This week the DelCo Times has a story about Plush Mills turning 15. Weirdly I came across this in one of the other papers the DelCo Times conglomerate owns, here’s a link. I thought it might be interesting to look back at Plush Mills and those 15 years so I searched for it in the DelCo Times archives. Most of the articles are obits, but it intersects with some unexpected stories during that time.

First off, there doesn’t seem to be much press around Plush Mills being built. The first article a search turns up is part of a story about something else and places it in the wrong town. From the 28 Sept. 2006 DelCo Times,

The Concord community is not the only retirement development coming to the county in the next year. Plush
Mills, owned by Sage Senior Living, based in Towson, Md., plans to open in Swarthmore next spring.

Not quite Swarthmore, but close I guess. At the end of 2007 and start of 2008, Plush Mills had evidently opened, but the county hadn’t assessed its value, leading to some problems for both the school district and the township. From the 16 Dec., 2007 DelCo Times

As for the possibility of achieving a lower increase, Superintendent Rudolph Rubeis said that would be
extremely difficult given the challenges facing the district, including the debt burden associated with a $50
million renovation/expansion of Strath Haven Middle School begun this fall.

“We try to balance the needs of the students with the needs of the taxpayers. The vast majority of the budget is, again, people expenses, building expenses. It’s a challenging time,” he said.

Business Administrator Lorraine DeTurk said the district was making predictions on revenues in the absence
of several key pieces of information, including state financial aid figures and the assessment for the new
Plush Mills senior residential facility.

And a few weeks later, on 4 Jan, 2008,

Township officials plan to draft a letter to county council raising concerns about the lack of a county assessment for a new senior residential facility.

“I hope you’ll agree with me that this situation is unacceptable,” Board of Commissioners President Lin Floyd
said to her board colleagues at a Dec. 6 meeting.

Although all occupancy permits have been issued for the Plush Mills facility, no tax revenue has begun
flowing to the township – or, for that matter, the county or Wallingford-Swarthmore School District – because the assessed tax rate has not yet been established by the county.

But it was ironed out pretty fast. On 22 Jan, 2008 in the DelCo Times,

However, the work has now been carried out by the county, with the assessment pegged at $17 million,
board President Lin Floyd said at the Jan. 7 meeting.

The assessment was deemed effective for the fourth quarter of last year, meaning the township will receive
about $20,000 for that period.

Meanwhile, another senior facility in the township, the Wallingford Nursing Home on Providence Road, is
eyeing an expansion.

A proposal to build a 2,862-square-foot addition, which would constitute an expansion of a nonconforming
use, is expected to be heard by the township zoning board.

I didn’t find any news story about whether the addition was approved or not. One of the next items I turned up wasn’t about the senior living center at all, but about the disagreement over where to build the new Wallingford Elementary School. A group of parents was pressing for the school to be built at the Summit School site (now Gouley Park). In retrospect this would have been a better choice. But, the school district seemed deaf to their concerns – a recurring theme of anyone dealing with the school district in these stories. Those concerns though, with the benefit of hindsight, seem to have been pretty much correct. From the DelCo Times on 5 March, 2010,

At roughly 10 acres, the Summit site in nearly twice the size as the existing site, offering more versatility in
designing a new building and room for a bigger gym and future expansion, such as all-day kindergarten.

It offers safer local road access on Plush Mills Road as well as more space for playgrounds and sports fields.
Summit is surrounded by larger lots and trees and offers a diverse topography, including a creek and other
opportunities for outdoor learning.

Wallingford Elementary is located between Providence Road, a busy state artery running through our
community, and the Wallingford SEPTA station, which brings an overflow of commuter traffic.

I think the lesson for today, given the school district is considering major renovations again, is…cost isn’t everything. The school district of the time made a short-sighted decision based on the immediate cost without considering the longer term problems. And, now we have those problems.

Moving along, the next stories are about Nether Providence revising its rental inspection ordinance. The original ordinance charged per unit and with Plush Mills having many units, they obviously didn’t want it to cost quite so much, from 18 August, 2010,

In June, commissioners approved an ordinance subjecting all rental properties in Nether Providence to annual municipal inspections carrying a fee of $200.

However, after hearing from the owners of the Plush Mills senior rental apartments, the board decided Aug.
12 — by a unanimous vote — to revise the new law to say that for facilities with more than 40 units, the fee will drop to $25 for each unit after the 40th.

The ordinance seems to have taken a while to draft, still being considered on 16 March, 2011,

Made up of landlords, tenants and Nether Providence officials, the rental inspection committee met for
several months and presented its recommendations on Feb. 3. The panel’s report calls for a one-time registration fee of $25 to establish a rental property; inspections of rental properties every two years; and township notification of a change in tenants at no cost to the landlord.

Currently, there are 415 rental units registered with the township.

In addition, the committee suggested the program be put in place for a two-year trial period, at the end of
which an assessment of its effectiveness could be performed.

Did that assessment ever happen? Either way, it didn’t make the papers. The ordinance was finally approved on April 14th, 2011 according to a later article. But going back to 11 January, 2011 is an article in the DelCo Times that Plush Mills residents were concerned about shootings after the shooting of US Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

“Not only shocking, but inevitable,” Ted added. “I literally expected it because of the (political) climate we have today.”

That the shooting happened in a grocery store was a bit unnerving, the Blinders said.

“Nobody is safe,” Ted Blinder said. “It could happen in Plush Mills. It could happen here.”

