Standing-Room Only Crowd of Taxpayers Support Madison Lot Redevelopment

A majority of residents last Wednesday spoke no opposition to the redevelopment of Madison Parking Lot by Equus Capital Partners at the Lansdale Parking Authority session.

They were cautious and trepidatious, however, about some tenets of the two-phase redevelopment into retail shops, residential space, a parking garage, a parking lot and skate park.

One or two residents wanted guarantees that both phases would be completed as planned, and a couple had issues with the number of parking spaces proposed in the sketch plan.

Read more specifics on the redevelopment here.

Parking Issues and Parking Garages

Parking was the most-discussed concern by residents last Wednesday night.

Resident John Darab challenged the estimation of 1.5 vehicles per unit for the number of parking spaces.

"Have you identified children per unit? Dogs per unit? We need a dog park and something for children to play at," he said.

Lansdale Parking Authority Chairman Dan Dunigan said Lansdale has an overabundance of parks nearby the project.

"I don't foresee that to constrain the issue in that fashion," he said. 

Chris Flyzik, owner of Wilson's Hardware and Locksmiths on West Main Street and Madison Street, said she liked the plan, especially the Madison Street parkway with 60 angled spaces. Yet, she still was cautious about the amount of spaces.

"Before the parking garage gets built, you have people in town now, you have SEPTA parkers, the apartment parkers and people that use the new stores. Where is everybody going to fit?" Flyzik said.

Dunigan said there are 175 spaces now, and the number jumps at the end of phase one to 340. At the end of phase one, there will be the first group of residents, and the same number of people that go there now, he said.

Kirchner said commuters at $1 a day now use half of the lot, which is not a revenue generator for that lot.

"Hence, the working relationship of SEPTA moving commuters over to their lot," she said, "and into the parking garage on their lot."

Kirchner said the sketch plan has moved 60 spaces "right at your back door."

Flyzik said the study should have at least two cars per unit as its estimation.

Lansdale Parking Authority member John Siegler said the Nelson-Nygaard parking study showed there is an underutilized lot at Pennbrook Train Station. He said the study planned that "some of the commuters would shift down to that lot."

Flyzik asked how much surface parking would be at Madison that doesn't include garage parking. Haines said 309 spaces, plus the 60 on Madison Street.    

Resident Drew Stockmal challenged the number of spots proposed on the project, which looks to bring 540 spaces total. Of those 540, 340 spaces are for residents and 200 spaces are for the public. Of the 340 resident spaces, 309 of them will be at grade and 31 spaces will be elevated.

Madison Parking Lot has around 175 spaces at present.

Stockmal said about 375 of those spaces would be taken for residential, at the 1.5 spaces per unit estimation, which leaves 165 spaces.

"You are taking a lot now with 250 and ending up with 165 and adding 10,000 square feet of retail and a 500-seat theatre (referencing 311 W. Main St.)," Stockmal said. "So, the folks that have retail now, they are getting less than they had before, mathwise.

"I'm thinking to myself, you are shoehorning a lot in there, and I'm hoping you start thinking of air rights sooner than later," Stockmal said.

Stockmal said SEPTA's proposed pedestrian walk over the railroad tracks to its proposed parking garage would solve all the problems.

"In the meantime, we're losing net spaces with this for current retailers and bringing in 10,000 square feet more of retail," he said. "That's an issue. Once the project happens, it will be worse parkingwise than now."  

Dunigan said that in any construction there would be displaced parking.

"You have to do the best you can," he said.

Dunigan said while there are 175 spaces now, about 100 are used by SEPTA commuters. That leaves 75 as the net number for retail.

"One of the things, as the Lansdale Parking Authority, is do our hardest to maintain as much as we can," he said. "In construction, you give up some space for a while, but you do it because you know where the benefit lies farther down road."

SEPTA Deputy General Manager Jeff Knueppel said SEPTA would make sure to have hours in its lots that don't conflict with a lot of retail activity. 

Knueppel said SEPTA is "working to look toward the future" as far as improvements to the entrance to the train station and pedestrian safety improvements. He said funding a $15 million parking garage on the other side of the tracks is the bigger challenge.

"It positions us for some growth, but not fantastic growth," he said.

Lansdale Borough Council candidate Peter Schmitt asked where parking for SEPTA would take place while the parking garage is being built.   

