Politics & Government

Madison Lot Redevelopment on the Horizon

By November, a developer will be selected to change the lot into a residential-commercial hybrid.

The future redevelopment of Madison Parking Lot won’t just affect the area within its boundaries; it will spill over to the railroad station, Railroad Plaza, Main Street and its businesses.

Delta Development Group, in conjunction with the Lansdale Parking Authority, held an open house informational session Wednesday evening to garner feedback from residents, commuters and business owners on their wishes and expectations for redevelopment of Madison Lot.

At least 20 residents and business owners attended the event.

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The event was more like a genie in a bottle: an opportunity to ask community members their wishes for a better Lansdale at Madison Lot.

It was revealed that the most likely structure to be built in the lot is a multi-story residential building with a component of parking.

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“We can readily narrow what we expect to be a reasonable development. Obviously, it’s not going to be 5,000 square feet of estate homes. They don’t fit. It’s unlikely to be townhomes. They don’t fit,” said Lansdale Parking Authority Chairman and Councilman Dan Dunigan.

Dunigan said, as an example, he is not going to dictate to a developer what they believe is a sellable product in the community.

“They have to demonstrate to us that this is a product that can be sold in your community that brings value to your community,” he said. “The last thing you like is something that somebody believes is spectacularly beautiful, but nobody wants to buy it.”

Dunigan gave the example of what’s known as The Geary Building in Manhattan. He said he didn’t want a building that everybody likes to look at, but nobody wants to go into.

“We have a goal of having them tell us why the product they select, the way it looks, its design and layout, one, can be sold, two, why it’s a value to our community,” he said, “so that in addition to having the financial wherewithal to start a project and finish it, it is [a] project that starts, finishes and adds to where we all live.”

Delta Development Group was hired by the Lansdale Parking Authority to facilitate the solicitation, selection and negotiations with qualified developers.

According to Amy Kaufman, an associate with Delta Development, developers will be interviewed through September and October, with a proposal coming before the parking authority in November for selection of a developer.

Kaufman said the company is in data collection mode at present.

“Let’s find out how the community feels about this, what’s important for businesses, what’s important for the community, how different uses on the site could impact them and what’s in the parking authority’s best interest,” Kaufman said. “The objective is to bring in as many high-quality developers and take into account all of the community’s interests, and their objectives and goals.”

A mandatory pre-submittal meeting for interested developers takes place Aug. 3.

“By Sept. 14, we will anticipate being able to deliver a list of respondents,” Kaufman said.

Lansdale Parking Authority owns the land where Madison Lot is located. Dunigan said the end goal is to have a very, very well defined project.

The Request for Qualified Submissions from developers requires any respondent infuse the value and objectives of the community and the authority, he said.

“Overall, the major goal would be to serve as a continued catalyst for the ongoing downtown revitalization that you folks have seen over the last several years,” Dunigan said.

Respondents will develop qualified submissions that are consistent with existing plans and regulations in the downtown destination plans, revitalization plans and other things that the borough has done over the last several years, he said.

“One of the keys is that it is complementary to our existing downtown district in use and form,” he said. “We want it to help be connected to downtown and the train station.”

He described the redevelopment as a “Transit-Oriented Development.”

“One of the things the parking authority must consider is we must make sure it is complementary and adequate amenities are wrapped into this,” he said.

The qualified submissions must maximize integration of mixed uses and encourage as much public participation from surrounding property owners, Dunigan said.

“They will be the vested shareholders in the outcome of this project and its overall success,” he said.

Madison Parking Lot contains 241 parking spaces, which extend up near the water tower at Richardson Avenue and West Third Street. It spans about 7.5 acres and is zoned Downtown Business Overlay District and not Transit-Oriented Design Overlay District.

And what are the permitted uses in Downtown Business Overlay? They include residential, institutional, commercial, recreation and transportation uses, such as:

Parking garages

Extended-stay hotels

Multifamily dwellings with six or less and six or more dwelling units

Single-family attached dwellings

Colleges

Churches and other religious institutions

Schools

Athletic clubs

Public parks

Community centers

Amusement establishments

Arts and crafts studios and stores

Bed-and-breakfasts

Department stores

Liquor stores

Museums and art galleries

Theaters

Health clubs

 

The forum was then opened to questions from the business community.

