Steeple View Project Clears Parking Hurdle In Newtown Borough

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — Plans for the Steeple View mixed-use redevelopment project cleared a major parking hurdle Wednesday night.

In a 5 to 1 vote with Bob Szwajkos voting no, the council approved a conditional use application that will allow the developer to meet its parking obligation through a shared parking arrangement between Steeple View and the nearby Stocking Works office park.

“The applicant has met its burden and they are entitled to a shared parking arrangement. That is what council is approving tonight,” said borough solicitor Mike Clark.

As part of its approval, the council attached 16 conditions that were announced by Clark and agreed to by the developer.

Among them is a condition that requires the developer to initially construct nine parking spaces at the proposed location of building one, a mixed-use retail and residential building proposed to be
built next to the Wine and Spirits store on South State Street.

Another condition requires that 90 percent of the proposed leasable floor area in the nonresidential spaces are occupied and 80 percent of the residential units are occupied before the developer can secure a permit for building one. The developer will also be required to submit a parking study with its application.

This shows the existing Wine and Spirits store, left, and the future site of building one (green space stretching east toward South State Street). (Photo by Jeff Werner)

Phase one of the Steeple View redevelopment project included the construction of the Wine and Spirits store on South State Street. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

Other conditions require the developer to upgrade, where needed, sidewalks and crosswalks to ADA standards on South State Street between Steeple View and the Stocking Works; provide a plan and details showing how reserved parking areas at the Stocking Works can be constructed including grading and retaining walls where necessary; and confirmation of 244 parking spaces at Stocking Works, including the proposed 23 reserved spaces.

The council also included conditions that a gate be installed at the entrance to the parking area reserved for residential parking; that the developer continue to hold in reserve 23 parking spaces at the Stocking Works until requested by the council; and install signage informing the public that additional parking is available at Steeple View.

Further conditions require that the development not result in traffic congestion and traffic safety problems and that the project not be detrimental to property in the immediate vicinity.

With the approval of the conditional use, the next step for developer Allan Smith will be to secure land development approval from the borough for the second and final phase of the project.

“I don’t really understand the opposition,” Smith said after the meeting. “I’m happy to reduce the number of units if the borough wants to pick up the cost of the public improvements. It’s not magic.”

Smith has said all along that to pay for the ambitious public improvements that are part of his plan, including a walkway along the creek, a pedestrian bridge over the creek, and a public piazza, he’ll need so many residential units to make the math work.

The problem, said planning commission chairman Mark Craig at the last council meeting, is that without a parking garage, which was part of the original plan, not enough on-site parking is being provided on-site to make it work.

“As a planning commission, we were unanimous in recommending against the conditional use application but we’re positive on Steeple View,” said Craig. “We’ve always been positive on Steeple View. We have always been positive about Steeple View because it can be a great contributing element to our community,” he said.

The planning commission, he said, is concerned with on-site parking. “And that’s something we don’t have an awful lot of in this development. In a nutshell, that’s the issue,” he said.

Smith is planning to redevelop about nine acres of land with seven new buildings - four residential and three with a mix of residential, retail and restaurant uses.

The project site extends from Centre Avenue to the former Stockburger property on South State Street and includes the former site of the Wine and Spirits store which is slated for demolition.

The former Wine and Spirits store at 10 Centre Avenue. (Photo by Jeff Werner)

The project also includes a number of public amenities including the construction of a walkway along Newtown Creek; a pedestrian bridge linking the new walkway to Carl Sedia Park in
neighboring Newtown Township, and a public piazza just off of Center Avenue.

During public comment, former planning commission member Terry Kiely questioned the need for so many conditions and asked why the borough can’t just require the developer to meet the parking requirements.

Another resident told the council that Barclay Court also has an arrangement to use the Stocking Works parking lot. “How many times are we going to keep promising people they can use these parking spaces? This is going to impact this entire town and it won’t be impacting it in a positive way.”