Burrows Ridge - Pyramid Award Winner
Daily Local News



While large, attractive new homes on wooded lots are not exactly a new trend in Chester County, one of the most recent subdivisions in Chadds Ford is already an award-winner.

The Chester County Conservation District, in conjunction with the Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties, recently announced that Bancroft Homes’ Burrows Ridge development is the winner of this year’s HBA Pyramid Award.

John Falini, a project manager at Burrows Ridge, said he was pleased to win the 19th Annual Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware Counties HBA Award.

“It’s fantastic. It’s really neat to be recognized for doing things in the most environmentally sensitive way,” Falini said Monday at the Burrows Ridge model home off Burrows Run Road.

The subdivision received the award not just because a large percentage of the site is permanently protected by a conservation easement, but also for its storm water management program.

As a part of the land development process, developers prepare plans that show what storm water controls will be employed during construction to keep muddy runoff from streams and adjacent owners’ properties. The plans, known as sedimentation and erosion control plans, are approved by the Chester County Conservation District. The district is also responsible for ensuring the plan is executed and maintained.

“The plan (for the site) was well-thought out and well-implemented,” said Jim Demchak, a resource conservationist with the conservation district who inspected the site monthly. “Whatever problems there were, were corrected quickly. There was a good line of communication.”

The individual homeowner’s on-lot storm water system also received high marks. Roof gutters feed storm water into an underground system of pipes that lead to a large 17-foot by 32-foot dry well underground. Large chambers in the dry well hold the storm water while it percolates slowly into the ground.

Other storm water management practices include six separate underground infiltration dry wells. These dry wells operate the same as the on-lot system, capturing storm water from the roads and grassy areas and holding it until it can percolate through the soil.

While the whole tract is 94 acres, the eastern section composed of 43 acres is being developed first. More than 60 percent, or 26 acres, is being permanently protected through a conservation easement held by the Delaware Nature Society.

A portion of the sale of each one-acre lot is being applied toward an endowment to maintain the conservation easement.

Many energy-saving features have been built into the demonstration home, including extra insulation, low-E windows and tankless water heaters.

Bancroft Homes subscribes to the Environments for Living program, which promotes energy efficiency.

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