Plan Calls For 175 Luxury Apartments In Downtown Kennett Square

KENNETT SQUARE, PA – Borough officials are considering a plan that would bring 175 luxury apartments and a pub restaurant to the western section of town.

Called The Lofts, it will be located very close to Victory Brewing Co. on Cypress Street that will open sometime this month. Specifically it will be bordered by State Street to the north, Washington Street to the east, South Mill to the west, and Bernard Alley to the south.

Developer, StanAb Real Estate Development Co. of West Chester, purchased the entire 600 block of State Street recently, which had been the site of Kennett Motors and Kennett Transmissions.

“Except for Magnolia Place, there are few other choices (for rental housing),” said Tony Stancato, an executive with StanAb. “The lure of Kennett Square is that is has walkable amenities, and there are many businesses wanting to come to Kennett. Demand for rental has been increasing with those ages 20 to 34 holding off buying decisions for many reasons. Kennett Square is an underserved marking for rental housing.”

Read more:

http://www.dailylocal.com/general-news/20150412/plan-calls-for-175-luxury-apartments-in-downtown-kennett-square

Mormons To Build 32-Story Tower Near Center City

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Mormon Church plans to build a 32-story apartment tower and a public meetinghouse on a vacant lot next to the Vine Street Expressway, filling in a key piece of the no-man’s-land that has long separated Center City and North Philadelphia’s rebounding neighborhoods.

The private development by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls for 258 apartments, 13 townhouses, and retail shops at 16th and Vine Streets.

The meetinghouse will have a chapel, courtyard, multipurpose space, and a center to research genealogy, said Michael Marcheschi, senior real estate manager for the church’s national special projects department.

The development, announced Wednesday by Mayor Nutter and church officials, will stand next to the Mormon temple under construction on Vine Street and set for completion in 2016.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20140213_Mormons_to_build_32-story_tower_in_Center_City.html#xda8G1b8kTLrO4VA.99

Fishtown Baseball Factory To Become 30 Homes

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Zoning Board of Adjustment voted Wednesday to grant a handful of variances to Domani Developers, which is planning to convert a former baseball factory at 1701 Tulip Street in Fishtown into a 30-unit apartment complex. (Yes, that’s an empty factory that used to make baseballs: the A.J. Reach sporting goods company.)

The building has been vacant since 2004, according to developer Roland Kassis, and he was unable to find a viable industrial use for the property, which is zoned I-2.  Kassis said that the city in general and Fishtown in particular have seen a growing demand for small, one- and two-bedroom apartments, which is what he intends to put in the building.  According to the zoning application, the developer intends to build a fifth-story addition, roof deck space, and a canopy over the first floor.

The project, designed by architects at Cecil Baker Partners, won the support of the local RCO, Fishtown Neighbors Association, by a vote of 107 to 77.  A quick calculation shows that that is not a unanimous vote, and the reason seems to be parking: the planned apartment complex contains none.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/Former_Fishtown_baseball_factory_into_30_residences.html#kImEFmot6HpZBt4m.99

A New Dawn For Downtown Easton

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Editor’s note:  Dear Bobbleheads on Pottstown Borough Council, please notice Easton is not salivating over Section 8 housing projects and cheap townhomes.  There is job creation, shopping, dining, entertainment and population growth in the coveted 25- 35 y/o demographic and the seniors with disposable income segment. MARKET RATE HOUSING is attracting people with jobs!  Easton had 26,800 people as of the 2010 census so we are talking a Pottstown-sized community. Take a field trip!

“We threw every zoning and land development regulation away,” Bradley said. “We opened the frontier to the investment that happened after that.”

Diane Haviland and her husband, Ken Greene, are empty-nesters who found Easton’s downtown by accident. Preparing for their retirement years in 2010, they bought 4 acres in Harmony Township, N.J., to build their 3,500-square-foot dream home, complete with a pool, library and bar.

They’d rented an apartment in Easton while they built what they assumed would be their last home. The designs were drawn and building permits issued, but as they stood on the empty lot ready to turn the bulldozers loose, Haviland and Greene had a joint epiphany.

“We looked at each other and thought, why would we leave Easton? We love it there,” Haviland said. “So, now I have plans for a beautiful home and 4 acres for sale.”

The couple bought a vacant three-story building on Centre Square.  After a more than $1 million renovation, they’ll rent out the first floor and live out their years in the floors above.

Read more:   http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-downtown-boom-20130601,0,4168076,full.story

Company Unveils Reading Outlet Center Building Plans

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The company that bought the huge No. 1 building at the Reading Outlet Center gave the city a first glimpse Thursday of its plans.

Those include business and commercial space on the first floor, about 150 market-rate apartments on the second through fourth floors and penthouse office space on the top floor of the building at Ninth and Douglas streets.

They also include razing the northwest corner of the block-sized building to erect an attached parking garage with more than 250 spaces, an interior courtyard with playground equipment, lighting and fountains, and security guards monitoring the entire complex.

“Our plan was well received and we are excited to move forward,” said Bill Hynes, a Nazareth, Northampton County-based real estate developer who’s part of Think Loud Development.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/