Bryn Mawr townhouse plan raises unusual question: Is there too much parking?

A proposed townhouse development will be a real upgrade on its street in central Bryn Mawr, Lower Merion Townships planning commission agrees, but it has given the developer a long list of items to explore to make it even better.

The properties in question include the Devon Apartments at 859 Old Lancaster Road, two older garden-apartment buildings containing 24 units, which were put up for sale by Main Line Realty Corp., an affiliate of Main Line Health in 2013. Developer JLPH Associates has also acquired neighboring properties at 843 and 847 Old Lancaster, and will consolidate the parcels into a lot of 1.9 acres. All of the structures, including two single-family houses built in the mid- to late-19th century, will be demolished.

Replacing them will be a total 28 units: 12 townhouses set back from the street, and, fronting Old Lancaster Road, a new type of dwelling in the township. The 16 units there will be in the form of quads or stacked twins, as Assistant Director of Planning Chris Leswing described them in a presentation on a tentative sketch plan for the site May 5. That is, along the streetscape, the structures will have the appearance of twin homes, but each half will contain two units, with living space on different levels of the three-story structures.

That unusual configuration led to one of the planners questions: Would there be a market for the new homes?

Sarah Peck, whose Progressive Housing Ventures is a partner in the project, said it could be a nice variety.

With options for elevators, the quads could appeal to older, empty-nesters, or, with the location close to Bryn Mawrs amenities, to first-time homebuyers. She said the quads would be priced in the mid-$400,000s; the somewhat larger townhouses in the low- to mid-$500,000s, in the bulls eye of what the market would like to see, a range appropriate for the neighborhood.

The project as proposed has another feature, nearly unheard-of in Lower Merion for a multifamily development, Leswing noted. In addition to two parking spaces per unit in the homes garages, the plan currently provides 10 guest parking spaces on-site. That led some on the commission to wonder if there isnt too much parking, robbing the development of green or recreational space, or another desirable feature larger porches that would reflect the character of the neighborhood.

Peck had also said an attraction of the homes would be the availability of transit in Bryn Mawr, but planners noted the tight space and multiple breaks along a central driveway for garages made the project seem dominated by parking. Some commission members want one of those items for study before the project comes back for the next stage of review to be eliminating some parking spaces.

Discussion of the plans tied in with another item on the agenda that night. Because the trend of several similar in-fill or redevelopment proposals has been to build to the building envelope, creating larger, boxy structures, Leswing said porches are seen as one feature that could soften their mass and make new construction more compatible with established neigborhoods.

Township commissioners last year adopted a zoning code amendment to permit porches to extend 10 feet into the front-yard setback in R-6A zoning districts, transitional areas near commercial districts. Now a further amendment, triggered both by some recent plans and a recommendation of a committee working toward writing a new Comprehensive Plan, is proposed to apply more broadly. Continued...

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Bryn Mawr townhouse plan raises unusual question: Is there too much parking?