Hellertown Borough Council learned Monday that a proposal by commercial real estate developer Lou Pektor to construct a two-story professional building in the heart of downtown won’t be revisited by the Hellertown planning commission till early next year.
Commercial real estate developer Lou Pektor addresses the Hellertown Planning Commission about his proposal to construct a two-story professional building in downtown Hellertown.
Borough manager Cathy Hartranft said the deadline to submit business items for the commission’s December meeting had already passed, which means the next opportunity for a discussion will be in January.
Council member Joe Pampanin, who also sits on the planning commission, briefed fellow council members about Pektor’s plans. He noted that they were generally well-received.
However, some parking and traffic concerns were discussed, and the amount of window space on the first floor of the proposed building might need to be adjusted to comply with the borough’s Town Center zoning requirements, he said.
Pampanin noted that as it stands, traffic exiting a driveway along the building’s north side would not be able to turn left.
“There was discussion about how much traffic would proceed to flow out onto Front Street [at the planning commission meeting],” he said.
The planning commission’s reaction to the proposal was significantly different from that of many local residents and business owners, some of whom panned the building’s design and location on social media.
“This would be terrible for traffic,” commented Judy Pezzuto on the Saucon Source Facebook page.
Added Lisa Wright, “Parking is a concern and I would like it to look more historic, like the surrounding buildings. Right now it just looks [too] modern and sticks out like a sore thumb. Perhaps [it should have] a stone exterior like the police station.”
And Michael Adams asked if there is “a prize for uninspired architecture?”
Not all the feedback was negative, however.
“[The professional building] would be a lot better then the empty lot that’s there now,” said Kevin Branco. “Not to mention the larger business tax base.”
More than 50 comments on the proposal were logged on a Facebook thread last week.
The office building would be constructed on the site of the former Murray Motors car dealership, across the street from the Hellertown borough complex and next to Dunkin Donuts.
In response to some of the concerns raised at the planning commission’s Nov. 12 meeting–such as an open driveway area along Main Street–Pektor promised that he would return with “with some ideas.”