The main question: Is a developer going to dictate what will be built at Madison Lot?

Teresa Sparacino, community and economic development senior associate for Delta Development Group, said the idea is to select a qualified developer who will give the firm and the parking authority conceptual ideas for the site.

“Part of this process is to hear from the community so that we can feed that into the developer’s process,” Sparacino said.

The Request for Proposal does require the selected developer to hold community meetings throughout development of the final plan.

“The community is going to be involved in the process from this very pre-conceptual stage to receipt of proposals. Let’s look at developers, let’s select a qualified developer,” Sparacino said. “And that qualified developer would mean do they have the financial wherewithal? The ability to construct a project? Can they take it from Point A to Point B?”

Once everyone is comfortable with that and the authority selects a developer, then the planning stage begins.

“(The developer) has to develop a concept that meets the needs of the community throughout the process,” said Kaufman.

Charles Booz, owner of Chantilly Floral, asked about the possibility of open space at the lot.

Dunigan said the idea that the entire 7.5 acres would be overbuilt with green space is not a concept that would have much of an affinity for anybody in the community. However, the idea of something green that the community can utilize is something a reasonable developer would try to plan.

“What we are trying to do is tell them, ‘Sell it to me, prove it to me,’ and then get me to buy in,” Dunigan said. “That isn’t just me; that’s you guys, too.”

He said the developer will have the demographics and modeling and financial forecast to say if certain things will sell or rent.

“We don’t know if it will be condo-driven or apartment-driven at this point,” Dunigan said.

Booz said that in the negotiating process, the existing storefronts on Main Street, whose backs face the lot, should not be overlooked.

“The backs are now the front of something else,” Booz said.

Dunigan said it was not something the authority considered, but it is something to talk about.

“If you put in a residential structure, the backs are a second front,” he said. “It’s not a bad idea at all.”

One resident complained of the lack of handicap parking on Main Street. She said there was one spot for the entire Main Street downtown. Dunigan said that will come to light in the NelsonNygaard parking study.

Councilwoman Mary Fuller said there was one basic thing to keep in mind, and that was utilizing the SEPTA rail line.

“That’s a big draw into and away from what we put there,” she said.

Dunigan said the location of the rail line is “one of the biggest items in developers’ excitement.”

The rail line in Lansdale gives people the opportunity to have a job in the city and live in the suburbs.

Development around the train station hub gives people access to all the little amenities of a big city, he said.

Mary Schwalje, owner of Sign-A-Rama in Lansdale, asked what impact there would be on residents that live close to the train.

Dunigan said most people learn to live with the sounds of something like a nearby train.

“With technology and insulation and sound deadening, all of that can be readily overcome through design or product,” he said.

Sparacino said a lot of communities develop Transit-Oriented Design close to rail lines because it creates redevelopment in the community and increases ridership.

Chris Flyzik, owner of Wilson’s Hardware and Locksmiths, suggested installing some type of LED sign that would let people know if events going on near the rail line hub, such as a festival or free parking.
“It would be a real draw to get people to experience Lansdale that ordinarily use it as a transportation hub,” Flyzik said.

Sparacino said the redevelopment project is “a great opportunity to take a surface lot and add a synergy that adds life to Main Street.”

Booz said the community in Lansdale is “event driven.”

“There’s no area off Main Street to hold a lot of people,” Booz said. “If you pull people off Main Street and hold an event, it would be nice to have a municipal park in town right off Main Street.”

Resident John Darab suggested constructing something like Schmidt’s Plaza in Philadelphia: a center square surrounding by buildings on each side.

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner said there has been concern from parks and recreation director Carl Saldutti to improve Railroad Plaza.

“That certainly has to be part of the discussion with the developers and how we can improve and upgrade the whole look of the park,” she said. “It’s something that we are going to be interested in as a borough.”

She said the railroad station can be used as a model and have the park fit in with that.

Dunigan said he expects something like that to come up in the conceptual phase.

“Part of the selling point is to create as much synergy of the guy that gets off the R5 and walks home and the guy that gets off the R5 and buys something on Main Street,” he said. “We want to do as much integration as we possibly can. We can have as many wishes as we want if the builder agrees.”

