44-unit apartment complex planned in Uwchlan

The Hankin Group is poised to almost fully complete the landmark housing, commercial and retail space at Eagleview in Uwchlan Township.

With more than two decades in the making, at Monday’s conditional use hearing, 120 residents, township staff and supervisors packed the meeting room and learned about Hankin’s plans to build 44 apartments and a 30,000 square foot office building.

A new 10,000 ACAC fitness center, with a 25,000 square foot destination park next door to the center, is also envisioned.

Neal Fisher Jr., vice president of development for the Hankin Group, referred to the park as “an amenity for the community and an amenity for us.”

Plans for a 4,800 square foot bank building were scotched.

“There is a lot of history at this site,” Fisher, said. Many of those who spoke during the public comment portion of the hearing first noted how long they had lived at Eagleview.

Most in the audience clapped when fellow residents questioned the builder, though some did applaud toward the end of the three hour hearing in favor of the project.

“There are apartments everywhere in Exton,” said a public speaker. “Everybody wants to live in Eagleview. “It’s a mess.” Joe Ransom is an Eagleview business owner and resident. He learned from Fisher that the new apartments would likely attract millennials and seniors.

“Do you have kids?” Ransom asked Hankin reps. “How can you account for the danger this is proposing? “This is a serious question.” Pete Spisszak, senior project engineer at Traffic Planning and Design, Inc. said, roads are rated like school grades, with an “A” through “F” rating and there would be no roads that fall below a “C” grade.

A stop sign will likely replace a yield sign, but Hankin representatives do not favor placing speed bumps on the Eagleview roadways.

Roads were studied with traffic counts on Nov. 20 and Nov.

22. The study revealed that roads were busiest on Wednesday nights.

At full buildout, the park will contain 1,322 parking spaces, with most up for grabs except those under buildings. Twenty percent would remain greenspace until the township determines

if they should be paved over. Each new apartment unit requires 2.5 spaces, with reserved spaces underground.

Several residents wondered if during concerts and other events that every space would fill. They were told that a shuttle service might be used.

Ransom was also concerned that some of his senior patrons would not be able to park close enough to easily walk to his business.