Developer Lou Pektor presented a modified version of a proposal for a two-story, 11,400 square-foot office building to the Hellertown Planning Commission Tuesday, and planners liked it enough to forward it to borough council for preliminary review.
A redesigned artist’s rendering of a proposed downtown professional building was presented by developer Lou Pektor at the Jan. 13, 2015 Hellertown Planning Commission meeting.
Planning commission members did so, however, with the stipulation that Pektor pay for a traffic study in the area of the proposed building, which would be constructed across the street from Hellertown Borough Hall, on the site of the former Murray Motors car dealership.
Traffic concerns in the area are well-known and documented, and are often voiced by residents in comments on local blogs, planner Kim LaBrake pointed out.
Some of those concerns were voiced on Saucon Source and the Saucon Source Facebook page after Pektor presented his first plan to the HPC in November.
The traffic count on Main Street in the area of the building is estimated to be more than 20,000 vehicles per day, and the property’s proximity to the traffic light at Main and Water streets can make getting in and out of its driveway onto Main Street problematic.
“When there’s a red light (traffic) is stacked all the way past Dunkin (Donuts),” LaBrake said. “Unless somebody’s being nice and lets them out, it’s a lot to get out there.”
Borough engineer Bryan Smith said a traffic study will put up “red flags” if it determines that the additional traffic generated by the new building would be too much for surrounding streets and intersections to handle.
Plans for a two-story professional building in downtown Hellertown are discussed at the Jan. 13, 2015 borough planning commission meeting.
Pektor and his engineer were dubious of the potential benefit of a study, but acquiesced after planners acknowledged that his current plan is probably as good as it’s going to get, in terms of how it deals with traffic and parking.
The revised plan will maintain the current traffic pattern for the property, with a one-way entrance from Main Street and a right-turn only exit onto Main Street, as well as an exit via Harwi Street at the back of the property.
Everyone agreed that there are no other options for egress on the property, which is bordered by Roma Pizza to the south and Dunkin Donuts to the north.
Pektor said the building would have 57 off-street parking spaces, and he has an agreement to potentially lease a 20-space overflow lot from National Penn Bank, which is located on the other side of Main Street.
He added that the number of parking spaces needed will depend on what type of tenants ultimately occupy the building. If it becomes a medical office building, for example, more spaces will be necessary to accommodate visitors throughout the day.
Pektor’s engineer, John Tressler of Boucher & James, told the planning commission that the building plan has gotten the support of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commisssion.
Stormwater management in the area will benefit from a reduction in the amount of impervious surface on the property from 100 percent ot 85 percent, he pointed out.
In addition to the revised traffic pattern, additional landscaping was one of the changes to the plan that was presented Tuesday. Another was the addition of a second floor cornice that draws inspiration from the facade of the neighboring Roma Pizza building.
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