Developer to Present Plans for Hotel Adjacent to Elementary School

Update:

Plymouth Township Council will likely hear a proposal from developer Prime Hotels, Inc. to build a three or four story hotel adjacent to Ridge Park Elementary School on Monday night, Patch has learned.

The nearly eight-acre property, owned by Preferred Unlimited, Inc. and located at 2005 Chemical Road in Plymouth Meeting, is framed by that roadway, the elementary school and the neighborhood of Plymouth Park.

A proposal was originally presented last December, but the application was denied by the Zoning Hearing Board and failed to receive a recommendation from the township Planning Agency. As reported by the Colonial News, Prime Hotels filed a legal suit against the township in February, claiming that the proposal meets the necessary requirements to be granted a variance.

The Montgomery Court of Common Pleas has yet to hear the case.

According to township minutes, Prime Hotels' attorney Craig Robert Lewis spoke at the Planning Agency's December meeting and stated that his client was seeking to construct a four-story, 82-room hotel on the property. Lewis stated at the meeting that previously denied proposals for the lot included a fast food restaurant and office building, and that he believed a hotel would be less burdensome.

However, the minutes show that several Planning Agency members and residents did not share in that opinion.

Resident Rudolph DeGeorge, of Main Avenue, stated that he believed a hotel would cause an intrusion into the school and surrounding neighborhoods. Planning Agency members also raised concerns over traffic, engineering plans and the impact to nearby neighborhoods.

Ultimately, the Planning Agency voted 3-3 on the proposal, short of the majority necessary to recommend it to Plymouth Council.

According to individuals familiar with the matter, Prime Hotels will bring the proposal before the township at Plymouth Council's workshop session on Monday, Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. It is unknown whether or not the plans have been altered since December.

The property is currently split-zoned for limited industrial and residential use and has limited frontage from Chemical Road, meaning the developer would require a variance to construct the hotel.

Any residents wishing to learn more about the proposal can attend Monday night's meeting, held at the Plymouth Township building, or check back with Patch for updates.