Foliage-lined streets populated with residential homes
Bucolic landscapes unfold across the West Bradford neighborhood in southeastern Pennsylvania. Homes are often set back from the street and fronted by vibrant green lawns, some secluded within alcoves of trees and along roads bordered with lush foliage. “It’s a beautiful place to be,” says Steve Laret, the owner and CEO of the Steve Laret Real Estate Team. “Everybody wants to be here. There’s beautiful topography and very pretty fields and streams.” The neighborhood is bounded by multiple expansive preserves and natural areas, in total spanning over 2,000 acres of nature. “It has proximity to Philadelphia and New York while maintaining a quiet vibe,” Laret says.
Residents look to West Bradford for its reserved atmosphere, which offers homes situated on larger plots of land and centers around an unincorporated community over 250 years old. “It’s a beautiful town with proximity to West Chester,” Laret says. Several small villages make up the larger form of the neighborhood. “West Bradford starts in Marshallton,” says Alison Maguire, the co-owner of the Moore Maguire Real Estate Group of Keller Williams Realty, “which is a little colonial-style village.”
Increasing housing prices for large lots of land
Homes in West Bradford are spread throughout the neighborhood, taking the form of both subdivisions and few properties on larger lots of land. “It is a true borough,” Maguire says, “like a small-town kind of feel with old colonial homes, some twins, turn-of-the-century homes and some more modern homes as well.” Architectural styles vary in West Bradford, including colonial-style homes, Cape Cods, split-levels, custom designs and ranch-style homes.
“We see a lot of center-hall colonial-styles,” Laret says. “A single-family house on a half-acre of ground is going to be about $700,000, whereas five years ago it was around $450,000.” Most homes date to the latter half of the 20th century, and prices typically range between $400,000 and $850,000. “Houses in West Bradford are really no softer in price than right in and around the borough,” Laret says. “The affordability aspect has gone away.” Potential buyers also need to be aware that the number of homes for sale is exceptionally low in the neighborhood. “Right now, it’s more or less gridlocked as far as inventory is concerned. There’s little to no inventory,” Laret says.
Expansive nature preserves and park amenities
Broad Run Park and Shadyside Park are the neighborhood’s two most prominent established green spaces. Each park spans about 30 acres, and both offer trails, tennis courts, a playground and basketball courts. Broad Run Park also features a pond and pickleball courts, while Shadyside has bocce courts and a facility for inline hockey. The Broad Run Golfer’s Club is publicly playable, but locals can become members, as well . United Sports also sits within the neighborhood, consisting of multiple indoor and outdoor fields used by organizations like youth soccer teams.
To the south of West Bradford, the ChesLen Preserve sprawls over 1,200 acres of land, and visitors can explore miles of trails winding through environments ranging from dense woods to open meadows. More established recreational areas sit on the east side of the neighborhood, including more than 7 miles of trails at Harmony Hill Nature Area. Natural Lands’ Stroud Preserve accommodates those on foot, bicycle or horseback amid over 500 acres of land. “There’s lots of horseback riding,” Laret says. “The ChesLen Preserve is a good one, but there’s tons of preserved land and great horseback riding around. There are lots of parks and lots of rivers.”
Dining out and browsing shelves on Route 30
Residents often head to Route 30, which runs east-to-west north of West Bradford, for restaurants and retail stores. Kelly’s is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week, while international fare is on the menus at Coppa 82 Restaurante and Bar and the Pho Now Restaurant. Diners can also head less than 8 miles east into West Chester for more options. “If you’re going out to dinner, you’re going to West Chester,” Laret says. Within West Bradford itself, Righteous Tap House serves dishes made from scratch and over two dozen beer options while playing host to live music. In the neighborhood’s southeastern region, the Four Dogs Tavern serves up American food in a building that formerly operated as a stable. Grocery shoppers can find Aldi, ACME Markets and Giant locations all within about 4 miles of central West Bradford.
A restaurant that also serves as a community hub
The Four Dogs Tavern serves as a community beacon as well as a local favorite stop for food, a central point of multiple annual events. “It’s on the edge of that town and a very popular place,” Maguire says. “They do a tree-lighting ceremony and a triathlon that’s gained a lot of popularity in the last few years.” The tavern also hosts holiday-themed events throughout the year and is the meeting site ahead of the Marshalton Triathlon, which has taken place for over 50 years. Near central West Bradford, Highland Orchards is family-owned and spans more than 200 acres. Visitors can take hayrides and tours, pick their own fruits and vegetables, attend festivals and more.
Major routes run past West Bradford
Route 322 runs along part of West Bradford’s eastern boundary, spanning Pennsylvania in its entirety. Major waypoints along the highway include Harrisburg, Downingtown and Chester. “Route 30 and Route 322 are probably the most major routes that cut through that area,” Maguire says. “Those are the major thoroughfares, and they run east-to-west.”
Route 30 runs horizontally to the north of the neighborhood, and along with being the central commercial hub for West Bradford, it spans 19 miles and is lined with stops for SEPTA buses to pick up passengers. Route 1 is accessible about 9 miles south of the neighborhood, and Philadelphia sits over 40 miles east of West Bradford. “People commute to Philadelphia to have space here,” Laret says. “If you draw a circle around Philadelphia and go west of the city, we’re sort of on the fringe of that.”
Education in and around West Bradford
Students can begin at Bradford Heights Elementary School, one of two elementary schools located within West Bradford. Bradford Heights Elementary receives an A rating from Niche. Downingtown Middle School also gets an A, while Downingtown West High School garners an A-minus. Niche also ranks Downingtown West High School as the 19th-best high school for athletes in the entire state out of more than 850. Sports programs at the school include field hockey in the fall, indoor track in the winter and lacrosse in the spring.
Photography Contributed By
Conner Baker
