Steeple View Project Granted Extension Of Time In Newtown Borough

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — The Newtown Borough Council has granted developer Allen
Smith a two month extension to secure preliminary as final plan approval for his Steeple View redevelopment project.

The extension, which was due to expire in March, has been extended until the end of May at the recommendation of the borough's professionals who met with the developer's attorney and engineer to work out a timetable for project approval.

The project still has some weighty issues to overcome on its way to securing final approval from the borough, including resolving a parking deficit, addressing traffic flow, the reconstruction of a barn and its use and the timely construction of a pedestrian bridge over the Newtown Creek.

While the majority of council voted in favor of the extension, Councilor Bob Szwajkos cast the lone vote against the motion arguing the borough and its residents are not receiving the proper consideration from the original 2014 plan when the developer promised a substantial piazza, reconstruction of a barn for community use and a footbridge.

“My take back from that (January planning commission) meeting was the developer wanted to use the piazza for outdoor dining, wanted to use the lower level of the reconstructed barn as parking for tenants and did not want to build the bridge. So in exchange for two valuable parcels which we conveyed, the borough is not receiving the consideration that was agreed to in 2014,” he said.

Land development attorney Tim Duffy, who represents the developer, said the borough is receiving exactly what it was promised in the 2014 land swap with the plan.

He said the piazza is exactly how it was proposed under the land acquisition agreement, noting that agreement provides that a certain portion of the piazza was to be allocated for use as outdoor dining. “It’s something that the council agreed to. All the terms and conditions of that agreement we remain in compliance with,” he said.

The plan includes the construction of a new mixed use building on this site behind the Starbucks. It would house retail on the first floor and condominiums on the upper two floors. (photo by Jeff Werner)

Szwajkos quipped, “This project started in 2009. Maybe we should have given you a 20 month extension. Asking for two months is wasting our time. Why don’t you ask for six months to get this stuff done.”

Duffy said the traffic study is expected to be completed by the end of this month and ready for borough planners to review at its April meeting. That meeting is expected to be key in determining the future of the redevelopment project.

“Considering the safety and traffic issues we have, this study is very important to the real impact it’s going to have not only within the site area but on the exterior,” said Szwajkos. “Putting 260 to 300 cars through that area with the entrance on Centre Avenue and at the liquor store is really problematic. Where the cars are going to go when they come out of the development is also problematic.”

The developer is seeking approval for a revised final plan for the largest redevelopment project in recent borough history.

The redevelopment site looking north toward Centre Avenue and The First National Bank. (photo by Jeff Werner)

The plan, which Patch has been reporting on since the project was first unveiled, proposes seven new multi-story buildings (four residential and three mixed use residential, restaurant and retail uses) on nearly nine acres of land along with a public piazza on Centre Avenue and a public greenway along the Newtown Creek.

The project site extends from Centre Avenue south to the former Stockburger property off of South State Street and behind the new Wine and Spirits store, which was phase one of the project.

Plans call for a one way internal roadway from Centre Avenue to a new Center Plaza traffic circle behind the Wine and Spirits store that would direct traffic back onto South State Street or to four new residential condominium buildings planned for the southern end of the site.

At the northern end of the site, a public piazza, or town square, would be framed by two new three story mixed use buildings - one with retail on the first floor and residential units above behind the Starbucks and the second overlooking the piazza with a restaurant use on the first floor and living units above.

While the plan calls for a less intense project than what was approved in 2016, with the elimination of a proposed parking garage the revised plan comes up short on parking by 156 spaces, according to the borough’s engineer who led a review of the plan earlier this year

Duffy said the parking deficit could be accommodated off site at Smith’s nearby Stocking Works complex on South State Street. In addition, they would need to use the 2.8 acres of proposed green space at the heart of the project site for parking.

The green space had originally been designated for surface parking in Smith’s revised plan presented last spring, but was changed to green space to break up the asphalt at the suggestion of the late Council President Susan Turner. The green space was added with the idea that if parking was needed it could be converted.

The roadway just to the south of the Wine And Spirits store would serve as the main entrance and exit to the redevelopment project. The project gets its name from the steeple of Olde Saint Andrew Church, which can be seen in the background. (photo by Jeff Werner)

Planning commission chair Mark Craig told Patch that it will be incumbent upon the developer to provide parking calculations and to show how they intend to accommodate what’s required under the ordinances.

“The community is generally in favor of this, but they don’t know the significant issue that we’re facing here with parking,” said Craig. Traffic flow is another another key concern.

“The three big things we want to look at is the impact on parking, the traffic impact study that will help us understand how the traffic flows and the actual calculation of what parking is available both on site and off site,” said Craig.

Another issue that will need to be addressed is the developer’s request to defer a proposed footbridge connecting Newtown Borough to Newtown Township at Carl Sedia Park to the end of the project timeline.

“We have no problem putting a bridge in,” said Duffy. “It’s an issue of timing.

“We just can’t plop a bridge down that goes into someone else’s jurisdiction. It’s something we have to get the township on board with. They may want to build a trail to where the bridge comes over,” he said. “There’s a lot that’s going to have to take place and we want to focus on getting the Newtown every Borough things finished.

There is also the issue of cost, said Duffy, who argued that the revenue wouldn’t start flowing in a positive direction on the project until it has certificates of occupancy for all the residential units secured.

The planners sought a compromise, asking if the developer would be willing to “get the ball rolling” on the bridge project by moving forward with the permit and engineering process after securing occupancy permits on half of the proposed 88 residential units.

“We want to make sure we are moving in the direction of that bridge,” said commission chair Mark Craig.

Looking toward South State Street, the Wine and Spirits store is at the left. The road would become the main entrance to the redevelopment project. And a new mixed use building would be built in he green space fronting on South State Street. (photo by Jeff Werner)

Also to be worked out is the future use of a reconstructed barn that the developer deconstructed more than a decade ago with the promise of integrating it into the new development as a public use.

The developer has proposed rebuilding the structure at the surface parking lot for used as a covered parking barn for up to eight vehicles.

Several planners, noting that the barn was to be preserved with the idea of using it as a public space, suggested the developer look into utilizing the loft area for a public use.

Once it secured land development approvals, the Steeple View project would be done in segments beginning with the demolition of the former wine and spirits store, the former Stockburger garages and the relocation of utilities.

Work would then begin on the public piazza and the greenway followed by construction of the two proposed mixed use retail and residential buildings off of Centre Avenue.

The final segment would include construction of a new mixed use retail and residential building next to the Fine Wine and Good Spirits store and the four condominium buildings on the south end of the site.