900 Sandy Street amended development plans approved

NORRISTOWN >> Norristown Council Wednesday night approved the second amended final subdivision and development plans for the 3.5 acre parcel of land located at 900 Sandy St. in Norristown slated to be the site of a 157-unit “Luxor at Sandy Street” apartment building.

The amendment reflects two changes made to the plans, one interior and one exterior.

Legal counsel for Westrum Development Company (WDC) indicated that as Westrum’s team finalized the plans, they noticed some layout inefficiencies and reworked the inside to accommodate eight more studio apartments bringing the number of units up to 157. The change also carries with it nine additional parking spaces, bringing the total to 211.

Additionally the pool, which was originally planned for the inside of the building, has been moved outside, 30 feet from the facade building. The change will require two staggered retaining walls and a minor reworking of the storm water management area.

Municipal council previously designated the parcel a “deteriorated area,” exempting the Fort-Washington-based Westrum Development Company from first-year taxes of $418,000 and a total of $2.16 million in taxes over the 10-year tax-abatement period under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act (LERTA).

Council voted 4-1 for the tax abatement and designation on Oct. 7, with two members absent and Councilman Sonya Sanders voting against. The abatement allows Westrum of Fort Washington not to pay real estate taxes on a diminishing yearly schedule. The tax exemption contains a 100 percent tax abatement in the first year and a 10 percent abatement in the 10th year with 10 percent changes each year.

If the project were developed without the LERTA public subsidy, annual tax revenue would be $280,000 for the Norristown Area School District, $110,000 for the Norristown municipality and $28,000 for Montgomery County. If the 10-year, LERTA tax abatement for 900 Sandy St. is adopted by all three taxing authorities, full tax revenue would be postponed to the 11th year.

The resolution adopted by council said the “property abuts a property (770 Sandy St.) that contains an unsafe building built with a defective design, is vacant, and has been condemned as unsafe for human habitation by the municipality of Norristown and thus is considered a ‘deteriorated area’ pursuant to Section 4725(a) of LERTA.”

The raw land would generate $17,414 in tax revenue over 10 years without construction of the project, according to Westrum.

The Norristown Area School Board discussed the potential adoption of the LERTA tax abatement at its Oct. 20 meeting, and is scheduled to vote on the abatement at the Monday, Oct. 27 meeting of the school board according to the agenda for the board’s Oct. 20 work session.

Source: The Times Herald