That seems like an extreme reaction – I can’t recall too many stories of gun violence at senior centers. But, I think it’s safe to say gun violence hasn’t improved much since 2011. The next story that crosses paths is, as unlikely as this seems, the artificial turf for Strath Haven High School. The school had a campaign titled, “Haven Goes Green,” which given they were replacing living grass with synthetic plastic seems unintentionally ironic. Backers raised about $200,000, and Plush Mills’ owners were among those that contributed, from the 10 Dec. 2012 DelCo Times,

In October, the project received another boost when it was announced that a former Strath Haven football
star, Dan Connor, planned to contribute $10,000 for the field upgrade. He currently plays linebacker for the
Dallas Cowboys.

Meanwhile, another donation of $10,000 will be coming from the owners of the Plush Mills senior residential complex in Nether Providence.

The field cost $700k and was dedicated on Sept. 20, 2013. So apparently this field had a life of 10 years as it was just replaced again.

The next story is about the Summit School property. According to the 19 Jan, 2016 DelCo Times, the Plush Mills owners were interested in purchasing the Summit School site for a new expansion.

Kelly Andress, who owns the Plush Mills Senior Living Community, said her bid for the Summit School
property included maintaining a youth soccer field at the rear of the site for community use and the
preservation of other green space on the tract.

As for the school building itself, she said it would be razed and replaced with a structure that would serve as
an expansion of the 160-unit Plush Mills operation. Both the school site and the senior facility are located on
Plush Mill Road, though they are separated by a distance of just under a mile.

“Frankly, our offer received no response,” Andress, who lives in Nether Providence, said at the board’s most
recent meeting. “I was a little insulted.”

On 20 Jan, 2016, so literally the next day, the DelCo Times reported that the school district and township had reached an agreement to sell the site for $925,000. The owner of Plush Mills was quite displeased with this result, but the Performing Arts Center, which rented the aging Summit School Building at the time, had significant support in the community.

Ultimately, this is for the kids and the residents of the community,” he (Board President Nate Much) said. “Everybody put their best foot forward to make this happen.”

Much announced in early November that the Delaware County Council had approved a $100,000 grant
toward the purchase, with the money coming from Marcellus shale funds designated for open space and
recreation.

The district has for five years leased the building to the Performing Arts Center of Delaware County, an
organization that coordinates the use of the facility by multiple performing organizations. Township officials
have indicated they intend to continue that arrangement for now, but they will have to determine the
appropriate long-term use for the facility and the rest of the 9-acre site at a later date.

A later article on 25 Feb, 2016 states that $600,000 of the money came from money left to the township by a family, $100,000 in state grants funneled through the county, and a $325,000 loan from the sewer fund. The ultimate park name, Gouley Park, comes from the family that donated the money back in 2003,

As for the bequeathed money, officials learned back in 2003 that the estate of longtime residents Henry and
Gertrude Gouley had donated about $685,000 to the township. The money was earmarked for parks and/or
recreational purposes.

A former neighbor of the couple, Katherine Miller, of Highland Avenue, told the board in 2013 that Henry
Gouley was a Media-based lawyer who was a strong believer in parks and played an important role in the
acquisition of the land that would become Rose Tree Park

Lisa Palmer, at that time the school district’s business manager said there were six parties interested in the property. There was the senior living group, a school, the performing arts group, an educational services group, a LLC of some kind, a religious congregation and a home developer. A pretty varied group.

Next on our Plush Mills trip through time is the installation of a food digester to reduce food waste. In a piece that seems like it was written by a PR person, on 6 March, 2020,

In three short months, Plush Mills has diverted over 4.5 tons of waste from ending up in a landfill. “Not only
does the machine help divert waste — over 100 pounds each day — from the landfill, but it also cuts down on
the use of plastic bags for trash,” said Rosen. “Additionally, fewer garbage pick-ups means carbon emissions
in the air,” he concluded.

Could this be used in the schools too? Something to research. Then in the DelCo Times on 9 Sept, 2021 we have the unveiling of the Military Wall of Honor,

Plush Mills, SageLife’s senior living community in Wallingford, recently unveiled its Wall of Honor to recognize the community’s residents who served in the military — past, present and future. The wall was dedicated at a ceremony with residents, local dignitaries and guests, including U.S. Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D-5 of Swarthmore; Ralph Galati, the Executive Director of the J-Dog Foundation and Board Member of local American Red Cross and Veterans Memorial Association; Linda Simon, Veteran Liaison with Compassus Palliative Care; and Scott Ferguson, Long Term Care Associate with the Veterans Benefit Assistance Program. Also attending were resident Veterans in uniform, a bugler, and Honor Guard. Military
memorabilia on loan from residents was also on display.

And finally we reach the 15th anniversary story, which also has the feel of a PR piece, on 28 June 2023,

Carolyn Hopson was one of the very first residents of Plush Mills, a luxury senior living community in Nether
Providence, Delaware County, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary.

“In fact, they actually let me move in a little early because of the timing of the sale of my home,” she said.

With Plush Mills being so new, there were still a few wrinkles to iron out in her first few weeks.

“At a certain time each day, my teacups would start to rattle in their cabinet,” Hopson said, laughing. “I called
the concierge and soon my living room was filled with friendly maintenance people and Plush Mills executives ready to solve the issue.

“It turns out that my apartment was right above the Fitness Center, and someone liked to take a daily jog on a
treadmill. They moved the treadmill, put it on a special mat, and my teacups never rattled again. They were
incredibly responsive and accommodating then and continue to be so now.

So that’s the story of 15 years of one of Nether Providence’s largest businesses. The other thing I learned following this is how much local detail we’ve lost. Most of these histories I’ve written about are 75+ years ago. There was so much more written about in those times – especially before TV and radio. Future historians are going to have a difficult time piecing together information about the modern era. So little was written and so much less is being preserved.