The Allentown Planning Commission approved a 61-unit
senior apartment project Tuesday that would allow Sacred Heart Hospital to add
more services for the growing geriatric population.
“We are going to lease the entire first floor,” John
Nespoli, president and CEO of Sacred Heart Hospital, said this morning. “We are
calling it a comprehensive approach to providing care and support to the
geriatric population.”
Pennrose Properties of Philadelphia will construct the
four-story, 66,000-square-foot building at Fifth and Turner streets.
The first floor will include three medical service areas.
One area will be an outpatient rehabilitation center that includes physical and
occupational therapy, a second will be a geriatric assessment and care center
with staff that includes social workers, behavioral health specialists,
rehabilitation specialists and nurses. The third section will be office spaces
for family physicians, Nespoli said.
Next month, Pennrose plans to start demolition of 15 row
houses on the site. By year’s end, it expects to start construction, said Kyle
Speece, senior developer of Pennrose Properties. Total construction cost is
$9.2 million, he said. Construction should be complete by the end of next year.
Almost all of the row houses are vacant, he said.
Pennrose owns nearly all 15 houses and has the remaining properties under
agreement of sale, Speece said.
The company received final land development approval
Tuesday and still needs zoning variances, he said.
“These are mainly related to the amount of setback from
the surrounding roads,” Speece said.
Since the project is directly adjacent to Sacred Heart
Hospital, the development offers benefits, he said. Sacred Heart will support
Pennrose’s efforts to attract tenants and link them to health care services.
“The development presents us with a real opportunity for
collaboration with the hospital,” Speece said. “It can be a real complex for
aging in place and continued living.”
To be known as Sacred Heart Residences, it will be an
income-restricted building. Monthly rents for one-bedroom units will be a
maximum of $801, with two-bedroom units at a maximum of $961. Some units will
rent for less than that, Speece said.
“We have been talking about this for a couple of years,”
Nespoli said. “It’s the continuation of the revitalization of the
neighborhood.”
The project is only a few blocks from the Allentown Art
Museum and the ArtsWalk. Also, part of Pennrose’s goal, in partnership with
Sacred Heart, is to make the area more pedestrian-friendly.
“We are certainly aware of the happenings in downtown
Allentown, it certainly is proximate to the action but it offers some housing
for seniors,” Speece said. “We think we are enhancing the pedestrian-friendly
nature of the downtown.”
Downtown Allentown, of course, is home to more than $1
billion in new and proposed development, such as office buildings, retail and
restaurants and apartments.
As part of the project, Pennrose will improve all four
corners of Fifth and Turner streets, Speece said.
“I think it will be very attractive,” Nespoli said. “It’s
really a neighborhood that’s coming back.”
Fitzpatrick Lentz & Bubba is the law firm handling
the project, said Joseph Fitzpatrick, shareholder and founder of the firm. He
is also vice chairman of the board of directors for Sacred Heart Healthcare
System.
“It’s clearly an investment in the neighborhood and an
upgrade in the quality of residences available to seniors,” Fitzpatrick said.
“It is an excellent venture by a dedicated community hospital.”
Pennrose will begin leasing units as construction
progresses. The company has not selected a general contractor. Kitchen &
Associates of Collingswood, N.J., is the architect, Speece said.
Source: LVB
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