Well we are happy to finally be able to report (and we had heard rumors for weeks) that historic Ithan/Radnorville is safe for now - or at least part of it is safe - you see, the article in Main Line Life only mentions one of the two developers originally mentioned...the other developer was purportedly the same one from Rugby Road in Bryn Mawr, another development project that seems to have stalled or derailed or stopped altogether and isn't THAT interesting? Just like that infamous Allaire project in Haverford, we can but wonder what is up with condo mania and build because we can on the Main Line, right? Can it be said the market it ain't what it used to be? Are we allowed to mention something occuring in Radnor Township???

Part two of this post is to promote another terrific article by Main Line Life's Jeff Cobb: a profile of Save Ithan Coalition Member Leif Skoogfors - both pieces should be on your "must reads" for this week!

'Ithan Village'is saved for now
By Jeff Cobb

It appears to be mission accomplished for the "Save Ithan Coalition" in Radnor.The affiliation of over 60 individuals was formed last February to oppose zoning changes requested by billionaire developer Brian O'Neill to the historic center of the township known as "Ithan Village."

Members of the neighborhood group, many of whom belong to the Radnor Friends Meeting across the street from the contested acre-plus at the corner of Route 320 and Conestoga Road are quietly celebrating what was at times an intense battle of wills.

In question was the fate of a site occupied by a service station that has sat abandoned for many years, and is situated in the flood zone of a tributary to the Ithan Creek.

O'Neill Properties Group, LP purchased the site for nearly $1 million, then proceeded to invest several hundred thousand more into engineering, architectural and environmental studies needed to build a block of condominiums there.

Initially 24 condos were proposed, then this was reduced to 20 in an attempt at compromise, but the neighbors dug in and fought a campaign to keep O'Neill's vision from materializing.

In order for the developer to have his way, he would have needed zoning variances approved by the township, and so it was an uphill battle from the start as commissioners early on voiced their own skepticism.

Included in the "Save Ithan" group's opposition were historical preservationists, anti-sprawl activists and environmentalists, all of whom said the condos would destroy the "village" character they hoped Ithan could embrace, and would bring even more traffic to the busy area, and create excessive water runoff downstream for the Ithan Creek.

The property, and a string of adjacent properties that comprise the so-called "Village of Ithan" is not officially designated as a historical district although the area is in fact where the town of Radnor got its start.

Several individuals own land along the strip. For a while in the summer, Radnor Planning Commission Chairman Al Murphy had attempted to form a coalition of "stakeholders" as a sort of meeting of the minds to bring proposals to the table on what to do with the village.

He caught criticism for skirting the edge of propriety in using the Radnor Township Building as the location for a so-called "private" meeting of stakeholders that excluded the Save Ithan group and anyone who did not live directly adjacent to the contented site, or those without an immediate financial interest.

Murphy later abandoned that course of action, but it is believed O'Neill pressed every angle to try to get his plan for condos through.

Even so, perhaps realizing he was in for a big fight, O'Neill had offered to sell out the property at his cost, but his investment in excess of $1.7 million is well above what is reported to be acceptable market value, and so, critics said, he was stuck with it.

Observers of the situation also said the experienced developer bought the property with his "eyes wide open" and suggested O'Neill thought he could strong arm Radnor or otherwise persuade officials to bend the rules for his company, and that's where the name-calling and allegations behind the scenes began.....

Skoogfors has seen the world through a fascinating pair of eyes
By Jeff Cobb

Being part of a group that stopped a billionaire in his tracks is just the latest conflict Leif Skoogfors has been successfully involved in and won't likely be the last.As a Save Ithan Coalition steering committee member, Skoogfors was a deceptively low-key facilitator who helped prevent condos, which many said would have wrecked Radnor's Ithan neighborhood. And with that fight apparently handled, he has already resigned with eyes set on his next challenge.

Effective October, and beginning in earnest this January, the veteran photojournalist and former Garret Hill resident will be working on the board of directors for Military Reporters and Editors (MRE), a Washington-based non-profit advocacy and intermediary group. It will involve a lot of networking, fundraising and educating, Skoogfors said, and their hope is to even the balance of wills between the Pentagon and journalists. A central issue, Skoogfors said, is coverage in Iraq and Afghanistan that many believe lacks objectivity and depth because of increasingly strict rules set by the military.

It should be a good next fight for the pacifist.

Skoogfors, a Quaker, has already worked over 30 years documenting some of the hottest battlefields in the world.

He has photographed for many national and international publications, including Time, Life, Newsweek, Paris Match, Germany's Stern Magazine, Fortune, The Atlantic Monthly, New York Times, and National Geographic, to name a few. He is currently a reservist for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) covering disasters around the country. In decades past, he worked for Tyler School of Art and was assistant dean for Moore College of Art.

Some of his photos are currently featured on www.corbis.com (Put "Leif Skoogfors" in the search bar to see the haunting eyes of a Navy Seal in action, or other pictures that while taken on the job, remain as transcendent works).

But other than saying he followed his passions, Skoogfors said he is still trying to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up.