Engineer Jason Korczak points to a rendering of a 12-unit townhouse building proposed for the 100 block of East Mt. Vernon Street in Lansdale during the code committee meeting on Nov. 6, 2024. Photo by Dan Sokil | The Reporter.
Engineer says new units ‘very similar’ to Cannon Avenue complex
A new development in the works could add a dozen new townhouses to a block on East Mt. Vernon Street.
Council’s code committee saw a preview of those plans earlier this month, voting them ahead for possible approval by full council.
“The project was formerly approved for a total of 10 apartment units. The project changed hands, and the new owner believes that this proposed project is a much better fit for the borough,” said Director of Community Development Jason Van Dame.
Up for discussion is a five-sided parcel with a street address of 151 East Mt. Vernon, located just west of Line Street, north of Kriebel Avenue, and roughly a block south of the Silk Factory Apartments, just east of a rail line that runs northwest to southeast through the town. The project has been discussed, vetted, and voted ahead by the borough’s planning commission, Van Dame told council’s code committee on Nov. 6, before handing over to attorney Celso Leite Jr. and engineer Jason Korczak to detail the plans.
Site plan showing a 12-unit townhouse complex proposed for the 100 block of East Mt. Vernon Street in Lansdale, as shown during the code committee meeting on Nov. 6, 2024.“The property currently has two duplexes on there. We’re proposing to demolish those, and construct six townhouses, for a total of 12 residential units,” Leite said.
Each unit would have their own garage parking and driveways, with access off of a 16.5-foot-wide alley on the north side of the site. The complex would be managed by a condo association, with “a handful of relatively minor waivers” being sought from council, the attorney told the committee.
“There’s just a handful of waivers we’re requesting; all of them are supported by the borough engineer and planner,” he said.
Those waivers include planting trees within 30 feet of a rain garden and basin on the west side of the property: “That rain garden is going to make sure we are not increasing runoff” from the site, Korczak said.
New ‘stacked townhouse’ homes were built on Cannon Avenue in Lansdale as part of the ‘Cannon Square’ development, seen here for sale in 2012. (MediaNews Group file photo)Councilman Rich DiGregorio asked how the site would connect to utilities, and Korczak said they’d connect via underground utility lines to a transformer just across Mt. Vernon from the site, and Leite added that appliances would be powered by electricity, with no gas line necessary, and sewer and water laterals connecting to a main line under Mt. Vernon. As for lighting, each unit will likely have exterior wall lights, but “we’re not proposing any additional streetlight” for the development, Korczak said.
DiGregorio then asked if the alley on the north side of the site was wide enough for resident and/or trash truck access, and Korczak said it was, and had been vetted in review letters by the borough’s consultants. Code committee chairwoman Rafia Razzak asked about an issue raised during talks at the town’s planning commission regarding whether the alley on the north side of the alley would be extended or closed off, and Korczak said the alley would not extend beyond the last driveway access needed for the new units.
“This alley will not be used ever again,” Van Dame said, and Korczak said the paper path of the alley beyond their property was “completely overgrown” and unpaved with no way to use it now.
The code committee unanimously voted to recommend the plans for full council approval.
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