The hope is to get a smaller, like a cafe-style use.
With no kitchen?
Or is the plan to have the tenant do the fit out?
I see the architect is coming.
well phil why don't you handle that what do you sure go ahead
phil did you hear the question phil
i think we lost you might have muted yourself
phil are you there you hear me yes good now we can okay
Yes, I heard the question. And there could be some minor cooking facilities, either at the first level or down in the basement. But if I had my druthers, I would take a florist shop. Thank you.
And the basement is strictly storage and utilities, by the way.
Okay. And is the basement restricted to that commercial unit or can all tenants in the building access the basement?
There are different portions to the basement.
There will be tenant storage on the northwest end of the basement, and there will be, in the front, underneath the commercial, that will be dedicated to the commercial tenant.
Go ahead.
I guess another question I have is about mail and just package drop-off, package management.
I see you do have a dedicated residential lobby, but it does seem to have mostly space for people to transit through it.
And I just want to know, what's your plan for managing seven units worth of Amazon packages and DoorDash?
Yeah, actually, what has been described as a bike room is really a package room.
I misspoke.
I might also add, this is going to be an elevator building with direct access to each unit from the elevator, which will open on the front or back, depending on which unit it's accessing.
So private entrance and private elevator access for each apartment.
We're really looking to get a higher end user here and people who will be more stable.
So DeMarco, your architect has been attempting to put his hands up several times.
Yeah, he can talk.
Do you want me to swear him in?
Yeah, please.
I misspoke.
Please state your name and spell it for the stenographer.
Richard Dullo.
real quick i misspoke that's a package room not a bike room that's for amazon packages
richard villa r-i-c-h-a-r-d-v-i-l-l-a do you swear or firm to tell the truth the whole truth nothing
but the truth yes mr demarco he's sworn in do you have questions or referrals for him or no i can i
i can just say have him state mr bill mr villa you're the architect for this project yes um is
this project the minimum uh development necessary to overcome the hardship posed by the original
structure yes i'll go ahead mr chairman uh i'm fine does anybody have a question for the architect
i was just going to clarify the all right go ahead uh that the we do have a bike room um mr
demarco uh correct himself we do have a bike room all right sorry a package room i gotta correct
myself a package room a trash room we have an area right next to the front door that is labeled as
mail so we can do mail and packages uh and as far as bikes the units upstairs are nice size two
bedrooms i think anybody's going to bring their bike up to their unit which happens in a lot of
buildings i do other questions storage in the basement i don't have a question i just think
just two general comments i think the while the facade is really nice i would put something that
allows people to know which door is the main door for the lobby i think you have four doors you'd
the emergency egress you have the trash door you have the commercial door and i think yes you're
showing the number but like something that lets visitors and like delivery people know that that's
the main entrance i will say that we do intend to put the name of the building and do me a favor get
it closer sorry but to put the name of the building and the address closer to the front door and then
allow the space above the commercial to have the commercial signage which would come back for its
own zoning permit i think the second thing is it's always great when you have a ground floor
apartment to be able to allow the people that might have mobility needs
to be able to allow the people that might have mobility needs to access those units.
I do see you have the wheelchair circle along the leading up to it.
So I'm hoping that the developer keeps that restricted to people who need wheelchair access.
And I'd just like to point out that we did present this brick, which is a nice,
it's like a burgundy brick with a nice sheen to it.
And that'll be the brick facade.
And the brick does have, the facade has some nice details to it, nice big windows.
all right thank you any other questions questions from our attorney
more uh to make a comment actually to let the applicant mr harvey know that um it's not going
to affect um what's happening here today but that his date of consolidation is incorrect
and he might want to get it corrected because it's indicates the property at 828 is 828 south
fourth street not south eighth street oh i did not notice thank you because i just looked at
your deed data consolidation i noticed i'm like they're not next to each other so you might want
to look into that and um i don't know the opa numbers everything like that you just might want
to look into that definitely the data consolidation we will definitely look into it yeah i see there's
there's a it's a scrivener's error you're right yeah right here okay you see it look oh yes yes
i do see it oh wait yeah no that can't be right everybody sees it hold on a moment questions or
comments from the virtual audience not at this time chair planning commission
madison matera planning commission staff the comprehensive plan recommends no change to the
existing CMX 2 commercial mixed use zoning at this location. The refusal for ground floor use
dimensions is de minimis. The appellant has demonstrated that there are unique conditions
or circumstances of the property that are perfect conformance with the code for rear yard depth,
occupied area, and building height. The proposed lot size per dwelling unit is a de minimis
deviation from the zoning code. The Planning Commission recommends the board grant the
request of variances for rear yard depth, occupied area, building height, ground floor,
use dimensions and seven units. Thank you. MI 2026 002 856 824 to 26 South A Street I vote yes.
