New 98-Unit Norristown Apartment Complex, Retail Space Proposed

NORRISTOWN, PA — A major development project could soon be on the way to Lafayette Street.

A proposed apartment building with 98 units and room on the ground floor for retail and commercial was presented to the Norristown Municipal Council during a work group session on Tuesday evening.

The project would be at 579 East Lafayette Street, immediately along the Schuylkill River Trail and the newly redeveloped and extended Lafayette Street corridor.

The plan, presented by Norristown-based The Louderback Group as PZS Architects, calls for a five-story building. Concept art of the structure it situated at the corner with Ford Street. Ford Street would feature the frontage for commercial retailers, while a large garage would have an entrance on Ford and an exit on Lafayette.

RELATED: After 20 Years, Norristown's Lafayette St Extension Project Completed

There's also outdoor terraces or potential "amenity spaces" facing the river on the fifth floor and above the lobby on the second floor.

While the proposal remains in the preliminary stages at this point, developers noted that the plan was within all zoning regulations for the site. That block falls under the Limited Industrial Mixed Use zoning (LIMU) in the municipality, which covers a wide variety of potential businesses.

It's potentially the type of project which local officials envisioned when the Lafayette Street extension was finally finished late in December. The $90 million effort, which represents the largest locally-led transportation project ever in Pennsylvania, added sidewalks and widened and realigned roads throughout the area.

There is no exact timetable for the project, as municipal council will still need to discuss the subject in more detail at future meetings.

Louderback has completed a number of other similar development projects in the area recently, including Ashbridge Manor in Lansdale and a handful of lofts and apartment complexes in Philadelphia.