The auction for St. Peter’s Village was postponed as a full house waited to see the new owners
The sale of give-or-take 80 acres of a beloved village piqued sizable interest when the auction was announced over the summer.
The auction for the historic St. Peter’s Village — which put on offer roughly 80 acres, more than a hundred home sites, and the handful of businesses contained within the boundaries — ended before it began Wednesday.
Speaking to a full house, containing a large number of residents and business owners, auctioneer Doug Clemens informed attendees that it had been postponed — an announcement he acknowledged “could make you happy, maybe will make you sad.”
Clemens said he had no further comment regarding why it was postponed. No date was immediately set. A spokesperson for Piazza Management, the current owner, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It wasn’t immediately clear how many people had shown up to bid on the property. Those interested in bidding on the land were told to bring, by a bank cashier’s check, $150,000.
The sale of give-or-take 80 acres of a beloved village piqued sizable interest when the auction was announced over the summer. But it also prompted concerns from those in and out of the village, who worried if the new owners would retain what makes it so special.
Clemens said previously that they received thousands of inquiries, including from people who lived in the village, curious about what would become of it.
The public auction, held in Malvern, drew spectators and was a crowd of familiar faces for residents and business owners in the village. As they left the meeting room, they speculated over possible deals that could have arisen.
St. Peter’s Village, which grew around the creek and flourished in the Gilded Age due to its natural resources, became a place of recreation and leisure in the 1880s. Since then, it has continued to draw tourists to its quaint shops, rocky shores, and hiking trails. The village is nestled in Warwick Township, which has a population of roughly 2,600.
The owners had planned two neighborhoods, totaling about 121 home sites, with a mix of densely populated housing and larger single-family homes. With the economic downturn in the early 2000s, that vision never fully materialized; several homes are unfinished. To see it through, a new buyer would have to improve the wastewater treatment plant also included in their purchase.
Tom Tulley, a resident since 2009 who lives adjacent to the proposed development, has concerns with building out the land to the envisioned extent.
He knew development was inevitable then, but if “they put another 150 homes with however many toilets and bathtubs and washing machines, I’m just concerned that the aquifer might not be able to support it,” he said.
Longtime business owners Christopher and Ashley Dilworth, who own Fox and Frog Apothecary, were excited that the Piazzas were set to turn it over so someone else could take the mantle and continue revitalizing the village. Christopher Dilworth acknowledged there “will be opinions on which way would be better, which way would be worse.”
But, Ashley Dilworth said, “I think all of the people in the village and everyone that came out would just be excited for anyone who had a big enough vision to move it to the next level.”
It has had, over the last several years, a new life breathed into it, she said. With the help of social media, people from across the region — from New York to Delaware — have been discovering the town, which boasts everything from antique stores, to modern jewelry, to an antique arcade.
“People are staying in this little one-block town for a whole day,” Christopher Dilworth said. “There’s that much to do there and experience.”
Peter Melle and his wife, Melanie, who owned the bakery in town for about 15 years, were hoping to see someone pick up the project where it was left off.
“Everybody’s curious,” he said. “I think it’s a great project … I think it’ll be a phenomenal location to build. But it’s about the money.”
Megan Reese, who lives in Malvern, has gone to St. Peter’s for a long time. She wanted to see someone purchase it who would take care of it and also “honor all the fun that’s occurring.”
“A lot of people love St. Peter’s, and it’s iconic. It’s been around for a very long time,” she said. “I really want it to be a heart project for somebody.”
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