Michael Johns my vote is yes. Cheryl Gaston my vote is yes. Tanetta Graham my vote is yes.
Ryan McAdams my vote is yes. Iowyn my vote is yes. Thank you Mr. DeMarco. Thank you for your time
everybody have a good night. Great and thank you for August you moved me up so I could make dinner
on my birthday. Oh, here you go. I made it. Thank you. We appreciate it. We're happy to
hear that. Okay. All right. So number 10, MI 2026-002-888-5911 Ridge Avenue. Brett
Feldman is the attorney, and I see that Brett is not here.
here you go it is me andrea so we know we think we know that could you please state and spell
your name for this stenographer andrea solomon a-n-d-r-e-a-s-a-l-o-m-o-n right do you swear
or affirm to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth i do could you identify
your client a relationship to this property yes my client is nikki group uh l i believe llp uh
with me today is corey goodman they're the owner of the property and with us today also is a
representative of the proposed tenant concentra urgent care and the project architect mr robert
lynn okay our our vice chair has a few questions good afternoon have you submitted your documents
exhibits 14 days in advance of this hearing we did and this is a special exception so do you
waive the rating of your referral as to play to its accuracy thank you all right thank you
you can share your screen to proceed with your case and the central roxford has you as unanimous
support i am raising my hand but do not not see the share screen can we make sure you're in
One moment, please.
Angela, you have been promoted.
Thank you.
I'm just sharing my screen.
okay thank you again andrea solomon from claire harrison harvey bransburg on behalf of the
applicant the nikki group this is an application for a special exception approval at the former
rite aid location on 59 11 ridge avenue one of many rite aid locations that are looking for
one of many Rite Aid locations that are looking for redevelopment of this large footprint building.
redevelopment of this.
This is, I think, a proposed use that will fit nicely into it, a proposed urgent care facility
for Concentra. Matt is here and he can speak a little bit to the need and their growth,
but their current location in Roxborough is at the Roxborough Memorial Hospital. They have about
half the square footage that they would be growing into and able to expand their services
our application received we met with the Central Roxborough Civic Association about two weeks ago
and received their unanimous support we worked a lot with them even though this application is
just for the use as part of the new tenant coming in the owner will be making some some improvements
to the facade, the streetscape, and the parking configuration that come out of their requests
and they're wanting to be more pedestrian access, just a better streetscape in what
is their busy commercial corridor.
Again, we received their unanimous support.
We also have a letter of support from Drexel University, which is one of the bigger
clients that Concentra serves, as well as Matt will speak to, a lot of work-related injuries
for the city as well. The property is zoned CMX 2.5 and located, as I mentioned, right at the
commercial corridor of uh Roxborough Avenue um we can keep flipping um it's it's long been vacant
since I think about two years since Rite Aid left and there is another vacant tenant space
that used to be a Chinese restaurant we're preserving that restaurant use
demising the Rite Aid space into two tenant properties so one will be a vacant commercial
tenant space that we're hoping to fill the bigger of the two tenant spaces will be uh inhabited by
concentra again this has been long vacant uh here's a picture of the parking field and the
building as it is now and behind me i know bob has been near the playground the the playground
isn't the playground right there no no i'll see that there's there's a wendy's because i can't
yeah at the end there there's a there's a church and a cemetery across ridge ave
and the wendy's diner right next door the diner is close by okay all right yeah
and and we are just down the street from rocksboro memorial which is where concentra is now
um here's here's a little bit better view of where we are
okay with the wendy's next door and uh we love to see empty ride aids but this is
this is what they look you know you can imagine what they look like and it'll be
uh of course improved um with that i'd love if we could swear in mr lynn so that he can speak
to a little bit could you please state and spell your name for the stenographer absolutely robert
h lynn l-i-n-n business address 1140 north providence road media do you swear or affirm
to tell the truth told truth nothing but the truth yes i do counsel please proceed thank you
hi bob uh can you please state for the record uh your title and your relationship to this project
certainly nice seeing everybody again thanks for serving here um uh bob lynn i'm the principal
lynn architects we just started our 45th official year on monday so we've been hanging around while
i formed the company 45 years ago which does make me slightly old that's okay um uh we are architects
civil engineers and code officials um we are in delaware county um i'm 31 years now on the planning
Commission to the Providence Township. I'm the zoning officer in one municipality, which is
Upper Providence, and I co-chair that position in two other municipalities in Delaware County, so
I see zoning a lot. I have worked on five comprehensive plans in three municipalities,
and again, we do site civil and architecture for a living, and I've had the privilege of appearing
in front of you several times. Why don't we proceed? Yeah, and Bob, you've been retained
by the owner on this project. I have indeed, yes. And I know you've walked the property,
And I know you've walked the property. Just describe briefly the conditions that it's in now.
