Yesterday we shared with you details from a story from the Times Herald that offered details on an apartment community proposed for the space currently occupied by the former headquarters of IKEA (the empty office building next to the move theater) in the Plymouth Meeting Mall complex. Also mentioned was the possibility for a hotel or office building on adjacent property.

Last night we attended a special meeting of Plymouth Township’s Council and there was a presentation from PREIT, the owners of the mall, and Korman Communities. The proposal doesn’t involve apartments as we reported yesterday. It is for an extended stay community called Ave, that is a product of Korman Communities.

Ave is targeted towards business travelers that need lodging for an extended period of time, people going through a transition such as a divorce, and people who are doing renovations or between homes.  As proposed there will be 265 suites consisting of a mix of studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom accommodations. Each room will have a full kitchen. The building will be four stories with parking underneath. There will also be common areas such as a cafe, business center, pool and fire pits, plus direct access to the mall via a bridge to Whole Foods.

A couple years ago PREIT proposed an apartment community for the same property and Council members voiced concerns and it was shelved. Council members are still concerned that if Ave is built, it could end up as apartments down the road. They might want to check out Ave’s website where it mentions the “chic renter” and “unfurnished residences”.

Traffic was also a question, especially the main mall entrance and exit on Germantown Pike. The presenter stated that PREIT is working on a plan to improve the flow in that area and that AVE would encourage its guests to enter and exit from Hickory Road and use the outer loop behind the mall to make their way to Ave.

What about the hotel or office building we mentioned yesterday? That only came up briefly when Council asked about the adjacent properties. The presenter stated that since they do not yet own the property, they are not going to present any proposals for it at this time. The property in question is a work yard for the turnpike that is still in use. There was no mention of the property where there is currently a Sleepy’s.

Sorry for the quality of the photos, there was a slideshow and they were taken of the projected images.

Stay tuned for more.