BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — A Bethlehem Township property that used to offer a driving range and restaurant at the southwest corner of William Penn Highway and Hope Road could become home to another area apartment complex.
Township planners are set to review a sketch plan for the “Chrin V7 Residential Development” this coming Monday — one to include 256 apartments, 13 buildings and a pool — but a vote won’t take place just yet.
- Bethlehem Township planners will review the sketch plan for a 256-unit apartment complex Monday
- The development would sit on the old V7 Driving Range and restaurant property along William Penn Highway
- There will be no vote on the proposal at the next meeting
“The applicant is proposing a total of 256 apartments in 12 buildings, as well as an ‘amenity structure.’”Amanda Raudenbush, Bethlehem Township planning director
Along William Penn
A few vacant buildings and a cornfield currently take up the nearly 17-acre lot within a stone’s throw of Route 33 and the William Penn Highway interchange. The parcel in question sits at 5218 William Penn Highway, with the Northampton Country Club across the road to the northeast and Farmersville Elementary School to the west.
“The applicant is proposing a total of 256 apartments in 12 buildings, as well as an ‘amenity structure,’” according to a memo sent from Township Planning Director Amanda Raudenbush to the planning commission and township manager.
The applying party is Easton-based Charles Chrin Cos., a company providing a variety of services to the area, such as waste pick-up and real estate management.
The company owns the 16.98-acre parcel, located within the Office/Business with Commercial Enhancement and Streetscape Enhancement Overlay Districts. Residential uses surround the property to the east along Hope Road.
The proposed plan
Langan Engineering and Environmental Services, of Warrington, worked up the sketch plan for the project.
Each building would be two stories with a mix of either eight or 12 dwelling units per floor, and either 16 or 24 units per building, according to the public-access plan. The total gross floor area comes out to 286,736 square feet.
Township parking ordinance requires 2.5 parking spaces per unit for a total of 640, while the applicant is proposing 425. This action is permitted but would need conditional use approval, the plan states.
The property is proposed to have 24 ADA parking spaces, while the township only requires 13.
As flooding concerns residents throughout the township, stormwater management areas surround the perimeter of the planned property and will “be confirmed through engineering design process,” the plan outlines. An overflow discharge site sits at the southeastern end of the lot, and another would be placed on the opposing west end.
If approved, steep slopes on the northeastern end would be removed during land preparations. There are no mapped floodplains, wetlands or woodlands on site.
The lot would be served by public water and public sewer, according to the plan.
A homeowners’ association would be established to maintain the proposed open space on site.
A right-in/right-out access drive is proposed for the northeastern portion of the lot, which would be subject to traffic study and township review, the plan states.
Another potential driveway would be located at the middle of the parcel’s southern end, allowing access to the adjacent property.
