Sparrows development plans approved by supervisors
BUFFALO TWP — The township supervisors gave its final approval to the planned Sparrows development, spearheaded by Charter Homes & Neighborhoods, at a meeting Wednesday night, May 14.
The development, which would be located at the intersection of South Pike Road and Route 28 in the township’s Town Center District, is a planned mix of residential and commercial space. The development would include hundreds of single-family and townhome residences along with 20,000 feet of commercial space.
Earlier this year, the plans for the development had been tabled by the township’s planning commission in both February and March due to some lingering concerns, mainly over the development’s sewage plans. According to township engineer Ken Howard, most of those concerns have been addressed.
“With the submittals we’ve seen to date, it appears that they’ve worked out most of their obligations with the Municipal Authority (of Buffalo Township) regarding the water and sewer line designs,” Howard said during the meeting.
According to Laura Curran, Charter’s manager of neighborhood development, Charter hopes to begin construction on the property by the first half of 2026, contingent on receiving their National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit and other approvals from PennDOT.
“We’re probably looking at like Q1 or Q2 next year, maybe late this year, to start site work,” Curran said. “we’re still waiting on our NPDES permit. We’re in the second round of technical review on that.”
The approval from the supervisors required a conditional use public hearing beforehand. Charter Homes also requested, and received, a variance to allow them to build a certain number of townhouse lots at 1,250 square feet for end units and 1,000 square feet for interior units. This would be less than the minimum of 1,400 square feet for end units and 1,250 for interior units allowed under township ordinances.
Curran stated that having smaller units would allow Charter to sell a number of townhomes at a more affordable price point.
“We’re just looking at our overall mix, and we wanted to provide a slightly smaller product to help with our reach within the market and provide something at a more obtainable price point,” Curran said. “Maybe in the low ($300,000 range) versus the mid threes.”
