With an eye on bringing tourism revenue to Bucks County, the Falls Supervisors on Monday greenlighted plans to relocate a touring company from Hamilton, N.J. to Falls Township.
Following a conditional use hearing, the Supervisors voted in favor of permitting third-generation family business Starr Tours to move its corporate headquarters to a five-acre site located at 394 Lincoln Highway, the site of a former car dealership.
Starr Tours owners Peter and Sandy Borowsky, of Lower Makefield, told the Supervisors that their children have all gone through Pennsbury schools and they’re looking forward to bringing their business closer to home.
Sandy’s grandfather began the business, which primarily focuses on motor coaches, in 1947.
“Our tours go all over the country,” Peter said, noting that the tour side is 50 percent of their business. Starr Tours also rents buses to groups, takes students on field trips and picks up school groups flying in for a visit to the East Coast.
Visit Bucks County President/CEO Paul Bencivengo wrote in support of Starr Tours ahead of Monday’s meeting. In his letter, Bencivengo said Bucks County welcomes 8.2 million visitors each year, which generates $1.2 billion in economic impact and supports the county’s hospitality workforce of 28,675 employees.
“Continued economic development of Bucks County’s business community is real and important,” Bencivengo wrote.
Starr Tours employs 100 full and part-time employees, including office staff, tour directors, and maintenance staff. The site will not operate like a transit facility, the couple emphasized.
“You have a vehicle coming and going sort of throughout the day,” he said. “All the jobs and tours are all happening at different times.”
Some tour attendees may choose the Falls site as a pickup location, while others may opt to join the tour from elsewhere, including Mercer County, Philadelphia and other stops in Bucks County, Peter said. Sandy estimates that on any given day Starr Tours would have at most, 15 vehicles parked there by folks taking a tour.
As part of the site redevelopment, Starr Tours plans to add wash bays totaling slightly less than 5,000 square feet, in addition to the existing maintenance bays.
The couple’s attorney, Ed Murphy, told the board that site improvements planned would address concerns that people have about lighting, as well as entry and exit of the property. Upgrades will ensure that the site is “harmonious with all the other buildings in the area,” Murphy said.
Supervisor Chairman Jeff Dence spoke enthusiastically about Starr Tours relocating to Falls, calling it “a great opportunity.”
“It’s a really great business,” Dence said. “It’s going to be a good fit here in Falls Township.”
