Local landscape firm pitches ecological campus and stormwater‑focused reuse for borough‑owned 201 property

Jeff Rent, who identified himself as founder of Fugiate Design and a Narberth resident, presented an adaptive‑reuse proposal for the borough‑owned 201 property that emphasizes ecological landscaping, maker and artist studio space, and stormwater management credits. He showed a conceptual footprint that would reserve about 71 parking spaces for public use while allocating weekday spaces for tenants, and said the design could produce MS4 stormwater credits and educational demonstration opportunities.

Rent said the plan could be paired with partners such as the Lower Merion Conservancy to pursue grant funding. "So it's a total of 71 spaces would still be available," he told council, laying out weekday and weekend parking arrangements and describing potential community programming. Council members praised the creativity of the proposal but repeatedly raised the policy constraint that the borough’s goal has been to remove the fiscal burden of building ownership from taxpayers. Staff reiterated that the 2021 deferred‑maintenance estimate for the site was $4.7 million (post‑roof work) and said the borough has lost tenants, increasing urgency to resolve the property’s future.

Council discussed next steps: staff recommended a structured RFP process with public engagement and a pre‑set scoring rubric. Multiple council members said the borough should hire an outside consultant to draft and manage the RFP and to reduce staff workload, while preserving the RFP’s ability to require proposals that relieve the borough from ongoing maintenance and landlord responsibilities. Council asked staff to return with options for consultant scope and to invite the Lower Merion Conservancy to brief the council on potential grant partnerships.