In Hours-Long Meeting, Newtown Council Approves Second Phase Of Steeple View Development

At an hours-long meeting Tuesday, the Newtown Borough Council voted to approve the updated final plans for Steeple View development.

Council President Tara Grunde-McLaughlin and council members Kris Bauman, Dennis O’Brien, Emily Heinz, and Maryellen Raymond voted in favor of the amended land development for the project, while Council Member Bob Szwajkos was against the project as proposed.

Attorney Tim Duffy, who represented Steelpe View developer Allan Smith, said the latest version of the the plans have been cleaned up and include feedback from the borough’s planners.

The first phase of the Steeple View development on South State Street is finished, but the latest approval allows the proposed second phase to become a reality.

The project’s second phase will feature a three-story building with retail on the ground floor and 12 units above. Initially, developers intended this building solely for retail.

Another building will include ground-floor retail and 14 residential units on the two floors above.

A third building is planned with a ground-floor restaurant and 14 residential units on the upper floors.

Four additional buildings, each with 12 residences, are planned for construction. Previously, these were set to have 16 units each, but recent plans have changed that.

Smith has designed the second phase to include a pedestrian bridge over the Newtown Creek to link the borough to the township’s Carl Sedia Park, a walking area along the creek, and a piazza with seating off East Centre Avenue.

Duffy said the multi-million dollar piazza will be on a conservation easement to ensure it will be available for public access.

A red barn that sat on the property was dismantled, but it will be rebuilt under the approved plans to be a garage with a community space on the second floor. The community space will be controlled by the Steeple View homeowners association.

Smith, a Newtown resident, has worked for years to redevelop the former Stockburger Chevrolet site that sits in the heart of the historic borough. The dealership closed 14 years ago.

Over the years, Smith’s plans have evolved and changes have been made.

Council members, including Szwajkos, peppered the developer’s representatives with questions about traffic, pedestrian access, parking, and the piazza.

Duffy told council the developer has worked with experts to design the plan.

Concerns were raised about the pedestrian bridge that would link the borough to the township and what would happen if the township doesn’t approve the bridge.

The majority of the township still has support for the bridge to link the development to the township’s park, Duffy said.

Solicitor Michael Clarke said the agreement with Smith gives the developer the incentive to get the bridge completed or the borough can move to make it reality.

Szwajkos said the current Steeple View plan will cause parking trouble for the borough and create a more dangerous situation for pedestrians “because of the traffic problem we have in town.” He said the removal of a parking garage from the plan has led to problems.

“Don’t tell me we got the benefit of the bargain,” he said.

Bauman called on Smith to revamp the parking design for the development.

Duffy said the engineers will look at the plans, but the borough’s experts have not raised any concerns about the current layout.

In September, the council approved Smith’s plan to fulfill Steeple View’s parking requirements via a shared parking agreement between the Steeple View project and the adjacent Stocking Works office complex.

Don Hayden, who is involved of Walk Friendly Newtown, encouraged the developer to create a pedestrian safe development, including placing a raised crosswalk.