What's New?
July 21, 2008
edition |
- The Borough's summer paving project is underway. On
Monday, July 21, they started milling down the street at the
corner of W. Market and S. Brandywine Streets in preparation for
repaving it. By the time they are done, that rain water will no
longer collect there after each storm.
Milling machine used to remove low spots on S. Brandywine where
rain water collects
- The "West End Neighborhood Association" held its second
meeting for July 14. They were joined by Dan Price, the director
of the Borough's Elm Street profect (state-funded neighborhood
revitalization program) who shared some of the experience of the
East End Neighborhood Association. They were also joined by one
of the owners of the Thai restaurant proposed for the Rex's bar
building, who explained where they are in the conversion process.
The group also discussed some other ideas including block
cleanups and a newsletter. Finally, everyone thanked resident
Ben Aller for volunteering to relay brick in the sidewalk on W.
Gay Street in front of a house belonging to an elderly neighbor.
If you are interested in learning more about the group, send
an email with your name, address, and phone/email)
to get on the list.
Paul Fitzpatrick donated the bricks and Ben Aller provided the
labor to dix this sidewalk
- The status of Rex's Bar: The PA Liquor Control
Board will announce its decision on the liquor license transfer
application (from W. Gay St. to E. Market St.) on Wednesday, July
23. Meanwhile, the owners of the proposed Thai Restaurant have
started sprucing up the exterior and applying to the County
Health Department for the required permits.
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| Ward 6 Issues
Before Borough Government |
Unless otherwise indicated, these items appear on Borough
government meeting agendas. The public is invited (and
encouraged) to attend all meetings of Borough Council, boards and
commissions.
- On Tuesday, July 22, the Planning Commission will take
their third look at a proposal to divide the property at 500 W.
Gay Street (on the southwest corner of Gay and Brandywine
Streets) into three parts so that the applicant can build two
semi-detached houses on new lots facing N. Brandywine Street.
- At its July 22 work session and the following week at
its July 29 regular voting session, the Planning Commission will
discuss the request to rezone the former Bishop Sganajan High
School lot to allow up to sixty homes on the site. The
developers (McCool LLC) held a meeting for neighbors at the West
End Entertainment Complex on Tuesday, July 15, to show plans and
answer questions. About 18 people attended including Jim Jones.
View the Planning Commission
agenda.]
- At the July 15th work session, Council voted to allow
the owner of Primo Hoagies at 39 W. Gay Street to hang an
advertising sign on the front of his building. Council also
voted to authorize the Friends of Everhart Park "to
replace and expand the paved area around the Children s Summer
House Building in Everhart Park with pervious paving at no cost
to the Borough," and to grant requests for handicap parking
spaces at 14 N. New Street and 118 N. New Street.
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Contributions
welcome!
If you have something you want to share with
your neighbors in Ward 6, use this link to
email it to WCJIM. As long as it is not libelous, profane,
blatantly commercial (i.e. no business advertising) or illegal,
he'll find a place to post it on this page.
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On-Going Issues
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Town homes at 103 N. Everhart St.
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Current Status: McCool Properties
LLC has purchased the 3.1 acre site bounded by W. Gay, N.
Everhart and N. Brandywine Streets that, until recently, was home
to the Collegium Charter School. For many years before that
(since 1957), it was Bishop Shanahan High School, and before that
the site was used as a ball field by the Knights of Columbus.
The property is zoned NC-1, Block Class A; the current
educational use is a non-conforming use. The McCools want to
demolish the existing 62,000 sq. ft. structure and build
housing on the site.
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| Current Status:
The applicant has aoolued to change the property's zoning from
Block Class A to Block Class B which, if approved, it will allow
them to place approcimately 60 houses on the property, instead of
the 37 permitted under the current zoning. At their June 24
meeting, the Planning Commission examined the project and asked
the developers to consider som changes and to come back with more
information.
What's Next? The applicants will
most likely return to the Planning Commisison twice in July -- at
the July 22 work session and the July 29 regular session. Once
the Commission makes it recommendation, then Borough Council will
have to approve any zoning change. Then the developers can
devise a preliminary land development plan and present it to the
Planning Commission for another recommendation. That will go to
Borough Council for approval, and then the developers will go
through the process once more with their final development plan.
Depending on what they propose for the property, may need to go
before the Zoning Hearing Board, but they are not likely to need
to present plans to the Historical and Architectural Review
Board, since the site is outside of the HARB district.
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Office Building at 313 W. Market St.:
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Current Status: At its
Wednesday, May 21, 2008 meeting, Council approved the conditional
use application to build a six story building with two floors of
one-site parking. One parking entrance will be on Harmony Alley
(north of the property) and the other on Market Street (south of
the property). Council's approval comes with a long list of
conditions about parking management, exterier design, and other
features that have an impact on the surrounding neighbors.
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[More information]
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What's Next?
The developer may decide to challenge any of the conditions of
approval. If that occurs, then lawyers for the developer and the
Borough will meet and try to reach an agreement.
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Hotel for 118-134 N. High St.:
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Current Status: On March 20,
developer Brian McFadden received final approval to build an
86-foot tall, seven-story building containing a 90-room hotel on
the parking lot behind the former Warner Theater at 118-134 N.
High Street. The hotel will have loading zones on High Street
and Prescot Alley, retail space on the first floor along High
Street, and satisfy a number of other conditions related to the
design of the building and its impact on the surrounding
neighborhood. On June 9, the Zoning Hearing Board ruled that the
applicant must provide a 12' building stepback along the Chestnut
Street side (the zoning code requires 15'; the applicant
asked for 0').
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Get more information at the developer's web site or an
earlier WCJIM article.
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What's Next? On March 19, the
applicant appealed three of the conditions to the Court of Common
Pleas (case #08-02883) and offered to neogtiate a setlement with
the Borough. Lawyers will try to reach an agreement for Borough
Council to approve.
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Townhouses at 420 West Market Street:
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Current Status: Last fall, Tony
Stancato and Victor Abdala (Market Street
Ventures) applied for approval to build twelve three-story
townhouses on the lot containing the old blueprint shop and
adjacent building. Six will face W. Market Street and the other
six will face Wollerton Alley. The project received final land
development approval with conditions on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.
Council also accepted a donation from the developer, Market
Street Ventures LLC, towards the cost of fixing the stormwater
drainage problem at the intersection of W. Market and S.
Brandywine Street. The work should be completed this summer.
What's Next? Construction can
begin.
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The two
existing buildings at 420 W. Market Street 
[More information]
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