PEN ARGYL, Pa. — Developers are on their way to flipping a former Pen Argyl warehouse into an 11-unit apartment building.
Pen Argyl Borough Council, after a hearing Tuesday, granted conditional use approval for the project.
Slate Hill Enterprises will convert an existing warehouse space at 412 W. Applegate Ave. into one- and two-bedroom apartments.
The building, constructed around 1925, had fallen into significant disrepair, but now is safe, secure and stable after $80,000 in work.Slate Hill Enterprises President Peter Iselo
Plans from Alliance Architecture LLC show the three-story building will house 11 apartments.
That includes three one bedrooms and one two-bedroom units on the ground floor; four two-bedroom units on the first floor; and two one-bedroom units and one two-bedroom unit on the top floor.
Apartment sizes will range from 865 to 1,115 square feet.
The hearing let council members and the public question developers on the project's traffic impact — which would have to be addressed by the borough, not the developer — making for a hot topic.
The developer agreed to adhere to a few recommendations provided by Van Cleef Engineering.
They included updated plans with locations for new trees, planting additional greenery as a buffer and removal of a buffer from an area near a sidewalk.
Also, a requirement to remove some stone building walls from the property, or seek a variance to keep them.
Slate Hill Enterprises President Peter Iselo said he acquired the property around 2020 via a tax sale.
According to Iselo, the building, constructed around 1925, had fallen into significant disrepair, but now is safe, secure and stable after $80,000 in work.
Expert testimony
Resident Frank Hendershot said he took offense to the idea that Iselo would improve the neighborhood, stating, “I think you’re a little out of line.”
Iselo responded by stating the matter was subjective, “So you view it one way; I see it another.”
“I see an abandoned building that was going into decay… And we’re now taking a historical piece of property, we’re going to regenerate it back to what it used to be,” Iselo said.
BJ Toy Company owner Joe Antonioli, who operates his business near the warehouse, raised concerns over a burnt-out structure on the property where he said people congregate and cause trouble.
“I’m the guy that gets to call the police or the ambulance or all those kind of fun things,” Antonioli said.
The developers responded by stating that location would be converted into an outdoor landscaping feature for the residents, such as a grill, a horseshoe pit or some other form of outdoor recreational activities.
Keystone Consulting Engineers’ Geoff Dean confirmed the landscaping plan provided to council addressed all necessary ordinance requirements for the borough.
Citizens concerned over traffic
Following expert testimony, citizens were invited to make statements.
Speaking on behalf of himself and nearby marketing business MC 2, Chuck Snyder said he was worried over the impact construction could have on businesses in the area, which is predominantly commercial.
“What we’ve been listening to for the past 10 minutes is a borough problem on public streets.”Attorney Geoffrey Worthington, representing Slate Hill enterprises
“I'm really more concerned about Babbitt [Avenue] being shut down for any amount of time, because it will really affect our business,” Snyder said.
"Because we have upwards of 20, 30, 40, trucks a day coming in and out of our building.”
Antoloni echoed that sentiment, saying there would be truck traffic up and down nearby roads, which could be heavily impacted.
“They're coming into MC 2, they're coming into me," Antoloni said. "I've got a dock on Babbitt Avenue as well, as you can see.
"Applegate gets narrow in the next pictures, cars parked on either side. I want you to build your apartments, please, by all means. I'm not against you, I'm really not.
"Again, just it's been a rough five years, and I want to keep going. And so if we've got cars parked up and down Albion Avenue, if we've got cars stacked up and down, it’s going to impact MC 2 trying to get trucks back there, it's going to impact me trying to get the trailers back there.”
Councilman Steven Goffredo acknowledged the problem, but said traffic concerns would more likely be addressed in further planning.
Currently, the developers have no intent to install street signs or other traffic calming measures.
Attorney Geoffrey Worthington, representing Slate Hill enterprises, said, “what we’ve been listening to for the past 10 minutes is a borough problem on public streets.”
