Wednesday, September 24, 2014

New ordinance to give King of Prussia business park a boost



An ordinance has passed that is expected to breath new life into the King of Prussia Business Park, a section of Upper Merion that has a concentration of dated office and flex buildings.

Upper Merion supervisors voted unanimously on the measure that will allow mixed-use development in the area bounded by the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Route 23, Allendale Road and North Gulph Road.

The zoning is expected to encourage landlords who own properties in the business park to redevelop them into uses that will activate and revitalize what is now a 1960s vintage office park dependent on motor vehicles and empties out at the end of the workday. The new ordinance includes architectural and land-use guidelines and allows new heights for mixed-use projects that meet LEED design elements. The zoning also encourages multifamily projects with 30 units an acre, retail that caters to neighborhood development as well as commercial and light industrial uses.

The ordinance is a significant milestone in a bigger goal of transforming portions of King of Prussia into pedestrian-friendly areas that promote 24/7 activity.

King of Prussia District has been a champion of the ordinance and worked with Upper Merion officials for the last three years to hammer it out. Some of the key elements King of Prussia District and Upper Merion continue to work on is extending public transit through a high speed line into the business park, improving access to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and establishing a park along First Avenue.

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