LOWER MERION — Lower Merion Township took center stage by hosting a recent Montgomery County Board of Commissioners meeting.
During the meeting, county officials highlighted several projects in Lower Merion and approved a motion to give a grant to Gladwyne’s Riverbend to purchase a 4.17-acre site.
“This is the third commissioner’s meeting we have taken together on the road, and I am particularly excited to be home because we’ve had a meeting on the road in Limerick, where Commissioner [Tom] DiBello lives. We’ve had every meeting in Norristown where Commissioner [Jamila] Winder lives, and now I have the shortest commute after we’re done,” said Neil Makhija, a Lower Merion resident and chairman of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
During the meeting in Lower Merion, Makhija discussed some important projects in the township.
“You’re going to hear about some very exciting things because of the work happening here in Lower Merion Township. Thanks to our staff, the manager, thank you to all the commissioners – the 14 commissioners here in Lower Merion, and thanks to our partnership with them, we’ve been able to make great advances on a number of issues from housing to sustainability, to transportation, to parks and trails,” Makhija said.
Ardmore House 2, which will be constructed in the parking lot of the existing Ardmore House, will give 48 new affordable housing units for seniors.
“I’m proud to share that the county awarded $5 million towards that project to the township,” Makhija said. “It’s a historic investment. Some of the most vulnerable members of our community on the issue of housing and security, and it’s just an example of the collaboration that it takes to make things happen. That project would not have happened without leadership in the township, in the county, and in the state as well.”
Makhija also mentioned $250,000 in grants for constructing solar panels at township libraries.
Makhija said other county grants for Lower Merion projects included one for a bike share program in Bala Cynwyd and $150,000 for the Wynnewood Valley Park stream restoration project.
Following Makhija’s opening remarks, Commissioner Winder added additional comments regarding Lower Merion and Narberth’s Active Transportation Plan.
On its website, Lower Merion defines the Active Transportation Plan as “a comprehensive strategy that promotes and encourages the use of active modes of transportation such as walking, cycling, and rolling. The aim of this plan is to establish safer, more accessible, and more sustainable transportation options that improve community health and wellbeing, reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, and enhance quality of life.”
“The goal of this plan is to identify and develop safe, sustainable, and accessible opportunities to travel around and between communities,” Winder said. “This includes making intersections easier to navigate and improving traffic calming.”
Winder said Lower Merion was awarded a federal grant of over $270,000 to make Montgomery Avenue safer last year.
Lastly, among DiBello’s comments was his mention of the ribbon cutting that both township and county officials attended for the opening of the Mill Creek bridge, which had been closed since 2021.
Lower Merion and Montgomery County Commissioners cut the ribbon to reopen the bridge over Mill Creek on Mill Creek Road last year. (File photo Richard Ilgenfritz Media News Group)
As part of the board’s agenda for the month, the commissioners also approved a motion for a $400,000 grant to Riverbend Environmental Education Center in Gladwyne to help raise $1.4 million to fund its purchase of a 4.17-acre undeveloped site at 1850 Spring Mill Road.
A portion of Saw Mill Run, a small stream that runs on Riverbend’s property and into the nearby Schuylkill River, is also partially on the property at 1850 Spring Mill Road. Riverbend has used the stream on the property in its education programs.
County officials said other people are interested in purchasing the site, so even though the county commissioners approved the grant, it could still go to a developer.
Bill Hartman, trails and open space planning manager for Montgomery County, said the purchase of the property by Riverbend would eliminate the parcel’s development, preserve a stretch of Saw Mill Run for Riverbend’s programs, create outdoor teaching spaces, allow for the restoration of severely degraded landscape on the site, provide connection wo adjacent trails and preserve a space for the public to connect with nature.
Originally Published: April 7, 2025 at 9:00 AM EDT