Residents react, planning proceeding for proposed apartments
A special public meeting Tuesday night drew Lansdale residents to share their thoughts on a proposed apartment building at the site of a historic former church most recently operated as the Third and Walnut bar.
And the design team working on that project has plenty of work left to do, but were glad with the reaction so far.
“What I heard was that the community is very positive, and very receptive to our ideas,” said
Mike Rosen, a principal with green design and development firm BSB Design.
Tuesday night’s public meeting was meant to draw further resident reaction to a concept plan first proposed to the Lansdale Planning Commission last November for a six-story apartment building of roughly 100 units at the corner of Third and Walnut streets. The site currently contains what was once the first church built in Lansdale, which would be demolished and replaced by a brick-and-glass building meant to be one of the greenest in the country.
“We have not really designed this building yet. What we’ve showed the planning commission is a concept, upon which we anticipated getting feedback, and now we’re at the point where we’re collecting feedback from everyone,” Rosen said.
Resident questions focused largely on specifics that haven’t been finalized, because the plans are still in a conceptual phase: “how many units, how many parking spaces — they don’t have those numbers worked out yet,” said Assistant Borough Manager John Ernst.
“They’re doing some investigation, some analysis, market study, to find out what the local market for apartments will demand, and then put all of that information together and come back with a little more detail,” Ernst said.
Parking requirements and needs for the building are still being developed, and Rosen said the shape of the building could still change as plans are finalized — but neighbors worried about shadows on nearby homes shouldn’t worry.
“The shadows are a nonissue, because it really doesn’t cast a shadow on any of the neighbors, and we demonstrated that — we brought shadow diagrams that demonstrate where they impact most, and it’s really on the street” and closer to nearby rail lines, according to Rosen.
One neighbor raised the concern that the view of the surrounding area would change once construction began, and another asked about the potential impact on property values.
“I assured them both that, in my opinion, their prop- erty values are going to increase, not decrease, because of our project,” he said, and the eight- to 12-month construction period could be inconvenient but lead to increased demand for housing in the area.
Preliminary concept plans proposed in November included an underground parking garage, above a cistern meant to capture rainwater for use in the building, and use of direct instead of alternating current throughout the building, with connections to borough networks in case backup systems are needed.
“Talk about green roofs, net zero energy consumption, sustainable design — they’re all wonderful, and we’d all like to be able to do it, but how do you go about accomplishing that?” Ernst said, listing questions to be answered as planning proceeds.
The project could also require a change to the borough’s zoning map, to expand the downtown overlay district currently in place on adjacent parcels. Ernst said that process would require a lengthy review by the planning commission, and ultimately borough council, to discuss and decide if other properties nearby could also benefit from the same zoning change.
“Nobody wants to do this every time a new project comes into the borough, keep expanding and expanding and expanding” the zoning district, he said.
“Maybe we can use a little bit of vision and foresight, to say ‘If we do this, then three or four years down the road, this particular parcel might be attractive.’ Maybe we jump-start that process by changing the zoning here,” Ernst said.
Zoning talks are already on the planning commission’s to-do list with the recent kickoff of an update to the borough comprehensive plan, and Ernst said the two can tie together as local projects inform the big-picture discussion.
“Nobody wants to go into this process with blinders on, but we want to do it smartly. We want to be thinking about the future, not doing things piecemeal, one block at a time,” Ernst said.
Rosen said feedback from Tuesday’s meeting and prior talks by the planning commission will be incorporated into an updated presentation to that body, likely in March or April.
“At that point, we’ll know what we want to do, and then we’ll present what that is,” he said. “My general takeaway from the meeting was that it was in good spirit, and generally well-received.”
Property owner Dr. Ross Ziegler was “pleased” at the feedback from residents.
Former councilman Ray Liberto, who has been mobilizing resident interest via the “Citizens for the Revitalization of Lansdale” Facebook group, said he was glad roughly two dozen residents turned out to see the latest plans.
“It’s neat seeing people’s reactions and seeing people get involved. Hopefully we can keep that going,” Liberto said.
Lansdale Borough Council and its various committees next meet at 7 p.m. on Feb. 3, and the planning commission next meets at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 22, both at the borough municipal building, 1 Vine St.
For more information or meeting agendas and materials visit www.Lansdale. org or follow @LansdalePA on Twitter.