Knueppel said it is not unusual for SEPTA to look for alternate locations, perhaps places where it can make deals with companies in the area that have overflow parking. Certain companies would also look for a short-term opportunity with SEPTA, he said.

"Our goal is to match and not lose any parking while in construction," Knueppel said.

One resident asked how the projected annual revenue of $750,000 compares to current revenue from the parking lot and Madison Avenue. Dunigan said, "If it's $750,000 up there, that is a $775,000 improvement."

"It's going from backward to forward," Dunigan said.  

One resident asked where SEPTA's funding would come from for its parking garage.

Kirchner said it makes sense to reach out to PennDOT for such a transit-oriented development. She said PennDOT has already funded an engineering study for the parking garage.

"We will continue to work with PennDOT and with the Municipal Planning Organization for funding from as we move forward with this project," she said. "We have a high degree of confidence that we will be able to attract further funding to this project.

She called Rep. Bob Godshall's recent acquisition of a $2.5 million grant as a "nice little jump start" to the project.

"That's why we are doing outreach now before shovel goes into ground," she said. 

Dunigan said requesting for funding will be easier now that the sketch design is in place on an already-acquired parcel. 

Jim Stidham, of Lansdale Avenue, liked everything he saw at the meeting.

"I was anticipating coming here and not liking something," he said.

Stidham wanted to know if the borough gets the parking garage if phase two never starts.

Dunigan said there would not be a garage if there were no need for it. He said the borough still has the rights to construct one in the future. 

Stidham said everything benefits from the SEPTA pedestrian bridge. He said phase one of the redevelopment, SEPTA's garage and SEPTA's pedestrian bridge all tie in together for success.

"This is too big to fail," he said. "Let's see about locking down SEPTA and the bridge."

Dunigan said negotiations continue with SEPTA.

"If they are unfunded, it's hard to make them funded," he said. "We can do all we can in reasonable powers to tie their hands or hold their feet to the fire. With the good working relationship we have, they have every intention of making that come to fruition."

Dunigan said it does leave the borough open to some risk.

"We take no risk, we get no reward," he said.

"To Say It's a Game Changer, Doesn't Do It Justice."

One resident asked if the redevelopment would affect Lansdale Bike Night and the Under the Lights Car Show.

"I think it will affect both of them positively," Dunigan said. "Currently, the overflow off Main for both shows does end up in Madison. The way the project is laid out, there is a big space that is an expanded Madison Street, with additional surface parking. We can't promise what Equus will do relative to it. With the way the relationship has gone, I can clearly see that they see value in all the events."

Dunigan envisioned the proposed plaza between the residential and retail buildings as a greenway where a podium is set up to award his brother-in-law for his 1964 Harley during Bike Night. 

"I think it will be a big bonus. Not only that, but the 300-plus potential attendees. And those events are fantastic," Dunigan said. 

Lansdale Borough Council candidate Richard Strahm hoped the redevelopment was wildly successful for Lansdale—but had reservations about no guarantees on the project.

"If phase one doesn’t work quite well as envisioned, what guarantees does the borough have with the timing of phase two, or even if phase two is going to exist?" Strahm said. 

Dunigan said the project is a business risk.

"One of the benefits of phasing would be to have a completed phase one and not a phase two, as opposed to a half-completed both," he said.

Dunigan said many towns and municipalities around the country were faced with a half done something, once everything cratered.

"There's no promise that phase two comes. It's a business risk and we can't guard against it," he said. "Take it or you don’t. Equus is willing to take it."

Strahm asked if phase two does not materialize, is there anything in the contract to reclaim the land.

Borough Manager Timi Kirchner said, if that were the case, phase one would give the borough many amenities anyway.

"Remember with phase one, all the improvements will be done: the trail, the skate park, the whole plaza area, an improved Madison Street with much more parking," Kirchner said. "In the phase one plan, there is parking where phase two was going to go. All that will remain and benefit the borough, even if phase two doesn't happen."

Kirchner said phasing would make the project very successful and allow phase two to succeed.

"We have all the amenities up front that are a benefit to the borough and its citizens," she said.  

Councilwoman Mary Fuller said she was "extremely shocked about the project." She gave credit where credits due to Equus, the parking authority, SEPTA, Nelson-Nygaard and Delta Development Group.

"It was a concerted effort by all involved. To say it's a game changer for the borough doesn't do it justice," she said.