Here is something which was relayed to us recently:
"In June of 2006 the developer brought their proposal to HARB with a hideous group of buildings to be put on the rear of the lot as condominiums/townhouses (and with some attached to the house) after wiping away the existing outbuildings. They were told to go back to the drawing board. HARB didn’t feel anything they proposed was appropriate for the site or the main house. They have heard nothing since, but some presume this is because they are going back for some sort of zoning hearing."

As per www.montcopa.org, the legal owner of this supersize project is:

RIGHTCOR LP
Gladwyne PA
(the precise address is on the public record)
They paid $800,000 31-MAY-06
They purchased it from Clinton Stirk (now deceased- it was his family's home and he had 3 rental units in the main house, and a smalled house behind for his family. The apartments were quite large.

Deed Book and Page: 5608-01740
TaxMapID 40008E032
Parid 40-00-49876-00-7
Land Use Code 1108
Land Use Description R - MORE THA 1 HOUSE, DETACHED
Property Location 254 RIGHTERS MILL RD
Lot #
Lot Size 49669 SF
Zoning R5
Front Feet 121
Municipality LOWER MERION
School District LOWER MERION
Utilities ALL PUBLIC//

Estimated Taxes
County 1,418
Municipality 1,702
School District 8,865
Total 11985

Last Sale was 01-01-1967 family member to family member transfer. We speculate this is another real estate speculator, and we doubt very much this owner would want this supersized project next to their own Gladwyne home!

Here is the text from the upcoming Zoning Hearing Board meeting notice:

MEMORANDUM
APPEAL NO. 4063

254 Righters Mill Road, Gladwyne, PA 19035

1. Description: The 1.14 acre property is a rectangular shaped lot with 122' of frontage along Righters Mill Road. The parcel is improved with a three-unit apartment building, detached garage and accessory building. The property is a Class I historic resource within the Gladwyne Historic District.

2. Applicant and applicant's interest in property:
Rightcor LP - Owner and Applicant
Fred B. Fromhold - Attorney for Applicant

3. Present zoning classification: R 5 residence district

4. Relief sought: The applicant seeks a special exception under §155-99 B to expand the nonconforming apartment house use by 25% and proposes to demolish a detached garage, remove and replace an accessory building and erect an addition to the three-unit apartment house. The applicant also seeks a variance from §155- 35 to permit the accessory building to be used as a dwelling unit without the restriction that it be occupied by a member of one of the families residing in the apartment house.

5. Miscellaneous:
6. Previous appeals:
Appeal No. 1653: June 27, 1961, variance granted to build an addition to the church building.

7. Any known objections: some neighbors will oppose

8. Estimated hearing time: 60 minutes

9. Hearing date: April 14, 2005
Hearing deadline: (February 10, 2005 hearing continued by request of the Township)

10. Applicable codes:

§ 155-4. Terms defined.
A. Word usage. As used in this chapter, the present tense includes the future; the singular number includes the plural, and the plural includes the singular; the word "building" includes the word "structure" and shall be construed as if followed by the words "or part thereof"; the word "occupy" includes the words "designed or intended to be occupied"; the word "use" includes the words "arranged, designed or intended to be used"; and the word "shall" is always mandatory.
B. Words and terms defined. Unless otherwise expressly stated, the following words and phrases shall be construed throughout this chapter to have the meanings indicated in this article:

ACCREDITED EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION -- A private nursery, elementary, secondary or special education school which has been licensed by the State Board of Private Academic Schools; a degree-granting college or university which has obtained total institutional accreditation from appropriate accrediting agencies recognized by the federal government and Pennsylvania State Board of Education or approved by the Pennsylvania State Board of Education to grant degrees. [Added 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491]

§ 155-11. Use regulations.
A building may be erected or used and a lot may be used or occupied for any of the following purposes and no other:

S. [Added 7-18-1990 by Ord. No. 3199] The following uses when authorized as a special exception:
(1) [Amended 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491] The following uses are permitted in existing structures only. If any portion of an existing structure is used for such purposes, a building addition to such structure or a building accessory thereto is permitted, provided that the floor area square footage added for such use comprises no more than 50% of the floor area of the existing structure measured on all floors at or above ground level and does not exceed 50% of the building area of the existing structure as of the date the building was first occupied for such use, or 50% of the floor area dedicated to such use, whichever is less:

(e) [Amended 7-19-2000 by Ord. No. 3578] Certified educational institution, including a student residence hall as an accessory use only.

