Jenkintown Borough may have two new apartment buildings in its future.

The Borough recently held a preliminary review for roughly 40+ apartment units at 463 Old York Road, the former site of Helweg Funeral Home. The preliminary plan calls for a commercial first floor which will face Old York Road.

“They’re doing it right,” Borough manager George Locke said. “They’re going to get a zoning and engineering review, and they’ll appear before our committees to craft their plan. This way, they also get exposure to the residents and have some kind of inkling as to what they can change. It needs some adjustments. They’re listening to people.”

“They have a nice courtyard with a green space and a nice modern look for the residents,” he said.

A Conditional Use Hearing on November 30 will include a presentation on behalf of UD Jenkintown Holdings, LLC, which submitted an application for apartments at 415-425 Johnson Street and 429 York Road, the former Times Chronicle building.

“That’s a two-story building with offices,” Locke said. “The buyer wants to add a third story and then wants apartments on the second and third floors. He has to get the Conditional Use, has to go to the Zoning Hearing Board for a variance, and then he’d have to go Land Development. He has quite a few approvals.”

Locke said that residents’ parking concerns will be mitigated by Council.

“Through our regulations, apartments are required to have 1.5 parking spots per apartment. That’s the code. There are ways to get fewer than that, and they can ask for an exception,” he said. “Council is usually tougher than people want them to be on that. Council has previously held applicants to no fewer than one space per apartment.”

The original proposal, which was submitted August 31, called for 26 apartment units.

“I think you’ll see council hold them. The Johnson project is looking for a three-spot relief, and they’ll probably get it,” Locke said. “It’s a walkable town, and Council wants to promote the walkability. It’s ultimately up to them.”

The UD Jenkintown Holdings, LLC application can be found here.

These proposals dovetail off of The Flats, a 104-unit, 150,000-square-foot apartment community by the Galman Group that will begin welcoming its first residents in early 2023. For the background and details on The Flats, you can read Glenside Local’s previous coverage here.

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