- Al-Maqasid's expansion will be considered by the Lower Macungie Township Planning Commission
- Plans show a two-campus, nine-building complex that will host seminary training, K-12 education, religious services and recreation facilities
- Applicants noted that a completed campus may cost $100 million and take years to raise the money and build
LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. — An Islamic seminary and educational center is seeking a massive expansion in a multi-phase plan that would take years to complete.
Al-Maqasid, an Islamic religious learning center at 7386 Alburtis Road near Alburtis, hopes to expand to two campuses spanning multiple buildings each, including K-12 education, seminary instruction, recreation and religious services.
Al-Maqasid proposes a four-building east campus at three combined parcels at 7368, 7386 and 7394 Alburtis Road, and a five-building west campus at the combined parcels of 7428 Industrial Park Way and 7505 Alburtis Road.
Al Maqasid bought the properties on the east campus from 2016 to 2020 and has an agreement of sale for the west campus property.
The east campus now has four buildings — a barn and three homes — used by the nonprofit for a full-time two-year seminary program and full-time academic program for students in grades six to 12. It also holds religious gatherings, regular prayer sessions, retreats and trips abroad.
The applicants note a "phasing approach" for the site, using temporary trailers for classrooms and housing, as well as other temporary amenities as it grows.
The project was revealed in August and set for various zoning appeals for items such as a temporary parking lot.
The expansion plans are set to come before the township planning commission, which will make a recommendation to the township commissioners. Commissioners will consider final approval as well as any conditions by the township.
Discussions before the planning commission were previously tabled.
East campus to focus on seminary, dormitories
The land at 7368, 7386 and 7394 Alburtis Road will focus on seminary services and dormitories, while also providing outdoor recreation and horticulture spaces in a six-phase outlook, according to the applicants.
They noted that some zoning approvals were already made by the township in early 2020. They included a 400-student religious learning center and seminary for four buildings with a 63,100-square-foot footprint. The buildings would be up to four floors, along with classrooms, dormitories, a gym, prayer room, and an underground parking garage with 153 spaces.
The proposal lists the updated complex as an educational facility, day care and dormitory that includes other ancillary uses.
It calls for a 39,000-square-foot, three-story building that includes classrooms, auditoriums, dormitories, offices, day care facilities and a multipurpose gym. It also includes outdoor amenities such as gardens and playgrounds.
Phase 1 will involve expanding the current prayer room and classrooms in an existing home on the property. It also calls for construction of apartments and modifying the barn for classroom usage, as well as installing a soccer field. Future phases involve temporary dorms, construction of other buildings and a gradual buildout of the campus.
The applicants say the traffic burden is not expected to be high due to seminary students not having vehicles, generating a total of 624 trips on an average weekday.
The phases are set to take place over the coming years, and will rely on fundraising to support them.
Al-Maqasid representatives said at the August planning commission meeting that sports facilities would be open as a community resource.
The campus would also host worship services for daily prayer and weekly worship.
West campus to feature K-12 schooling
Al Maqasid said they are seeking separate conditional use approval for the newly proposed west campus because of floodplain restrictions on the east campus land. The property is on about 7.5 acres at 7505 Alburtis Road and 7428 Industrial Park Way, diagonally across Alburtis Road from the other buildings.
It would be focused more on younger students, consisting of five buildings up to three stories high and with a total footprint of 114,900 square feet. It would include a cafeteria, gym, classrooms, offices, day care and an enclosed playground. There would be two classrooms per grade from K-12, and 25 to 30 students per class upon completion.
The presentation noted approximately 1,957 trips to the site on a typical weekday when completed, based on a capacity of 800 to 1,000 students.
While surrounded by corporate offices and warehouses, plans show pedestrian linkage to the east campus via crosswalks.
The west campus is also anticipated to include residential space, performance space, retail and food options.
A big project; timeline unclear
"As you can see, this is a major project that's going to take many years to be able to raise the funds for them to be able to construct" a representative for Al-Maqasid said during the meeting, noting that a completed campus may cost about $100 million and take years to raise the money and build.
John Rhodus, Al-Maqasid’s founding director, said organizers expect the seminary portion of the project will be a local and national draw. He noted that there are not many Islamic seminaries in the United States, and a growing Muslim population in the U.S. will create demand for such a campus.
"We are conceiving of education for starting as early as 2 and all the way up to 18, through high school," Rhodus said.
He noted that education on the campus would be more than just religious training, branching into vocational, health and other learning opportunities in addition to planned exercise and gardening opportunities.
"What we're doing is that we have a very holistic perspective, and what that means for us is that we try to approach religion not in some compartmentalized-type fashion, we want to really train the next generation of Muslims in this country to engage at every level of society," he said.
Rhodus said a timeline is difficult to project.
"It's really hard to say with this, how long exactly it would be from our end," Rhodus said. "We're moving full-speed ahead, and we're hoping that we can do this as fast as possible.
"We do have more supporters that are well-to-do, so I don't think it's far-fetched. It's just a matter of getting the phasing right. I don't have an exact number because we're relying ultimately on donations."
As for the school portion, he said, government funding for charter schools and other funding sources may lead to it being constructed on a faster timeline.
