Madison Lot Redevelopment Sketch Plan Unveiled

What was unveiled to a standing-room only crowd of taxpayers Wednesday night was a sketch plan of the phased Madison Lot Redevelopment in the heart of the downtown, which has a targeted start date, at the latest, of First Quarter 2014.

The project also has an estimated annual revenue of $747,500.

The sketch plan unveiling came with a surprise: the much-discussed skate park has found a permanent home in the northwest corner of the property, near the water tower on Third Street/Richardson Avenue and next to the existing electrical yard. It will be designed and constructed as part of the first phase of the project.

The Madison Lot Redevelopment plan is a partnership between the Lansdale Parking Authority, SEPTA and Equus Capital Partners, formerly BPG Properties.

"This is an outside-of-the-box idea for creating a multimodal project that will be a model for the state," said Lansdale Parking Authority Chairman Dan Dunigan in his opening remarks.

The scope of the redevelopment is to provide more parking spaces and a parking garage, along with the benefit of residential and retail space. Townhomes previously considered in the northwest portion of the site are no longer part of the plan. 

Dunigan said the authority and SEPTA worked out a solution for commuter parking problems and bus layover issues. About 100 of the 175 usable spaces currently in Madison Lot are used by SEPTA daily riders, he said.    

SEPTA has its sights set on an estimated $15 million parking garage on the other side of the tracks, off the West Fifth Street entrance. A pedestrian bridge is proposed over the tracks to connect to the Madison Lot Redevelopment, complete with ADA-compliant ramps or elevators.

Dunigan said the plan merges "shared needs to create shared opportunities." The borough improves its town center and makes it more friendly, which sparks more redevelopment in its core.

"It's an opportunity to create something more through a public-private partnership between and among the borough, Equus and SEPTA: a truly multimodal transit-oriented development, which serves as the focal point and a primary gathering place for the borough," Dunigan said.

The project would also do something else: it will make Lansdale the first community in Montgomery County to have a completed Liberty Bell Trail, connecting Upper Gwynedd Township to Hatfield Township.

The Specifics of Madison Lot Redevelopment

George Haines, of Equus Capital Partners, outlined the sketch plan for the Madison Lot Redevelopment:

• 250 apartment units, with a 50/50 mix of 1-bedroom and 2-bedrooms in two separate buildings.
• About 10,000-square-feet of retail space on the ground floor of each building.
• A parking garage will be built in the second phase.
• Building A will be built in the first phase. It will house 11,000-square-feet of retail on the ground floor. There will be 21 residential units on the first floor and 156 units on floors two to six.
• Building B will be built in the second phase. It will house 9,800-square-feet of retail space on the ground floor. There will be eight residential units on the first floor and 68 units on the second to fifth floors.
• The project calls for 540 total parking spaces: 340 spaces for residents and 200 spaces for the public. Of the 340 resident spaces, 309 of them will be at grade and 31 spaces will be elevated.
• A designated Lansdale Police Bike Patrol area near the train station and Railroad Plaza.

Haines said the residential units will be "high end" and compete with some of the best communities in the Greater Philadelphia area.

"They will command premium rent because it's transit-oriented, because it's in a great community, because it's very walkable, because you have the amenities (the Liberty Bell Trail and skate park)," he said.

The townhomes proposed in the northwest section of the project have been eliminated, to allow for surface parking and the parking garage, Haines said.

Parking, he said, is a 1.5 space per unit ratio.

A public plaza is proposed between the two buildings, he said. It is suggested that the Lansdale Beer Fest—which at present takes place on the northwest portion of the site—be relocated to the plaza in the future.

"I need to create a destination. I need to create a new place of activity," Haines said of the plaza. "By having a well landscaped and hardscaped plaza with benches, trees, green area and brick and pavers, people can come and meet, go out for dinner, have coffee, spend time in plaza and walk throughout borough," he said. "The plaza will be public. That’s going to be big for the project."

Haines said the Liberty Bell Trail, on this site, will run from the train station, along the rail corridor, around the skate park, close to the water tower and bend back to Third Street.

"We’re thinking 10- to 12-feet wide, trees, landscaping, paved, where people are walking, jogging, walking their dog, riding a bike, rollerblading—whatever it is. It promotes an active lifestyle," Haines said. "It's an alternate mode of transportation in the borough."

Building off a recommendation from Lansdale traffic engineer Earl Armitage, of Pennoni Associates, Madison Street would be one way from Main Street to Wood Street. 

Furthermore, Madison Street would be widened north on Madison Street to provided up to 60 angled parking spaces.

"The parking is getting lost. (Businesses on Madison felt parking was) pushed back into the site. We said, how can we move it closer to Main Street, closer to Madison Street?" Haines said. "We said, can we expand to the north and widen it? So today, there are maybe 10 to 13 spaces along Madison on the north and south side. It's a little inefficient as it is. When you widen it and run one way and park at a 45-degree angle, you get upwards of 55 to 60 spaces." 

"We’re taking that and putting it front and center. For retail and the second front door to businesses on Main Street, we’re creating extra parking capacity there," Haines said.

Armitage said the redevelopment would connect to upcoming projects in Lansdale, including 311 W. Main St., Andale Green and the Vine-Wood Connector PCTI Project.

"With the PCTI, there will be a new signal at Main and Wood, so vehicles will be diverted to the signal. It will stop traffic on Main and allow vehicles to come out," he said.

Dunigan said the plan is an "accessible town center project."

"It's pedestrian friendly, it's motorist friendly, and it's designed and planned to address the current needs and prepare for the future," he said. "That's what you're looking at." 

Dollars and Sense

Dunigan discussed the return-on-investment of the project—and attempted to quash the banter that the borough gave away a parcel of land.

"That giveaway will have one heck of a return," he said.  

Here's the dollars and cents of the project for annual revenue for Lansdale:

• Electric for 250 residential units: $375,000/year
• Electric for 20,000-square-feet of commercial: $165,000/year
• Sewer for 250 residential units: $75,000/year
• Sewer for 20,000-square-feet of commerical: $10,000/year
• Real estate taxes at 3.5 mills: $122,500/year
• Total of $747,500 a year

There are one-time fees for sewer Equivalent Dwelling Units:

• Residential for 250 units: $800,000
• Commercial for 20,000 square feet: $165,000
• Total of $965,000

Dunigan also outlined dollar values for value-added improvements:

• Remediation of the site: $75,000
• 200 additional parking spaces at $5,000 per space: $1 million
• Liberty Bell Trail system: $200,000
• Skate park: $350,000
• Madison Street Improvements: $500,000
• Railroad Plaza Improvements: $30,000
• SEPTA parking garage: $15 million
• Main Street pedestrian crossing: $150,000
• SEPTA pedestrian bridge: $2,500,000
• Public plaza: $500,000
• Air rights over parking lot: $252,000 (14 percent on Madison Lot side valued at $1.8 million)

Dunigan also touted the number of part-time and full-time jobs generated by the development, not counting the construction jobs:

• 31 full-time jobs
• 21 part-time jobs 

Dunigan said there would be an estimated $1.998 million in annual spending generated by the project within the first year of operation, and an estimated $2.22 million per year five years out.

As far as annual spending generated by supplier industries and secondary businesses, Dunigan said estimates for the first year and five years out are $849,000 and $943,000, respectively.

The total overall benefit, he said, is $25.6 million to Lansdale.