LVHN’s planned Lower Nazareth Twp. campus moves closer to final approval
The interior road serving Lehigh Valley Health Network’s proposed campus in Lower Nazareth Township doesn’t include sidewalks — at least for now.
The township’s Planning Commission on Monday recommended final approval for LVHN’s revised land development plan for the sprawling property, which will include three buildings totaling 187,000 square feet in the first phase: an 87,000-square-foot hospital with 18 beds, a 37,000-squarefoot cancer institute and a 63,000-square-foot, two-story medical office building.
LVHN will go before the Lower Nazareth supervisors seeking final approval on Sept. 25.
By then the question of whether LVHN will need to include sidewalks along the loop road connecting Newburg Road to Hecktown Road may be answered.
Sidewalks may be needed to accommodate future expansion, and grading has already been done to install them, said Jim Rothdeutsch, director of engineering service for The Pidcock Co.
“Right now the hospital doesn’t see the need for that sidewalk,” he said.
Planning and Zoning Administrator Lori Seese said she wasn’t sure if providing sidewalks along the interior road, which will be private and not dedicated to the township, is required by the township’s ordinance.
“We need to determine whether it’s required on an internal road,” she said.
Planning Commission Secretary Tara Capecci said she believes they should be included.
“I think that it’s an important thing that should be part of the property,” she said.
Chairperson Linda Crook agreed, citing the benefits of safe areas for walking.
“You are a health care facility; you want your people to be healthy,” she said.
Commissioners also agreed with the hospital’s proposal to construct 880 parking spaces in the first phase, exceeding the township’s requirement of 865 spaces.
The health care provider also agreed to the township’s request to relocate a dental care van that was originally intended for placement near the entrance on Hecktown Road to a spot yet to be determined.
“My concern was it makes it more like a free-standing sign,” Seese said of the initial proposal.
They also agreed to comply with the request by Colonial Regional Police Department to provide street names on all internal roads.
LVHN is proposing an expansion of the hospital with a single-story, 42,000-square-foot wing with 30 beds in the second development phase, and a twostory wing spanning 32,000 square feet with 30 additional beds in the third phase.
An expansion of the cancer institute is slated for the fourth phase.
Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.