Someone at the meeting mentioned the idea of keeping the train station, but moving it back so the train is not loading and unloading passengers and blocking Main Street.

Dunigan said there is talk of SEPTA adding a third rail in Lansdale and upgrading it to platform level.

Flyzik said there could be a possibility of taking the station and opening more restaurants and shops.

Fuller said this whole project needs to be looked at like a blank slate.

“We have the opportunity to think outside the box,” she said. “You have to be feasible. This is a chance to really think about what would work there.”

Flyzik piggybacked that comment by stating the more businesses you have, the more chances people will go to one place and then go to another place to shop.

Dunigan mentioned the idea of a boutique hotel.

Steve Jones, of Milestones in Music, said whatever is determined to be at the site, there must be security concerns.

“People want to feel safe and secure,” he said.

Sparacino asked what types of retail people want to see at the site. She mentioned specialty retail and women’s clothing stores.

Council president Matt West said they should be looking at the redevelopment from a philosophical standpoint.

If they are talking about successful residential development, then they are going to need to incorporate retail that will be open when people get off the train.

He said there needs to be integration that those types of businesses that stay open and have a different time window that hits those commuters.

“You are setting yourself up to fail if you say, look, we’re going to have all this residential TOD, we’re going to bring in the 18 to 35 demographic and empty nesters and not give them a place to spend their money in the evenings,” he said. “That says failure all over it.”

There needs to be a different type of retail than Lansdale already has that supports the current complementary retail in town.

“Not competing, but complementary,” he said.

Ellen Foulke, owner of The Business Center, said it would be nice to have a serpentine way for people to come through town.

“A walking pattern could change the perspective of Main Street,” she said.

Booz offered the idea of a visitor’s center to facilitate activities for people coming into town.

Flyzik proffered businesses bringing a uniform look down Main Street.

Dunigan said that can bring a holistic look to Main Street.

That prompted a discussion on the current branding plan in Lansdale and streetscapes, and Kirchner said this project is the impetus to move that forward.

“It will include who we want to be. That’s the question it will answer: who are we? And with that what’s our logo, our theme, our story, what are our colors. All of that we’re hoping will be incorporated into the businesses one way or another,” Kirchner said.

West summed it up with the statement “context sensitive design.”

One resident said the lot serves as a trail link to other trails in the region. He said we shouldn’t cause a disconnect in trails coming from North Wales and the Liberty Bell Trail in Hatfield.

Dunigan said there have been discussions in the past on how to effectively use the rail line as a pedestrian-friendly path, and how to effectively connect that with what is already out there, like at the Pennbrook Station, and anything on the other side of town.

“We are going to try to keep that continued vision that it’s not just what we are working on today, it’s how do we lay that out so that it fits into something that could happen tomorrow or things we’ve heard are coming down the pipe,” Dunigan said.

West added on to that point by saying the redevelopment should be designed for pedestrian scale and not automobiles.

“That’s something that Main Street does suffer from now: it is designed for the automobile,” he said. “As I walk through there twice a day, every day, I wouldn’t want to bring my family to Main Street to hang out on Main Street.”

He added that there are more than 16,000 vehicular trips a day on Main Street and two rows of on-street parking.

“If you look at that compared to percentage dedicated to pedestrian, it is weighed heavily toward the automobile,” he said. “If we had a chance to design something successful that people want to go to, it needs to be designed from pedestrian scale. Not only to draw people that reside there, but create a destination that draws people there.”

West said it all comes down to aesthetics: If it looks good, people will want to go there.

Doug DiPasquale, president of the Lansdale Business Association, said the focus cannot shy away from keeping people on Main Street.

“It’s great to make this in the back. I agree with everybody that we need something back there, but at the same time, the people who have invested recently, keep them there and look at the back,” he said.

Dunigan said one of the key drives of revitalization in downtown is density. If nobody can get to something built there, it won’t matter.

“One of the benefits that will come to the borough is you will increase your downtown population. People who live there will spend their money close to home,” Dunigan said.

The overall gist was to bleed out what will be developed in Madison to Main Street and surrounding neighborhoods.

Everything soon to occur there will be integrated to the entire borough.

“Do it as if you were doing it in your town,” West said as a suggestion to the qualified developers. “Not in look and fell, but quality.”


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