Pa. Supreme Court denies new hearing in Ellis Preserve case

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Equus Capital will finally move forward with mixed-use project in Newtown Square.

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Natalie Kostelni

Reporter- Philadelphia Business Journal

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It appears that an effort by a developer to have a case reheard before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has come to an end.

The court denied an application made by lawyers for Claude de Botton to have a case involving the proposed mixed-use development of Ellis Preserve in Newtown Square, Pa., re-argued.

De Botton was on the losing side of a 4-3 Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision and filed a motion Oct. 7 indicating the court had failed to adequately review the issues presented before it.

The case came about after Newtown Square officials signed off on a planned residential development ordinance for Ellis Preserve in 2009. A planned residential development, or PRD, is a state law that allows mixed-use development in municipalities.

An affiliate of de Botton's National Realty Corp., of Springfield, Pa., filed suit against Newtown Square over its approval of a PRD ordinance for Ellis Preserve. Equus Capital Partners, the developer of Ellis Preserve, joined Newtown Square in defending the plan and ordinance.

National Realty owns land adjacent to Ellis Preserve as well as a parcel down the road on Route 3 where it could construct its own mixed-use development that could potentially compete with Ellis Preserve.

The case has stalled new construction at Ellis Preserve, which has been approved for retail, residential and hotel development. The court's decision not to re-hear the case means this is the end of de Botton's appeals and Equus will move forward with construction portions of the development.

Natalie Kostelni covers real estate and economic development.