Barn Plaza Redevelopment Plan Clears Zoning Hurdle In Doylestown Twp.

DOYLESTOWN TOWNSHIP, PA — The Doylestown Township Zoning Hearing Board voted unanimously on Thursday night to grant variance relief to the Brixmor Property Group for a major upgrade to the Barn Plaza Shopping Center on Route 611.

In granting the variances, the zoning board added several conditions:

• Brixmor agrees to consolidate the shopping center site into one tax parcel.
• The updated shopping center is constructed with a single architectural style approved by the board of supervisors.
• And that stormwater management controls be implemented - at a minimum - to address a slight increase in impervious surface coverage from 72.3 to 73.9 percent.

The next step for Brixmor is to submit land development plans to the township where it will work out issues with stormwater management controls, traffic circulation (interior and exterior), lighting, landscaping, and other issues with the project.

In its request for relief, Brixmor had asked for variance relief to demolish the former Applebee's restaurant and the shuttered 48,000-square-foot Regal Cinema and to build four new multi-tenant buildings in their place that will house restaurant, retail, and medical office uses.

Regal closed its Barn Plaza cinema in early 2023 after the nationwide movie theater chain declared bankruptcy and began shutting down theaters nationwide. At about the same time the plaza lost its stand-alone Applebee’s restaurant, which suddenly closed in May.

Brixmor plans to replace the former 5,000-square-foot Applebee’s with a three-unit multi-tenant building, including a retail store and two restaurants. The proposed new building would be slightly larger than the existing structure.

A conceptual rendering of the facade upgrade.

At the former Regal site, three new one-story buildings are envisioned - 7,600 square feet of medical office space, 24,000 square feet of retail space, and 9,000 square feet of restaurant space.

During a hearing before the zoning board in January, civil engineer Brian Conlon testified that Brixmor's plan would reduce the overall square footage of the shopping center by about 556 square feet, add a new right-in and right-out entrance and exit at Route 611 at the northern end of the shopping center, and reduce the shopping center's encroachment into the front and rear yard setbacks.

"When we demolish the theater and build the new buildings we will be increasing those setbacks. We will still be seeking relief but we will be making the existing non-conformities a better condition than it is today," Conlon told the zoning board.

Brixmor also sought a variance for impervious surface coverage. The ordinance requires 73.1 percent. Brixmor asked for a slight increase to 73.9 percent.

"We think we might comply with 73.1. We're just asking for that slight increase for flexibility as we go through the land development process," said Conlon.

Conlon had testified that back in 1998 the Barn Plaza had been previously approved for a higher percentage - 75.77 percent. What was actually built was 72.8 percent, said Conlon.

Brixmor also sought variances for parking space stalls, drive-through stacking lanes, and for signage.

"The majority of the dimensional requirements that we're seeking are better than what's out there today," Conlon testified. "There is less encroachment of the setbacks. With our redevelopment, it's a similar square footage. We're actually decreasing the square footage of the site.

"We're improving upon the non-conformities," Conlon added. "We're asking for a slight increase in imperious but any stormwater management will accommodate any increase in imperious. The parking spaces we believe are de minimis as well. I don't believe there are any adverse impacts of what we're proposing," he said.

The redevelopment is part of a broader multi-million-dollar project that also includes a major facade of the shopping center and the construction of a new Whole Foods Store and Barnes and Noble at the former site of Marshall's and Home Goods.

The Barn Plaza is also home to a Kohl’s Department, Gerhard’s Appliances, Douglas Jewelers, Piccolo Trattoria, Pure Barre, Mattress Firm, and Club Pilates.