The Galman Group, a real estate developer located in The Pavilion business complex in Jenkintown, is proposing the construction of a new medical office building on a parcel of land owned by the company.
The proposal calls for a three-story building on 2.621 acres adjacent to an existing parking lot, land which would be paved and would require an amendment to the current zoning map.
According to township documents, the amendment would rezone Block 358-A Unit #7 at 160 Old York Road from RC Recreation Conservation to BC Business Center (Foxcroft). The land proposed for rezoning is currently leased by the owner of Block 358-A Unit #8 (the site of a parking area) to John Barnes Trustees Inc. The latter property owner operates the Abington Club.
An ordinance to rezone the parcel of land was approved at the April 11 Board of Commissioners meeting, according to Terry Castorina, assistant township manager.
From the April 11 agenda packet:
Galman Group was represented by attorney Marc Jonas at the April 11 meeting, the minutes of which were released on Thursday, May 9.
During the meeting, Mr. Jonas said the proposed map amendment has been reviewed and endorsed by both the Township and County Planning Commissions.
“The Pavilion is a multiuse property dating back to 1968 and the Galman Group acquired it in 1996 and renovated it,” Jonas said. “It has a lot of old design and infrastructure that attracts new tenants, which is the reason for a proposed new medical office building to help provide a ‘shot in the arm’ for a shopping center and multiuse development.”
According to Jonas, the next step for the proposal will be the land development process, which includes details of construction and improvements, stormwater management, and landscaping.
“The [Abington Club] golf course is not part of the property to be rezoned. It functions independently and is owned by the John Barnes Trustees,” he said. “The golf course has already been adjusted in the past to exist as is without any adverse impact from the proposed rezoning, and the applicant requests that the Board of Commissioners vote affirmatively on the proposal.”
Galman Group said that the existing vegetation will be supplemented with a net gain of approximately 1,700 sf of green area if the plan is approved.
A tenant for the building has not yet been identified, Jonas said.
“They bought the land zoned for conservation/recreation, and they have a right to use it as currently zoned or sell it, but they do not have a right to force a zoning change to pave it, which will not benefit our community,” an Abington resident present at the meeting said, noting that there are nearly a dozen buildings within a five-to-10-minute drive from the proposed location.
Glenside Local reached out to Galman Group several times in March and April for comment. They did not respond.
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