Credit: Lower Gwynedd Township/YouTube screenshot
An Upper Dublin-based developer presented a sketch plan proposal to Lower Gwynedd Township Supervisors last month to bring a 360-unit apartment complex, parking garage, and a 46,000-square-foot retail building, to the Spring House Corporate Center on Norristown Road.
BET Investments, which specializes in retail, office and residential development in 11 states and owns Spring House Village in Lower Gwynedd Township, has plans to preserve the historic building on the parcel. The company is owned by president Michael Markman and Toll Brothers co-founder Bruce Toll.
The proposal from BET Investments President Michael Markman included demolishing two existing office buildings on the parcel at 321-323 Norristown Road and replacing it with an apartment complex. The larger of the buildings that house Berkadia Commercial Mortgage will remain on the site. The property abuts Gwynedd Estates.
A historic building on the property would likely be converted into amenities for the apartment community. The retail building is proposed on the open space nearest the intersection of Norristown Road and Route 309/Fort Washington Expressway onramp.
“We own 4,000 apartments and seven million square feet of retail,” said Markman at the March 26 presentation, viewable on YouTube. “The apartments we build today are boutique hotel or resort hotel. The idea is you walk into your apartment and you feel like you’re on vacation. That’s what we’re constantly trying to do. We try to create apartments that match the areas we’re in.”
An example of such apartments is the new Residences at the Promenade in Dresher, which has filled its more than 400 apartments and boasts 150,000 square feet of retail. BET builds one- and two-bedroom units and studio apartments. They do not build three-bedroom homes, Markman said, because everywhere they do, people are concerned about more schoolchildren.
“The average cost is $2,400 a month,” Markman said.
Supervisors were concerned about BET Investments including “workforce” units into its design and making units affordable for medium- and low-income families. The company will explore how to incorporate affordable units into the plan.
“Not in these properties,” Markman said. “That’s a question that gets asked a lot. We’d consider it. The problem we’re having now, we don’t do affordable, but there is the potential of doing affordable units on the property (through tax credit or tax give-backs).”
“If there was an interest in that, we could talk about designating some units as affordable-type housing,” Markman said.
“There absolutely is an interest,” said Supervisor Janine Martin, via remote video.
BET Investments would have to go before the township zoning hearing board for zoning variance relief or before the supervisors if it wants an amendment to the zoning code.
Watch the proposal here.
