Don Pulver provides city council with renderings of what his proposed hotel and office building,

Even Don Pulver admitted it has taken a while. "It's been four years since I started coming here," he told Coatesville council last night. "Our purpose for coming here tonight is we're about ready to ask for final land use approval."

Pulver, of the Oliver Tyrone Pulver Corp., is promising to break ground on a 80,000 square-foot, four story office building and 125-room, four-story Marriott Courtyard hotel by April of next year. Construction of the $18 million office building is being underwritten with $10 million in county, state and federal funds. It is to be located off Route 340 just behind the Turkey Hill at routes 82 and 340. The building will have access roads connected to both 340 and 82.

Pulver cited getting public water and sewer to the two building sites as one reason for the delay. "It was the most difficult thing we ever experienced," he said. Pulver put the cost at $1.5 million.

The Marriott hotel will be located just south of the Route 30 Bypass ramp on the east side of Route 82. Originally, a restaurant separate from the main hotel bilding was to be constructed at the same time. But last night Pulver said the restaurant will be delayed for a few years. "The restaurant needs the hotel. It's a chicken and egg thing," he said.

If Pulver does begin construction in April, he is likely to be the first of the original, four preferred developers who three years ago were championing a combined $700 million investment in the city.

Carl Chetty, of Chetty Builders, appears stalled over financing for Pennock Place, the first of what promised to be seven, high-rise condominiums in the city's ailing downtown business district. Pennock Place is to be build on the northeast corner of Third Avenue and East Lincoln Highway. Last year seven buildings were demolished to make room for the condominium. The site remains an empty lot.

Bart Blatstein's plans to develop the Flats with a 14-story condominium, grocery store and a series of restaurants dotting the east side of the Brandywine Creek are now dead, following the city withdrawing support for the $400 million project.

And Iacobucci Homes suspended its plans for Brandywine View, a 400-unit townhouse community for the old Tarlecky tract north of the city train station after failing to get the Coatesville school district to agree to a 50-percent tax abatement on the first 250 homes.

Iacobucci has approval for $2 million in TIF (Tax Increment Financing) for the project to help defray costs associated with building an access road through a 30-foot rock cliff so it can meet with Route 82 opposite of Manor Road, a PennDOT requirement. However, Iacobucci has since changed their position and now wants to forgo the $2 million in TIF funding in favor of LERTA (Local Economic Redevelopment Act) that would allow a 5-year, 50 percent tax abatement on school district, county and city real estate taxes.