(4) Nonresidential religious use. [Amended 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491]

T. No residential use authorized under Subsection Q, R or S above shall be permitted if any other residential use listed in those subsections or any nonconforming use is located in any residential zoning district except R 7 and within 500 feet, measured by the shortest distance between the lot on which the proposed use will be located and the lot or lots which contain the existing use. Family day care shall be considered a residential use. Student homes shall also be subject to the spacing provisions of § 155-141.3. [Added 7-18-1990 by Ord. No. 3199; amended 6-17-1992 by Ord. No. 3286]

W. Properties authorized by special exception for the uses set forth in Subsection S(l) through (4) must front on and provide ingress and egress solely from a primary, secondary or tertiary arterial road as set forth on the Official Highway Map of the Township. This requirement shall not apply to properties with a minimum of 10 acres of undeveloped land or properties on the Township's Historic Inventory with five acres or more of undeveloped land. [Amended 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491]

X. Any use permitted in any residential zoning district by special exception or conditional use can only be expanded in like manner. [Added 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491]
Y. Except for those uses permitted by §§ 155-11S(7), 155-128, 155-144 and 155-141.4, and except for those uses involving fewer than seven residents/participants per day, the special exception or conditional use permitting the initial use or the expansion thereof shall only be granted if the applicant's evidence establishes compliance with the following conditions: [Added 6-17-1998 by Ord. No. 3491]
(1) Traffic impact study. The traffic generated by the proposed use, when combined with the current use, shall not result in a level of service lower than C, or, if the level of service is already C or below, shall not alter such level of service for adjacent streets and/or the nearest intersections thereof. The Director of Building and Planning shall require a traffic impact study if needed to assure compliance with this subsection. If required, the Township Engineer shall determine the scope of the study and the assumptions utilized. The Zoning Hearing Board may impose conditions to mitigate the adverse impact of traffic generated by the proposed use, such as requiring staggered starting and ending times, site circulation or enrollment/public access limits. [Amended 1-19-2002 by Ord. No. 3631]
(a) The applicant must demonstrate that the proposed use does not create an unsafe traffic condition due to site obstructions at the points of ingress and egress.
(2) General information. Applicants shall submit with their application for special exception data quantifying the anticipated intensity of the proposed use in terms measuring the amount and frequency of public access. Such data shall include, without limitation, the anticipated:
(a) Total number of participants, quantified by type (including but not limited to users/members, teachers, staff, volunteers, residents, students) and by their method and time of arrival and departure from the site.
(b) Age distribution of participants.
(c) Days and hours of operation, including normal periods of concentrated ingress and egress.
(d) Description and expected attendance at regularly scheduled events, including third-party and other uses of the property beyond those commonly associated with like uses of similar properties.
(3) Spacing and density regulations. No more than one property whose use is regulated by this subsection shall be permitted:
(a) Within the same block, defined as both sides of an uninterrupted road segment between two intersections; and
(b) Within 500 feet of another use regulated by this subsection and/or a nonconforming use, measured by the shortest distance between the lot on which the proposed use will be located and the lot or lots which contain the existing use.
(4) Loading/queuing requirements. Loading/queuing requirements shall be provided on site in compliance with the following standards:
(a) One loading/queuing space per 10 participants to be dropped off/picked up by automobile per hour at the maximum anticipated level of such activity.
(b) One oversized loading/queuing space per bus loading or discharging at the site at any one time.
(c) Loading and queuing areas shall not block on- or off-site through traffic or required parking spaces.
(d) Only a new use or that portion of the property proposed for an expanded use shall be required to meet these loading/queuing standards.
(5) Lighting. Lighting shall be provided in compliance with the following and with § 155-139 hereof:
(a) Lighting shall be provided along all interior walkways and parking areas to be used after dusk.
(b) Lighting for interior walkways shall be no more than 12 feet above finished grade.
(c) Lighting for parking areas shall be no more than 12 feet above finished grade unless the applicant can demonstrate that taller lights are necessary for safety purposes.
(d) The source of illumination for all light fixtures on the exterior of the building shall be screened from off-site view.
(6) Buffering. Landscaped buffer areas (including a wall, fence, suitable planting or combination thereof if approved by the Township), incorporating a variety of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs shall be provided along all property lines in compliance with the following:
(a) Buffer areas shall be a minimum of 20 feet in width along the side or rear property lines with an additional one foot in width added for every 1,000 square feet (or portion thereof) of new or expanded floor area in excess of 7,000 square feet of habitable floor area, with a maximum buffer requirement of 50 feet. If the application is for an expanded use regulated by this section, any existing improvements that project into the required buffer area may remain, provided that they were lawful when built.
(b) Buffer area plantings shall comply with § 101-9B through F thereof (which may include existing, healthy trees and shrubs).
(c) The Zoning Hearing Board may waive the buffer requirements if the adjacent property is a nonresidential use.
(7) Impervious surfaces. A use regulated by this section which utilizes an existing structure and which limits the size of the expansion to no more than 50% of the floor area of the existing structure measured on all floors at or above ground level may exceed the impervious surface provisions by up to 5%. The additional volume of stormwater runoff generated during a one-hundred-year storm event for this increase shall be fully recharged in a system approved by the Township Engineer.

Hope this info helps.

I wouldn't swear to it but I believe that he is a local man, Gary Gevurtz, owner of Somnia, a mattress store in Manayunk. If I'm wrong I apologize without limitation. I do know that the attorney handling the appeal is Mr. Fred Fromhold. And thanks for your interest, we need all the help we can get.

Come to Gladwye and check out this grand old building in our great historic neighborhood, park the car and have a walk around (mind the speeders). From Ardmore take Mill Creek Rd. turn left at 1690 house straight onto Youngs Ford Rd. Turn right at the stop sign at the Guard House, 254 is on the right about 1/8 mile down. Chat us up we're friendly.