45-acre residential development project proposed in College Township. What to know

A new 45-acre residential development has been proposed in the Dale Summit area, one that would include an array of options for buyers and renters.

The plan, submitted by the developer Burkentine and discussed during Tuesday’s College Township Planning Commission meeting, highlights a 629-unit townhouse and apartment complex. It would be located at the end of Point Pleasant Drive, near the Pleasant Pointe Apartments.

The overall goal of the development plan is to create a “planned residential development (PRD) that harmonizes modern living with the timeless allure of nature,” according to the provided project narrative.

According to the sketch provided to the College Township Planning Commission, the proposed complex would include several types of housing pods and units, including 504 apartment units, 62 rental townhomes and 63 townhomes for sale.

One of the key points of the development is that it aims to provide a variety of housing that’s affordable for people of varying income levels, “recognizing the importance of workforce housing,” the project narrative states. The apartments would be one, two and three bedrooms.

That falls in line with one of College Township’s overarching visions for the Dale Summit area — improving housing affordability.

According to commission member Ed Darrah, the PRD fell in line another overarching vision — the integration of nature into an urban neighborhood.

“You do have some active recreation land in between the apartments and across the development, which you don’t usually see in an urban-type of design,” Darrah said. “Coming from the metropolitan Philly area, you never see any of that down there. I really like the design.”

The complex would include a recreation area between two of the apartment buildings, a clubhouse, three on-site dog parks, two community gathering and grove area spaces, a 6.6-acre commercial development space for future projects and five stormwater management ponds, with two of the ponds expected to be used for outdoor recreation.

The proposed complex would also have two means of access — one street intersecting Shiloh Road and another linking with Pleasant Point Drive.

The plans were presented to the College Township Planning Commission on Tuesday evening by PennTerra’s Senior Project Manager, Ron Borger.

The Planning Commission also discussed Planned Residential Developments, which according to the College Township planning code is, “an area of land, controlled by a landowner, to be developed as a single entity for a number of dwelling units, or combination of residential and nonresidential uses.”

PRDs are often used to encourage innovations in residential and nonresidential development so that the growing demand for housing and other development may be met by greater variety in type, which is what’s going on in College Township.

The township’s principle planner Lindsay Schoch gave a presentation to the board about PRDs, and explained why the developer was taking that route.

“PRDs can come in when a developer or applicant has a different vision that may be outside of the actual contents held within out zoning ordinance,” Schoch said. “PRDs allows some negotiating and back and forth between the council and the applicant to make sure that the plan is they way they want to see it.”

After Borger’s presentation, the commission questioned and offered feedback, with commission member Robert Hoffman speaking positively about the plans.

“After I saw some more of the diagram of what you have, I tend to think that it’s on the right track,” Hoffman said. “It has the human components like the dog areas, interaction areas and the pods, which is just wonderful.”

Other commission members asked how the recreation ponds would be presented, with Hoffman saying that some friendly landscaping, a building or gate would do nicely to lead into those areas of the complex.

If the plan is approved, it would be carried out in two construction phases — phase one would begin in the summer of 2025, and would be completed in the fall of 2027.

This first phase would include the construction of the 63 fee-simple townhomes, a garage with each.

The construction of 62 rental town homes, the clubhouse and 72 apartment units would also be included in the first phase, along with three smaller stormwater ponds, two community gathering areas two dog parks and an active recreation area.

The second phase would begin in the fall of 2027 with an estimated completion in fall of 2030.

This next phase would include the construction of the remaining 432 apartment units, as well as the remaining two stormwater and recreation ponds, the third dog park and another active recreation area.

The complex would include an estimated total of 1,183 parking stalls.

The Dale Summit area — the area around the intersections of the Benner Pike, East College Avenue and Shiloh Road, and home of the Nittany Mall — has been a focus for College Township in recent years, with officials seeking input last year on a Dale Summit Redevelopment Plan.

This story was originally published June 5, 2024 at 6:35 PM.