BETHLEHEM TWP., Pa. — A plan that would build 268 apartments at the former V7 restaurant and driving range site got township commissioners' approval Monday.
Commissioners voted 4-1, with Matthew Deckman opposed, to sign off on a conditional use application for the project at 5218 William Penn Highway.
If a number of conditions are met, the site would become home to nine three-story residential buildings and a 5,260-square-foot amenity structure, 557 parking spaces and an internal circulation drive with two connections to Hope Road.
“My opinion is that the traffic will not significantly impact the surrounding roadway network."Zakary Ruppert, senior project manager with Bowman Consulting, at the June 2 Bethlehem Township commissioners meeting
Some of the conditions included potential improvements to nearby intersections for pedestrians, an extension of the curb and sidewalk along Hope Road and no vehicular access permitted to William Penn Highway beyond emergency vehicles.
Also, the plans from Chrin V7 Associates LP call for the confirmation of “continued functionality” of signal timings at the intersections included in the project’s transportation impact assessment.
Those include William Penn Highway and Hope Road, Hope Road and Freemansburg Avenue and William Penn, from Emrick Boulevard to Country Club Road.
Last month, the project’s senior manager with Bowman Consulting said the project “will not significantly impact the surrounding roadway network."
One resident that evening said the roads are "a traffic nightmare, and it's just going to get worse."
Route 33 runs to the west and Hope Road to the east of the currently vacant site, with residential and commercial areas nearby. Northampton Country Club is to the north.
The property is within the Office Business, Commercial Enhancement Overlay and Streetscape Enhancement Overlay zoning districts.
