Officials break ground for Quarry Center in Haverford

By LOIS PUGLIONESI Times Correspondent

HAVERFORD After 30 years as a reclamation site, the former Llanerch Quarry officially became a construction site on Wednesday, when the upcoming Quarry Center broke ground.

Standing amid 30 acres of bare brown earth with a bulldozer in the background, the property owners and developers, staff from IMC Construction, and commissioners President Bill Wechsler gathered to dig the first shovelfuls of dirt.

If all goes well the townships largest shopping center will open for business in time for Christmas. Located at Township Line Road and West Chester Pike, adjacent to Kohls, the Quarry Center will provide 250,000 square feet of retail space, including a 46,400-square-foot Giant Food Store and 150,000-square-foot Lowes home and garden center. Panera Bread, Supercuts, Visionworks and Chipotle Mexican Grill will occupy retail spaces between the two anchor stores. Negotiations continue with prospective tenants for two remaining pad sites.

With stone facades indicative of the area and an arts-and-crafts style, the center will sport an upscale architectural theme and provide shoppers a pleasant environment to conduct their everyday shopping, said Eric Mallory, principal of Eureka Ventures and partner in Quarry Center LP.

The conversion of this property from an operating quarry to a landfill, then to a first-class shopping environment, is a prime example of urban in-fill development, Mallory added, noting that its central location is good for the community and the environment.

A new connector roadway that provides alternate access through West Chester Pike will also improve the immediate road network, Mallory said.

Owner David Crockett Jr. said he hopes to have infrastructure installed and turn site pads over to large tenants in August.

With landfill operations under way since 1984, its been a long time coming, Crockett said.

Its a great day for the township, Wechsler said about developing a property that has lain fallow and caused controversy for years. Its been a hole in the ground and its going to be a shopping center, a tax revenue generator and generate employment.

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Officials break ground for Quarry Center in Haverford