Board rejects Villanova’s plans for new parking garage

Plans to demolish an existing parking garage and build a larger one on Villanova’s campus got a thumbs down from the Radnor Township Planning Commission last week.

Marilou Smith, assistant vice president for engineering and construction at Villanova, outlined the university’s plans during a planning commission meeting.

“The current garage is safe, but it’s at the end of its useful life,” Smith told the planning commission. “As I said, it’s a steel garage, and we’d like to replace it with a more efficient garage and at the same time put a couple of stories more on there.’”

According to the presentation, the two-story garage near Ithan Avenue would be replaced with a new four-story garage.

The next step will be for the project to go before the township zoning board to request variances.

Smith said the new garage’s footprint would be slightly smaller than the existing one, enabling Villanova to add some greenspace around parts of the building.

According to Smith, the garage would help with the university’s future capital development plans that will require more parking.

Chris Kovolski, assistant vice president of government relations and external affairs, outlined some of the plans Villanova is considering over the next decade.

“Anytime we are adding space on campus or seek that space, we must also add parking, the way the (township) code is written now,” Kovolski said.

According to Kovolski, they plan on using the existing parking garage to expand, since it’s already being used for that purpose.

“The main reason we are focused on the structure we are talking about tonight is that it already exists as parking,” Kovolski said. “It’s not as efficient as we’d like. While it’s safe, it’s not built the way we’d like, and we’re going to have to do something with that structure anyway. And so we thought the best and greatest use of that space will be to continue to use it as parking, but to make it better.”

Kovolski said they could add parking in another area across Lancaster Avenue along the SEPTA Norristown High Speed Line.

But they are trying to preserve green space, and they want to think about their neighbors. If they were to build parking at this site, there would be houses just on the other side of the SEPTA line.

Among the projects Kovolski cited as things they might want to add to campus are enclosing the football stadium’s east end and renovating the locker rooms.

Kovolski said the university would also like to do something with the Jake Nevin Field House. Close by, Vasey Hall is expected to undergo renovations soon and be turned into a graduate hub and as an office for veteran and military services.

There are other buildings on the other side of the campus near Spring Mill Road that will need renovation, he said.

“I’m not sure that there is going to be a significant change to the traffic patterns to the university,” Kovolski said. “We’re not adding classroom seats, were not adding employee headcount, were not adding numbers of events, we haven’t changed the capacity of the pavilion or the stadium or any of the other event venues that we currently have in place.”

A few residents also spoke out against the project.

“What happens at Villanova does not stay in Villanova. It impacts the greater township,” nearby resident Roberta Winters told the planning commission. “Among Radnor’s most pervasive problems are traffic, parking and stormwater.

“Replacing the existing parking garage with one that is 53 feet high and holds 405 vehicles may reduce a parking concern, but it is bound to impact traffic and congestion and create potential environmental issues.

“Height restrictions are further a significant hot button item in the 7th Ward, particularly when variances are sought that are adjacent to residential properties such as those on County Line Road and adjacent Lower Merion streets.”

The township’s zoning board will take up Villanova’s appeal later this month.

It was unclear why the planners objected to the garage.