14B — April 23 - May 20, 2021 — Pennsylvania — M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal
www.marej.com
P ennsylvania
WilliamBurke represents buyer in acquisition of the Glenroy Farm from the Thouron family Unruh Turner Burke & Frees assists Brandywine Conservancy in preserving 577 AC in Chester County
one of Ches- ter County PA’s largest law firms, is p l ea s ed t o have repre- sented and a s s i s t e d Brandywine Conservancy W
the Oxford Area Foundation and grant funding from the Chester County Preservation Partnership Program and the Pennsylvania Department of Natural Resources, closed on the acquisition of 577 acres of the Glenroy Farm from the Thouron family, along with an easement over other property bordering the westerly side of the Octorara Creek, for over $6.6 million. The land had been in the Thouron family for four gen- erations and includes open meadows, numerous streams and ponds, walking trails and floodplains and wetlands. Upon acquisition, the land
was conveyed to the Oxford Area Foundation, whose gen- erosity made a timely closing possible, and which had agreed to undertake the responsibility for opening trails and for on- going management and stew- ardship of the property as a publicly accessible preserve to be known as Glenroy Preserve. According to the Daily Lo- cal News , “The acquisition means that 30 percent of land in Chester County is now pre- served, larger than the sizes of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh combined.” Said Ellen Ferretti, the di- rector of the Conservancy: “The acreage and diversity of
resources made this property a high priority of permanent pro- tection in southeastern Penn- sylvania. The transition of the property…to a public preserve will create a unique, contigu- ous area of public open space that will provide exceptional recreational and educational opportunities to the community and will have lasting effects on the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. We simply could not have done this critical conservation project without the funding support of the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and Chester County.” The mission of the Conservancy is to protect
water, "conserve land and en- gage communities.” According to William Burke, who heads the firm’s real es- tate practice, the transaction was neither quick nor easy to close. Although the interests of all parties were aligned, there were numerous issues that needed to be addressed to sat- isfy and balance the concerns of the principal parties involved as well as the conditions and requirements of grant funding sources. "The project involved issues such as cross-easements for utilities, the easement for the banks of the Octorara Creek, and provisions to help protect the seller’s residual holdings, as well as addressing other issues to satisfy the grant funding agencies.” Said Burke: "I cannot tell you how much satisfaction it gives us to have been a part of this extraordinary transaction that will benefit our community in perpetuity. It was a privilege to work with Brandywine, whose commitment was extraordi- nary. The expertise and tireless efforts of Brandywine’s conser- vancy staff was awesome. We commend the Conservancy, OAF and the Thouron family for their vision and dedication to preserving this extraordi- narily valuable property, and we thank Chester County and DCNR for providing funding for this worthwhile conserva- tion initiative.” For over 30 years, Burke has represented privately held commercial real estate develop- ers, homebuilders, land trusts, closely-held businesses, inves- tors and individuals in con- nection with the acquisition, sale, financing, leasing and development of commercial properties and land intended for residential, commercial and retail development, as well as acquisition and preservation of agricultural and real estate devoted to open space and rec- reational uses. He represents conservation organizations as well as landowners in the negotiation, interpretation and enforcement of conserva- tion easements. A graduate of Dickinson School of Law, J.D. (1984), Mr. Burke received his Master’s in Taxation (LL.M.) from New York University in 1988 and his undergraduate degree from Dickinson College (B.A., cum laude, 1981). Associate Daniel LePera also provided assistance in this transaction. MAREJ
EST CHESTER, PA — UnruhTurn- er Burke & Frees ,
William Burke
in acquiring and preserving over 577 acres of land in Lower Oxford and West Nottingham Townships, Chester County. Wi l l iam Burke repre- sented Brandywine which, with invaluable support from
land acqui s i t ion land development condominium and planned communi t i es mechanics l i en f i l ing and defense acqui s i t ion and construct ion f inancing resolving t i tle i ssues construct ion l i t igat ion and arbi trat ion corporate and commercial transact ions bus iness ent i t i es and joint ventures
ryan m . jennings
william j . burke , i i i
andrew d . h . rau
theodore f . claypoole
daniel s . lepera
WWW. UTBF. COM 17 W Gay St, Ste 200, West Chester, PA 19380 P: 610.692.1371 Look for us on
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