Jeweler planning to rehab vacant warehouse
Township business receives permission to expand into unused space
MONTGOMERY TWP. >> A jeweler who’s been located in Montgomery Township for nearly two decades is moving just down the road — one of the busiest roads in the area.
Marks Jewelers, currently located at 921 Bethlehem Pike, is glad to stay in the township and plans to stay for a while, according to owner Jim Brusilovsky.
“I’ve been in the township now for close to 20 years, and have periodically grown my business, and I imagine this is the final resting place of this growth,” Brusilovsky said.
He, attorney Robert Brant and engineer Rolf Graf outlined their
plans to Montgomery’s supervisors on Monday, describing their plans to rehabilitate and modernize a white masonry box-style building at 975 Bethlehem Pike, adjacent to a motel and Impact Thrift Store, into a new home for the jewelry business.
“It’s going to be brought into a more current architectural style. The front of the building will be redone to an atrium-style entrance, with a large glass structure,” Graf said, showing renderings of the planned entrance.
The building is roughly 22,000 square feet, and roughly 15,000 square
feet will be used for retail space, with leaves roughly 7,000 square feet that will be used for interior parking, according to Graf and Brant. Outside the building, roughly a dozen parking spaces that currently surround the building will be converted into about two dozen spots, by turning the driveway into oneway around the building to allow for a more narrow drive aisle.
Montgomery’s supervisors unanimously granted the conditional use request to allow the retail jewelry store use in the industrial zone where it’s located. Board Chairman Michael Fox said he was proud to see an “excellent redevelopment” of an unused building, and thanked Brusilovsky for his support of
various township activities including its 300th anniversary celebrations last year.
The board also authorized and presented annual donations to two local organizations they credited with helping countless township residents. The Visiting Nurses Association Community Services provides nurse-managed health care to those in need, including children who are uninsured and seniors who need care to stay in their homes, according to VNACS Executive Director Richard Cirko.
The North Wales Area Library has over 1,500 members from Montgomery Township — more than 20 percent of the library’s membership — according to Library Director Jayne Blackledge, who described the library’s resources and programs and invited all residents to visit.
Resident Karen Grant was sworn in to serve on the township senior committee through the end of 2015, to congratulations and thanks from the board. The supervisors also approved a request from Director of Fire Services Rick Lesniak to buy new digital radios through a joint purchasing program administered by Montgomery County. The order consists of 32 standard portable radio units and 18 dashboardmounted mobile units, according to Lesniak, and the joint program produces roughly $300 in savings per unit by participating.
Finance Director Shannon Drosnock gave an update on Montgomery’s fi-
nancial picture through the first half of 2015, reporting the township’s general fund balance is roughly 6 percent higher than at the corresponding point in 2014, which she credited to increased tax collection and license and permit fees. She and Director of Planning and Zoning Bruce Shoupe said they’ve noticed a significant increase in commercial activity this June compared to June 2014, and Fox said that could be “a good bell-weather for the economy, people investing in businesses.”
The supervisors also authorized staff to send a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency commenting on a recent ruling from the EPA regarding limits on levels of phosphorous that can be
discharged into the Wissahickon Creek watershed. Township Manager Larry Gregan said the recent limits require an aggregate load reduction of 98 percent, “which our engineers and consultants have basically told us is virtually impossible to achieve.”
“This is an unfunded mandate, and there isn’t an existing funding source to even start to meet these requirements,” said Fox, summarizing his concerns and the contents of the letter.
Montgomery’s supervisors next meet at 8 p.m. on Aug. 10 at the township administration building, 1001 Stump Road. For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.MontgomeryTwp.org or follow @MontTwp on Twitter.