On the October 13th agenda for the Whitemarsh Township Planning Commission is a sketch plan submitted by the Hankin Group for the property at 435-455 Bethlehem Pike in Fort Washington (Whitemarsh Township). The proposed development site is 5.5 acres and adjacent to the Fort Washington SEPTA Station and Sandy Run Creek.

The sketch plan shows two apartment buildings with 162 units in total, plus 6,000 square feet of retail space in one of the buildings. To allow the project to move forward, the Hankin Group is proposing that the township adopt a new transit-friendly zoning overlay (TDO-3) that would allow this type of development by conditional use (and under certain conditions) within the VC-1 District.

In a memo to the members of the planning commission included with the agenda, the township’s zoning officer states that, “A major element of the proposed development would be the restoration of the Sandy Run floodplain on the applicant’s properties and adjacent lands owned by PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.” The restoration would work to reduce flooding,
improve stormwater management, and restore natural habitat (according to the minutes of the special meeting referenced below).

This will be the second time the Hankin Group has been before the planning commission with this sketch plan. After the first review (which did not seek a recommendation), there was a special joint meeting held in May where members of the board of supervisors and the planning commission toured the Hankin Group’s Eagleview and Keva Flats development in Exton. The purpose was to show township representatives its work, including a completed floodplain restoration project similar to what is proposed for Sandy Run. You can find the minutes from the special meeting here.

Hankin Group is not seeking a recommendation from the planning commission on October 13th. There will be a discussion about the proposed development and the proposed zoning overlay.

More to come.

Rendering – The Hankin Group via Whitemarsh Township public documents
Disclosure – An attorney for the Hank Group working on this project is the reporter’s college roommate