just describe briefly the conditions that it's.
Certainly. And I'll give you a couple. I'm going to make this less than five minutes, I promise.
Well, I can't be much time. You gave me 30 last time. I used 27. I got three spare, if you recall.
That's hearing. We basically have 246 feet of frontage on Ridge Avenue.
We have 144 feet of frontage on Gerard Street or Gerhard Street on the side.
What Andrea just described was three different pieces of the puzzle.
The entire site is 26,789 square feet, which is about 0.61 acres.
There's a 10,967-foot building on the site.
The proposed use we are talking today is on the left-hand side under my pointer.
The recently closed sit-down take-out restaurants on the right-hand side,
and the space we'd like to see a tenant for is in the center of the parcel.
Basically, the consent for use, which Matt will describe more fully in a minute,
is about 7,165 square feet of the entire building.
We took a design approach of attempting to enhance the facade.
The site is in pretty bad condition.
Sorry, I was just, I'll lean first and then I'll, excuse me.
The site and the property is not in great condition. I think the photographs you saw gave you a better idea of what we're looking at.
Again, the facade is something left over from the 1960s. You saw that earlier in photographs. I don't even know what the pent roof is, frankly.
So we took the approach of doing six things. We first of all put a water table to anchor it in a simulated stone at the bottom with a little concrete cap.
We cleaned up all the fenestration in the facade doors.
We cleaned up this sign band.
The signs, if you look at the photographs, are left over where they put them right on the roof, which is the old school way of doing them.
And then we went ahead and we did a new pent roof, and we did some brackets under the pent roof.
They were the initial passes we took.
We also did some decorative lighting on the facade of the building.
When we interfaced with the RCO, they had some really well-thought-out suggestions what they wanted to see, and they were quite engaged in the project.
And they came up with, that was June 23rd of this year, they came up with six suggestions, which we incorporated.
First of all, they wanted to see a wider sidewalk at the building.
The current sidewalk is only five feet.
So what we did was we expanded the sidewalk.
That was something they thought would be more of a sense of arrival.
Plus, when you're parking there, your car bumper, when it hangs over, doesn't close the door of the building, which happens on these narrow sidewalks.
They didn't want to see us increase parking.
Parking right now is just abysmal.
It's a series of angular spaces.
And you really can't get in or out of any of them.
You can't circulate through the lot for 24 spaces.
We thought at first everybody wanted to see increased parking.
There is no parking required for this particular use.
But they said, no, we're a walkable community, decreased parking of anything.
So we did a new configuration.
We went from 24 to 22.
But what we did is we created legitimate spaces with legitimate backup distance, no more confusion.
So you have head-in spaces to the new widened sidewalk and head-in spaces to Ridge Avenue.
The next piece we did was we widened this particular landscape buffer.
Right now it's zero.
It's literally right up to the property line.
And we took that, we went from zero feet to 14 and a half feet.
So now we have a legitimate piece of landscaping on the front, and that introduced another 1,152 square feet of area because one of the other goals was to get more pervious surface.
So we've got a stormwater management recharge situation available to us, quite a bit more there.
There's also a little pot over on the side where we enhance the landscaping.
The final piece, they wanted to see a safe pedestrian path from the Ridge Avenue to the building.
So we literally, and you can see it in the rendering, there's a little stamp pattern that leads you directly from Ridge along the side.