Proposed high-rise moves forward

Borough Council unanimously approved on Monday the Conditional Use Permit decision for a proposed high-rise.

The Residences at College and Atherton is proposed at the corner of West College Avenue and South Atherton Street (across from the almost complete Metropolitan).

The high-rise will be a 12-story, mixed-use building, with 278,338 square feet of residential space and 46,459 square feet for commercial use. The residential space will be limited to 244 units with 743 bedrooms.

Among the conditions is that the applicant will provide funding to create an air-monitoring station, to be located on borough property, for the purpose of monitoring air pollution. The high-rise will be located across the street from the Penn State West Campus Steam Plant. Air quality was among the issues brought up at the first public hearing for the conditional use application in February.

In other business

Council adopted the 2018-22 Capital Improvement Plan unanimously. The plan recommends projects totaling $56 million over five years, with $5.9 million of that in 2018.

It’s been a hot topic lately because of its inclusion of an action sports park.

The action sports park has been a contentious idea for a little more than a year now because Orchard Park was identified as the recommended site in June 2016.

Council removed it as the preferred site in August and directed borough staff to identify other possible sites, borough Manager Tom Fountaine said at a council meeting in June.

Residents have voiced their opposition to the park going in Orchard Park at multiple meetings.

Councilman Evan Myers offered two amendments to the CIP — the first to remove any borough neighborhood park from consideration for the action sports park and the second to remove Orchard Park from consideration. Both motions failed, 4-3.

The objective was to have a skate park in a borough park for borough kids, said Councilwoman Theresa Lafer.

The CIP doesn’t give the project any money or put it in any place, she said. It’s a blueprint for council and staff to work from during the year.

The likely next step is for council to put together a subcommittee to evaluate potential sites for the park.

This story was originally published July 17, 2017 at 11:20 PM with the headline "Proposed high-rise moves forward."