Newtown Borough Planners To Consider Revised Steeple View Plans

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Revised plans for the Steeple View redevelopment project are scheduled to go before the Newtown Borough Planning Commission during tonight's meeting.

Parking and traffic are expected to dominate the discussion as the commission reviews updated plans for the largest redevelopment project in recent borough history.

The hybrid meeting will be held in person and via Zoom. It is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. at the Newtown Borough Hall at 23 North State Street.

The project has some weighty issues to overcome to secure approval from the borough, including resolving a parking deficit, addressing traffic impact and flows in and around the site, reconstruction of a barn and its ultimate use, and the timely construction of a proposed pedestrian bridge over Newtown Creek.

Since the planning commission last met to review the project, the developer's professionals have completed traffic, gap, and parking studies, which are expected to be part of the review. The developer will also be seeking conditional use approval to allow it to count parking spaces at the Stocking Works in its calculations for the Steeple View project.

The most recent plan proposes to redevelop a nearly nine-acre swath of land stretching from Centre Avenue to the former Stockburger property located off of South State Street with a mixed-use development project that will include the creation of a public walkway along the Newtown Creek and a public piazza for community gatherings.

The project proposes the demolition of the former Wine and Spirits store off of Centre Avenue and the construction of seven new multi-story buildings, four of which would be residential and three mixed-use (restaurant, retail and residential).

Two of the new mixed-use buildings would be built at the entrance to the Steeple View development off Centre Avenue. One would be located directly behind the Starbucks building. The other would be set back off of Centre Avenue framing a proposed public piazza area. Both would include residential apartments on the upper floors and either retail or restaurant uses at street level.

A third mixed-use retail/residential building would be constructed just to the south of the existing Wine & Spirits store forming the southern entrance to the development project.

The four new residential buildings are proposed for the southern end of the project behind the Wine & Spirits store.

In May, the borough council granted the developer an extension until Oct. 31 to secure final development approval for the project.