A big mixed-use plan along Route 512 in East Allen Township is waiting on a vote, and the Lehigh Valley building trades will want to know which way it goes.
The East Allen Township Board of Supervisors held a Thursday night conditional use hearing at the municipal building on the project, known as the Villages of East Allen, WFMZ reported on Oct. 8. Supervisors didn't decide that night. They're scheduled to announce a decision on Nov. 12.
What's proposed
The plan for 7111 Bethlehem-Bath Pike, near the intersection with Steuben Road in Northampton County, calls for two commercial buildings, two medical office buildings, a 4,800-square-foot restaurant and a residential area of 10 buildings with 60 townhomes.
The property is in the township's PC-2 Limited Planned Commercial zoning district and is now vacant farmland. The applicant is developer Abe Atiyeh, working through ARA Racquetball LP, which bought the property on Aug. 28, 2015.
Two witnesses testified for the applicant: Kris Reiss, the project's engineer, and Gene Berg, the project's architect.
The townhomes would be three stories and 38 feet tall, with no elevators, and each unit would have a one-car garage. The applicant said the buildings could be designed to cut 3 feet off the height, bringing them down to 35 feet.
The project would be served by public water and sewer. The plans call for curbs and sidewalks for stormwater control and pedestrian safety, and the sidewalks would connect the commercial and residential areas. Site lighting would be no taller than 16 feet above the adjacent grade.
The site is laid out so commercial traffic never passes a home, according to the applicant. All of the commercial uses would sit along Bethlehem-Bath Pike, with the townhomes behind them.
Reiss and Berg told supervisors the project complies with the spirit, purpose, intent and requirements of the zoning ordinance, and with the township's comprehensive plan for the district, which calls for a variety of commercial and business uses.
What neighbors said
Not everyone at the hearing was sold. During public comment, residents said they worried the project would make an already difficult traffic situation worse. Some said three-story townhomes wouldn't work well for older residents, and others said the development wasn't family friendly.
Those are familiar arguments around the Lehigh Valley, where farmland along busy state roads keeps getting proposed for housing and commercial development. Route 512 carries a lot of traffic between Bethlehem and Bath, and any project that adds homes, a restaurant and medical offices is going to add cars.
A conditional use hearing is different from a simple permit. The applicant has to show the project meets specific standards in the zoning ordinance, and supervisors can approve it, deny it or approve it with conditions. Even with a yes, there's more to come, including land development plans and engineering review, before anything gets built.
The WFMZ report doesn't name a builder or give a project cost or construction schedule.
Putting housing and commercial uses together on one site is a common approach for developers trying to make larger parcels work. The commercial frontage along a busy road brings in tenants and traffic, while the homes behind it use the deeper part of the land.
The townhome part of the plan is also worth watching for what it says about the market. Three-story townhomes with garages pack more homes onto a site than single-family lots do, and they've become a staple in Lehigh Valley suburbs as builders try to hit price points that buyers can afford.
Why it matters for Contractors
If East Allen approves the Villages of East Allen on Nov. 12, it opens up a mix of work on one site: 10 townhome buildings with 60 units, two medical office buildings, two commercial buildings and a restaurant. That's work for site contractors on grading, stormwater, water and sewer, curbs and sidewalks, then a long run for residential framing, roofing, siding, MEP and finish trades, plus commercial and medical fit-out down the road. No builder has been named, and land development review would still follow a conditional use approval, so this is a project to watch rather than bid today. Mark Nov. 12 on your calendar, and keep an eye on East Allen's land development agenda after that.