CVS Apartments Plan Recommended To Hatboro Council

HATBORO, PA —The first development proposed under the borough's new Town Center Ordinance has received a recommendation to go before the Borough Council.

After a nearly three-hour meeting Tuesday night, the Hatboro Planning Commission unanimously approved a recommendation for conditional use, land development, and waiver agreements to develop the dormant CVS property on South York Road.

Borough Manager Diane Hegele said the proposal for a four-story building with 36 "high-end, professional" apartments and retail space on the first floor will go before Borough Council at its Nov. 27 meeting.

In an August presentation, developers 24-28 South York Road Associates, LP, presented the plans but got pushback from residents regarding parking, lighting, landscaping, electric vehicle charging stations, and a façade that one resident had called "cold and angry."

Developers Tuesday presented revised plans to address residents' concerns.

They gave the commission the option of a plan with and without six electric vehicle charging stations in an effort to prevent the loss of parking spaces for residents and shoppers in the downtown district.

The commission opted to go without the electric vehicle stations since some residents had previously stated that electric vehicles are somewhat frowned upon in Hatboro.

Borough Planner John Kennedy also broke down the parking spaces that would be available for tenants and for the borough and said that the review met the ordinance requirements.

Architect Vincent Mancini also showed off a 3-D rendering of the apartment building.

"We've toned the building down with a mute color scheme," he said. "The building is much calmer and less modernistic in the front façade."

He said a different color of brick was used in the revised plan and that the windows of the apartment building are more classical in style.

Residents said they appreciated the revisions.

"This will be the best-looking building in the borough," one resident said.

Planning Commission Chairman Kris McMenamin said the recommendation sets forward a plan to fill space that has been vacant for 15 years.

"I think all of us are happy that something else is going in there," he said at the conclusion of the meeting attended by about 25 residents.

The CVS property was the first to be considered under the borough's mixed-use Town Center Ordinance.

In late January, the Hatboro Borough Council approved a mixed-use ordinance for a section of York Road after a public hearing of 50 people.

The ordinance allows developers to make proposals that could see building heights go to 60 feet provided they meet certain guidelines, meaning that the downtown district could have taller buildings and apartments.

The option allows for buildings along York Road —from Byberry Road to Montgomery Avenue —to be taller than the current 35 feet allowed.

All plans need final approval by the Hatboro Borough Council.