Steeple View Redevelopment Project Wins Final Approval In Newtown

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA ? After years of discussions, reviews, approvals, and revisions, the second phase of the Steeple View redevelopment project is a go.

On Tuesday night, after three hours of discussion, the Newtown Borough Council voted 5 to 1 to approve revised final plans for the mixed-use Traditional Neighborhood Development that will change the face of the borough.

Voting in favor of the plan were Council President Tara Grunde-McLaughlin and Councilors Emily Heinz, Maryellen Raymond, Kris Bauman and Dennis O'Brien. Voting against approval was Councilor Bob Szwajkos.

The updated project will redevelop a nine-acre swath of land stretching from Centre Avenue behind the Starbucks south to the former Stockburger property with seven new buildings - four residential and three mixed-use - bringing between 75 and 88 new apartments to the borough and roughly 12,000 square feet of new retail and restaurant space.

The project will also include several public amenities including a public piazza designed as a gathering place for town events; a pedestrian bridge at the southern end of the property linking the borough and the township at Carl Sedia Park; and a formalized greenway/walkway along the Newtown Creek from Centre Avenue south to the proposed pedestrian bridge.

Developer Allan Smith said after the meeting while he's looking forward to events on the piazza, "there is still a lot of work to do before we can start (construction).

"Now that we have approval we will start on the architectural drawings, which take time," continued Smith. "Arranging financing in the current interest rate environment is also time-consuming, but I?d like to think we will be able to walk across the pedestrian bridge in the next 30 months."

This shows the development site. The brown building in the lower center is the Wine and Spirits Store fronting on South State Street. The four new residential buildings are depicted in green in the upper left. Above that is the location of the proposed pedestrian bridge. The light green buildings at the right center are two new mixed use residential, retail and restaurant uses. The light brown colored area is the entrance to the development site and the piazza

The pedestrian bridge has been deferred to the later stages of the project.

In the meantime, Smith and his team of professionals will be seeking the approval of the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors to move forward with the bridge project. They'll also be working to secure the proper permitting from the state.

Prior to the vote, Councilor Kris Bauman peppered the developer's attorney on a number of issues, including the design of the parking area and the proposed pedestrian bridge.

Regarding the pedestrian bridge, Bauman voiced concern that if the township says no to the project, the borough will be left with a greenway trail that stops at the end of the property.

"Since they were prepared to build the bridge, would they be prepared to work with us on an alternate open space improvement that would be available to its residents and everybody else in the event the bridge doesn't happen," he asked.

"The short answer is no," replied the developer's attorney Tim Duffy. "This is what we proposed. In our view the borough is getting this piazza for free that will cost millions of dollars to build. The restoration and construction of the greenway is something that would not exist if we were not going to put that in.

"From day one," said Duffy, "everyone has known you can't build a bridge that only has one side to it. It has to lead somewhere. We would love for it to go in. All indications are that the majority of the township still supports it," he said. "I don't know why they wouldn't."

Bauman also raised concern with the configuration of the main parking lot asking that the developer consider redesigning the parking area to be more efficient, safer and easier for motorists to circulate through and find a parking space.

"It's beyond me why we would design a parking lot that's inefficient and unsafe when it can be both efficient and safe," said Bauman.

Duffy responded, "We have qualified engineers who have reviewed this and all of them support this," he said. "They don't find the deficiencies that you have and none of our engineers identified these efficiencies."

Parking and traffic circulation were also on the mind of Szwajkos, who cast the lone vote against the project. He objected to the plan over the removal of a proposed parking garage that had been part of the original plan approved in 2016.

"Because of the elimination of the parking garage now parking has moved off site and we're going to get all the congestion and traffic rerouting as a result. You'll be creating problems on our streets. Don't tell me we got the benefit of the bargain. We didn't," he told the developer.

Under the Steeple View plan, seven new buildings will be constructed, including:

• A three-story mixed-use building behind Starbucks with retail on the first floor and residential living units on the upper floors.
• A three-story mixed-use building next to Newtown Creek off of Centre Avenue and roughly in the location of the former Wine and Spirits store building. It would house a restaurant use on the first floor and residential living units on the upper floors and it would frame the public piazza.
• Four new three-story residential buildings at the southern end of the property.

In addition, the project includes a new three-story mixed-use retail and residential use building be located to the south of the current Wine and Spirits Store on South State Street. Under the current plan, the new building next to the Wine and Spirits store would be held in abeyance and used for public parking while the balance of the project is developed.

The Steeple View project also incorporates a number of public amenities, including:

• A public piazza, or community gathering place, to be created on Centre Avenue next to the Newtown Creek and across from the First National Bank Annex building. It will include a water element, a fireplace, a space for public gatherings and seating.
• A greenway trail extending along the Newtown Creek from Centre Avenue to the southern end of the former Stockburger property.
• A new pedestrian bridge to be built at the southern end of the creek walk connecting the borough to Newtown Township at Carl Sedia Park.
• A barn that was dismantled at the former Stockburger property will be rebuilt in the main Steeple View parking area. The first floor will house a garage while the upper floor will be converted into a community room that would be available for public use through the Steeple View HOA.

This is the barn that will be reconstructed as part of the Steeple View plan. The plan currently incorporates the structure into the parking lot with a garage on the first level and a community room above. (File photo by Jeff Werner)