A plan for a large new apartment
building, the second to come forward since commercial properties on City Avenue
in Bala Cynwyd were rezoned two years ago, will be up for review next week in
Lower Merion Township.
A tentative sketch plan for a
six-story, 207-unit apartment building at 150 Monument Road will be before the
township’s planning commission Monday, July 28.
With planners’ recommendation, it
would move forward to the Building and Planning Committee of the board of
commissioners two days later.
Also next week, an ordinance to
rezone properties on Bala Avenue under a new Bala Village zoning district will
get a first look. The Building and Planning Committee will be asked to consider
authorizing advertisement of a public hearing on the ordinance for possible
adoption on Sept. 17.
Monument KPG III LLC’s plan
proposes a new residential building on part of its seven-acre parcel at 150
Monument Road, to join an existing six-story office building.
A new four-story parking garage
would also be constructed to serve the office building, while there will be two
levels of parking, 207 spaces, in the apartment building. In all, 673 parking
spaces would be provided on the parcel, exceeding the 639 required, according
to the plan on file with the township.
Drawings with the plan show a
center courtyard with a pool deck in the residential building, which would
include about 3,700 square feet of commercial or restaurant space.
The development proposal follows
by a little more than a year a first apartment project under 2012’s
comprehensive rezoning of the City Avenue commercial district in Lower Merion
to permit redevelopment of what was seen to be an office park and retail area
in need of revitalization. A goal of rezoning, while permitting greater density
and building height, was to transform the district over time into a 24/7
live-work-play environment, including new residential development.
Nolen Properties’ plan for an 11-story,
284-unit apartment complex on five acres at 335 Righters Ferry Road was first
out of the gate. It received tentative sketch plan approval in March 2013.
Under that plan, which is expected to come back for more detailed preliminary
plan review in coming months, the historic Miller-Bell House, a farmhouse whose
core dates to 1695, would be preserved on the property.
The 150 Monument Road proposal
would add another 207 apartments to that area of Bala Cynwyd, where nearly 600
apartments are also approved for O’Neill Properties Group’s Schuylkill
riverfront project at 600 Righters Ferry Road, the former Connelly Container
site. Demolition of the old industrial buildings for construction of a first
phase of that project began this summer.
In addition, Penn Real Estate
Group, which owns property adjoining the O’Neill parcel, has referred to future
plans for about 300 apartments on its land.
With rezoning, there is potential
for significant redevelopment on other properties in the new City Avenue
Regional Center district and the Bala Retail Center, encompassing the Bala
Cynwyd Shopping Center.
Initially, when Lower Merion
officials began considering City Avenue rezoning half a dozen years ago, the
initiative was to have included the Bala Avenue commercial district. The Bala
Village piece was put on hold because of community concerns.
Rezoning to promote redevelopment
and revitalization of Bala Avenue has continued to be a part of township
leaders’ vision for the area, however. It is a topic that has come to the fore
again recently, in connection with the Lower Merion School District’s interest
in acquiring commercial properties close to City Avenue for school bus storage.
Bala Cynwyd commissioners have
made clear in public meetings on the topic that a bus depot does not fit in
with that vision.
Now a revised Bala Village
rezoning ordinance, which was still in preparation this week, is being brought
forward once again.
In e-mails Wednesday, township
Assistant Director of Community and Economic Development Angela Murray
explained what is expected for next week’s meetings.
Murray wrote that amendments to
the City Avenue District ordinance are being proposed for public hearing in
September, including the proposed Bala Village zoning district. In a separate
ordinance, a corresponding legal description of properties affected will be
proposed.
The earlier draft ordinance from
2010 is being updated “to reflect existing conditions,” she added.
Murray said the draft ordinances
will be posted for public review on the township’s website at
www.lowermerion.org Friday after 4:30 p.m., along with a memo indicating
revisions.
Members of the planning
commission will receive the memo and ordinance amendments, and the topic will
be introduced at Monday night’s meeting, Murray said, while a full presentation
of the amendments and map is to be made at the Building and Planning Committee
meeting Wednesday. At that meeting, the committee might vote to recommend
scheduling and advertisement of a public hearing, with a formal vote by the
full board at its final meeting of the summer Aug. 4.
The schedule of next week’s
meetings is:
Planning Commission: Monday, July
28, 7 p.m.
Building and Planning Committee:
Wednesday, July 30, approximately 7:30 p.m.
Both meetings will take place at
the Township Building, 75 E. Lancaster Ave., Ardmore.
Source: Main Line Times
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