, and the servers always wear masks. I have not felt at risk for myself or for carrying any germs home. 

Here's where we've been so far:

-- Iron Hill Brewery in Newark -- our first post-quarantine restaurant visit!

-- Perkins in Avondale: the hours have been cut (it's open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. these days) but it certainly was great to taste those pancakes again after four months.

-- Mexican Table in Hockessin: Pork carnitas and a shrimp chimichanga  

-- Schaefer's Canal House in Chesapeake City, Maryland -- Early after the lockdown ended we drove down there on a sunny Sunday afternoon. It was so jammed that we could barely get out of the parking lot. We returned last Wednesday for lunch and enjoyed our crab cakes outside next to the canal, watching the birds and boats going by.

-- The Market at Liberty Place in downtown Kennett -- The restaurants in the food court have all reopened, and you can eat on their patio. We've had Buddy Burgers (my favorite is the Left Coast Buddy) and just last night had excellent BBQ chicken and state-of-the-art macaroni and cheese from Travelers, one of the newest vendors.

Apartment living today

"The Flats at Kennett Square" is the name of the new four-story apartment complex being built on Millers Hill, next to Anson Nixon Park. I decided to check out the website.

I still shudder recalling my first apartment out of college, a grubby, worse-for-wear efficiency with orange-green shag carpet, no closets and no air conditioning. Access was via the fire escape and a series of dim, strangely angled corridors. On the plus side, it was steps away from our favorite watering hole, I was rarely at home, and anyway what did I expect for $100 a month?

Apartment living has changed since then, it seems. The 175 new apartments on Millers Hill are seriously upmarket, with modern kitchens with quartz countertops and new appliances, nice light fixtures, your own washer and dryer, beautiful bathrooms, and lots of windows. There's a nonsmoking policy throughout. Tenants have access to an exercise room and a swimming pool.

Rents start at $1,495 for a one-bedroom apartment with no balcony and max out at $2,465 for a three-bedroom one. Extra fees are assessed for pets.  

According to the website, "The Flats" will open in November. The developer/manager is High Associates. Here are two photos from another of their apartment complexes, The Crossings in Lancaster: