Palmer May Get High-Density Apartment Complex

After a couple of years of being “on the back burner,” plans for a high-density residential development off Van Buren Road have resurfaced. The Palmer Township Planning Commission heard about the newest plans Tuesday night.

The development, named "Madison at Palmer View," would consist of two sections of apartment buildings with a total of 306 dwelling units, said William Rearden, an engineer for Bohler Engineering in Chalfont (Bucks County). Each section would have its own community center.

Cynthia Carman, the planning director for Palmer Township, said the last time the plans were before the Planning Commission was in 2010. At that time, Mandy Partners, which owns the land between Van Buren Road and backside of Wal-Mart on Route 248, was looking to develop it. Mandy still owns the land, but BPG Development Co. LP in Newtown Square (Delaware County) has stepped in to develop it, she said.

According to a map, the access road to Applebee’s and Wal-Mart is named Corriere Drive. The residential development would extend Corriere Drive to Van Buren Road, said Rearden on behalf of BPG. Over Schoeneck Creek and up the hill on Van Buren, a similarly named roadway, Corriere Road, intersects on the right side.

The west side, closest to Wal-Mart, will consist of nine buildings and 184 units, Rearden said. The buildings will be two- and three-stories tall. The east side, which is closest to Van Buren Road, will consist of three buildings with 122 units. These buildings would be four-stories high with a parking level partially below ground, he said.

All of the units will consist of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

John Forde, the vice president of BPG, told the planning commissioners that the apartments on the west side would be designed to attract young professional people. The smaller development on the east side would attract more people in the over-55 group, he said.

“Given the economy, the topography, and the flood plan, we’ve reduced the impervious area by three to four acres,” Rearden said.

Rearden said the apartment complex plan originally had more buildings, but BPG has reduced that number and created more water drainage areas, such as rain gardens along the outside edge of the development. Given the limestone-rich soil in the Lehigh Valley and possibility of sinkholes, the new design draws water away from the dwellings and the yards.

In another unique design idea, the height of the buildings will not look dramatically different. Because the taller buildings would be at a lower level on the hill, the difference in floors will not change the skyline greatly, he explained, using an architectural rendering.

BPG came to the planning commission under old business following up on four requests by Palmerview Acquisitions LP -- created by BPG to handle the Palmer View project. The requests are:

1. an amendment to the zoning map changing the zoning from planned industrial/commercial to high-density residential;
2. an amendment to the zoning ordinance changing the property from traditional village to high-density residential districts;
3. a conditional use application;
4. a vote on the revised preliminary/final plan.

Palmer Township solicitor Charles Bruno recommended that the planning commission table a vote on all of the matters because of the preliminary nature of the plans. It did.