A 15-acre site in Upper Darby could become a public forest — if organizers can raise $8 million to buy it

Fifteen acres of undeveloped land in Upper Darby Township face an uncertain fate as environmental groups rush to secure funding to purchase and protect the site.

Upper Darby residents and environmentalists are working to pull together $8 million to secure the purchase of the Mozino Tract, a parcel of land in Drexel Hill that, until recently, was slated to become a mixed-use housing and retail development.

Upper Darby’s council in August voted to table a proposal to rezone the land, currently zoned for residential use, to allow for a blend of single-family homes, townhouses, apartments, commercial spaces, and community gathering spots. Township staff at the meeting said they worked with the developer to create the mixed-use zoning proposal, a plan they said would help meet core township goals of increasing tax revenue and adding diverse housing options far more than an initial proposal to put 56 single-family homes on the site.

Now, developer Greg Lingo of Rockwell Development Group says he has abandoned the plans to build the mixed-use development and is giving organizers a chance to purchase the land for open space preservation.

If they can’t pull the money together, Lingo will go back to his original plan to put 56 single-family homes on the Mozino Tract, a proposal that is already permitted under the current zoning and won’t require special approvals.

As the high price tag looms, organizers say they’re confident they can find the money to keep the Mozino Tract wild.

The Mozino Tract is a 15-acre wooded parcel located between State and Township Line Roads in Drexel Hill. The land is currently owned by the Peter S. and Catherine G. Mozino Deed of Trust and is under contract to be sold to Lingo’s Rockwell Drexel, LLC.

At an August meeting, Upper Darby residents packed the council chambers, urging the township to reject the plan for a mixed-use development and asking council to purchase the land to preserve it as open space. Many described spending time in the wooded area that, while not officially a public park, has been a place to commune with nature.

Amid pushback from residents, Lingo at the meeting said he would be willing to sell the property to the township, despite thinking that it would not be “a great use,” and approximated the cost of the sale at $8 million. Council unanimously tabled the zoning ordinance and voiced an openness to purchasing the property if funds could be raised.

The property’s assessed value is $446,920, according to Delaware County property records.

Lingo in an email on Sept. 15 wrote that it was immediately clear when he first met with neighbors that “they did not want any development” of the Mozino Tract, so he thought it best to work with the township on the mixed-use plan to “maximize open space, introduce different housing types across different price points, improve pedestrian mobility, maximize taxable income to the Township and to dedicate a public park.”

Lingo in the email affirmed his commitment to Upper Darby, having grown up in the township, and said was his “fault for assuming that I knew what was best” in proposing the mixed-use project.

If the environmental groups can’t find the funding to purchase the property, Lingo plans to enter into an agreement with a public or national homebuilder to build the 56 single-family homes.

Rockwell Development Group is “communicating regularly” with the environmental groups, Lingo wrote.

Bonnie Hallam, the organizer spearheading the effort to preserve the Mozino Tract, said local environmentalists “have all confidence” that they will be able to raise the $8 million.

“We really believe that this is going to be conserved, and we want the township to get on board with that,” Hallam said.

Hallam said she and other organizers submitted their first grant application on Sept. 25 to the Open Space Institute and have been in conversation with local and national funding groups, including the William Penn Foundation and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. The group is going to start a community fundraising effort through the Foundation for Delaware County, she said.

The environmental leaders are also hoping to secure money through an open space referendum on the ballot in Delco this November. If the referendum is approved by voters, the county could spend $120 million financing land conservation projects, including “protecting natural areas from development.”

“We’re really going to work hard to secure that because we feel that the county is very much interested in this piece of property as well,” Hallam said.

Delaware County “has not had any conversations with Mr. Lingo regarding the purchase of the tract,” according to county spokesperson George Basile.

Hallam hopes Upper Darby Township will agree to be the title holder for the land, an agreement they have not made yet.

Upper Darby Township is “exploring its options right now” and “hoping for a resolution soon” regarding the Mozino Tract, public information officer Rob Ellis said in an email.

For Hallam and her co-organizers, preserving the open space — its wildlife, tall trees, and bubbling creek — is priceless. The Save The Mozino Forest group is organizing a rally on Saturday at Collenbrook Church.

“We have a really unique piece of property here that’s doing hard-working environmental services for the township,” Hallam said.

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