Talks continued last Thursday between St. Luke’s University Health Network officials and the Lower Saucon Township Planning Commission regarding plans for a medical office building across from the Creekside Marketplace (Giant) shopping center on Leithsville Road, south of Hellertown.
The proposal is to construct the facility on several consolidated lots on Leithsville and Mount Pleasant roads, one of which is a five-acre property known to longtime area residents as the “buffalo farm.” That property was sold to a development company called Buffalo Plaza LLC in 2023 and sold to St. Luke’s earlier this year, according to Northampton County tax assessment records.
Scott Pasterski, a project manager with Keystone Consulting Engineers, said the current plan for a three-story, 30,000-square-foot building is essentially the same as one presented to the township planning commission earlier this year.
“This is the first time we’ve been before you with a preliminary final plan. We’re not anticipating any action tonight on either the plan itself or the waivers, but we really covet your feedback, so we know how to proceed. That’s our goal, and we’d be happy to walk out of here with that,” he told the commission.
Mary Jane McKeever, St. Luke’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Real Estate, said the project will give St. Luke’s an opportunity to provide greater access to care in the Saucon Valley area.
“We definitely know we want to move the family practice that’s in Hellertown on Front Street into this building,” she said. “They also have a lab there, and it’s very busy. We are, right now, evaluating some other programming that would go into this building. It’s not finalized, as we’re a couple of years out.”
According to the engineer, the site plan includes 150 parking spaces, 30 of which would be covered and located under the building.
“(It will be of a) similar design to the (St. Luke’s) building on Macarthur Road and Schadt Avenue in Whitehall,” Pasterski said. “The building is basically on stilts, with no offices on the ground floor. The way the ordinance reads, parking will support a certain amount of doctors and staff. We’ve basically maxed out what we can build in parking to support the largest number of doctors and staff.”
Other topics that were touched upon included sidewalks, curbs, stormwater management and the evolution of an intersection where multiple roads meet near the busy shopping center. The main entrance for the building, according to the plans, will be opposite the shopping center entrance. Traffic studies required by township ordinance will be completed as part of the planning process.
No formal requests were made by St. Luke’s officials on Thursday, as the meeting was mostly used as an open-ended discussion for each side to get some insight and feedback on where things stand. The conversation regarding the project was officially tabled at the end of the meeting.
“It should be clear that what we’re doing is tabling today’s discussion. The applicant has already indicated they will provide us with an extension of time, and we’ll coordinate next time they come back,” noted Shorav Kaushik, planning commission member.
For additional information about the plans, residents can refer to documentation and site plans included with Thursday’s planning commission meeting agenda.
The next Lower Saucon Township Planning Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 19 at 7 p.m. Follow the township’s Facebook page for information and updates.
A detail from a sketch plan for the proposed St. Luke’s medical office building on Leithsville Road shows where the building and parking would be located relative to the nearby roadway. (Credit: Lower Saucon Township)
A satellite view shows where the new St. Luke’s University Health Network building would be located in relation to the Creekside Marketplace shopping center on Rt. 412 (Leithsville Road) in Lower Saucon Township. (Credit: Lower Saucon Township)