HANOVER TWP., NORTHAMPTON COUNTY, Pa. — A proposed 144-bed behavioral health hospital won preliminary land development approval in a unanimous vote by township supervisors Tuesday.
The hospital, set for 1775 West Macada Road, is a joint venture between Lehigh Valley Health Network and Universal Health Services, a publicly traded health care company worth more than $11.4 billion.
It will sit on 16 acres of LVHN-owned land across Schoenersville Road from the hospital system's Muhlenberg Campus hospital.
The new 95,000-square-foot facility will address “the scarcity of mental health resources… that is hitting us hard, right here in the Lehigh Valley.”LVHN Chief Executive Officer Brian Nester
The joint venture will operate the new facility, which they expect to create more than 300 new jobs.
By offering mental health and addiction treatment services, LVHN Chief Executive Officer Dr. Brian Nester wrote in a statement announcing the joint venture last year, the new 95,000-square-foot facility will address “the scarcity of mental health resources… that is hitting us hard, right here in the Lehigh Valley.”
Universal Health Services already operates 333 inpatient behavioral health facilities across the United States and United Kingdom, according to its website.
Right-turn lane, sidewalks
As part of the project, the developers plan to add a right-turn lane to Schoenersville Road, which they expect to cost about $200,000 to design, permit and build.
Because the cost of the turn lane exceeds the $76,000 township traffic impact fee assessed for the project, the board of supervisors let the new turn lane cover the impact fee.
In their review last November, Lehigh Valley Planning Commission urged the developer to install sidewalks along both Schoenersville and Macada roads.
“Legally, there's nothing that precludes the board from calling anybody they want,” in the affected area, she said, “and say, ‘We want a plan.’”Hanover Township, Northampton County, Supervisors Chairwoman Susan Lawless
Both the developers’ representatives and township supervisors said that would be a long and unwieldy project.
Though the project received a deferral for township sidewalk requirements, supervisors Chairwoman Susan Lawless said there's nothing preventing the body from “calling in” that deferral down the line.
“Legally, there's nothing that precludes the board from calling anybody they want,” in the affected area, she said, “and say, ‘We want a plan.’”
In response to comments from the LVPC, project engineer Nathan Oiler told supervisors Tuesday they plan to add electric vehicle charging stations in the new hospital’s parking lot.
The project will appear before the board again in about a year to discuss the new Schoenersville Road turn lane.
