A land acquisition costing a little more than $10 million has Penn Township-based Pleasant View Communities poised to meet growing demand with space to double its size to 800 residents.
Earlier this month, Pleasant View purchased 108 acres of farmland, located immediately north of its campus at 544 N. Penryn Road, for $10.2 million. There are no immediate plans to begin building, however.
The seller was egg and dairy producer Kreider Farms, which owns thousands of acres of farmland in the Manheim area.
For now the land will continue to be farmed, but Pleasant View president and CEO Jonathan Hollinger believes it could sustain a development large enough to double Pleasant View’s current population of 400 residents.
“We want to have the opportunity in the future when we’re ready for additional growth,” Hollinger said.
Pleasant View has been interested in the property for many years as a potential development site and as a way to protect northern views for its residents, Hollinger said.
Located just outside of Manheim Borough, the community has a mix of cottages and apartments. It was founded in 1955 to offer benevolent care to older adults from the surrounding communities.
Today, nearly two-thirds of its residents are people who moved there from northern Lancaster County, and it provides more than $3.5 million in unfunded care each year, Hollinger said.
“It’s important that we continue the tradition of providing services to people whether they can afford it or not,” Hollinger said.
In recent years, it has seen increased demand for those services as more baby boomers seek out retirement living and has been planning units in response.
The community is planning 86 new cottages on a different tract to the south of its campus. It also plans to develop amenities on a portion of a 57-acre farm on North Penryn Road once owned by its founder. It has also looked at expanding the number of apartments on campus.
Pleasant View’s next step is developing a master plan for the newly purchased 108-acre parcel. It is zoned medium-density residential, meaning it could be used for cottages or apartments.
While the community is ready to expand the number of residents it serves, it remains aware that its small size compared to some of the county’s largest communities has been a selling point for many of its residents.
“We want to try and balance that as best we can,” Hollinger said.
