Community Information and FAQ Responses
1. Where is the property located?
1345 Minesite Road, Allentown PA 18103 – Lower Macungie Township
2. Can you provide a brief description of the project?
- The proposed project is a one-story, approximately 33,000 square foot skilled nursing facility consisting of forty-six private bedrooms and associated support spaces including kitchen, dining room, welcome/reception lobby, physical therapy and occupational therapy areas, nursing station and more. The design includes a vaulted ceiling in the lobby/reception area and vaulted interior corridors using a cupola/architectural feature with the sole purpose of the being able to provide natural light in the central/main lobby and corridors.
- The service provider will be Advanced Health Care, a leader in post-acute, short-term nursing and rehabilitation healthcare services. Advanced Health Care operates over twenty facilities with exceptional quality measures and results. For information visit www.ahcfacilities.com
- Patients/residents in this facility are typically patients who need therapy and nursing care services after being discharged from an acute care hospital or surgery center and need additional care that cannot be provided or completed in their own home, but on a shorter-term basis (typically thirty days or less). Patients may include those who have received a hip replacement, knee replacement or other occupational therapy needs. This facility is not a drug or alcohol rehabilitation facility.
3. Who will be developing the facility?
- The Boyer Company (boyercompany.com/about/) will be developing the property and will be the applicant for all governmental and municipal approvals. The Boyer Company has developed six facilities for Advanced Health Care and is under development on two additional facilities. The Boyer Company was founded in 1972 with over forty-three million square feet of real estate having been developed since its inception. The Boyer Company’s development philosophy is to create buildings that enhance communities, establish goodwill and pursue a path of mutual respect within the bounds of property rights and land law.
4. Who is the current property owner?
Boyer Allentown SNF, L.C. which is a special purpose entity of The Boyer Company, purchased the property in December 2020.
5. How large is the property?
10.11 acres
6. What is the current Zoning District of the property?
(S) Suburban Residential Zoning District
7. Is the proposed use permitted within the current Zoning District?
- This type of facility meets the definition of a ‘Life Care Center’ within the Lower Macungie Township municipal code.
- By way of conditional use approval, the proposed Life Care Center use is permitted in the (S) Suburban Residential Zoning District.
- As depicted on the site plan, the project has or will meet all conditions and criteria of the conditional use.
- We believe that the use is consistent with the spirit, purposes, and intent of the Zoning Ordinance as no zoning relief is needed for the proposed use. In addition, we believe that this specific use is in the best interest of the Township, convenience of the community, and the public welfare as the surrounding neighborhood and this part of the Township will benefit greatly from the advanced and skilled healthcare services the project will provide. We believe this project will have no adverse impacts on public health, safety and welfare.
9. What will the building look like?
- The building will meet all Lower Macungie design guidelines. We intend to create finishes that fit in the regional agricultural, colonial, federalist style. Click here for a rendering of what is to be the building design intent. Though not exact, this rendering represents the design intent, materials and colors to be constructed.
- Click for architectural building Elevation 1 | Elevation 2 | Elevation 3 | Elevation 4
- Click here for a building floor plan.
- Click here for an example of a typical patient room layout.
- Click here for interior corridor section 1
- Click here for interior corridor section 2
10. How close will the facility be to immediately adjacent properties?
- Lower Macungie requires 25 feet of rear yard setback and 25 feet for rear yard buffering. Lower Macungie requires 25 feet of side yard setback, 10 feet of side yard planting buffer and 25 feet for side yard buffering berm requirement.
- From the nearest point, the building will be 212 feet away from the adjoining property line of Highland Court neighbors. From the nearest point, the building will be 163 feet away from the adjoining property line of Lisa Lane neighbors.
- Click here for a view of the setback distances
11. What buffering will be provided between the facility and neighboring properties?
- The property and improvements will be properly buffered in accordance with the Township’s buffering requirements with the addition of required vegetation (trees, shrubs, etc as required). There is existing vegetation that will be considerably improved.
- Given the property size and location, the building is more than suitable for the use and will be designed, constructed, operated and maintained in harmony and in scale with the existing character of the neighborhood.
- Click here for a view of the site plan.
12. How tall will the building be? How will views be impacted?
- The building is a one-story building which utilizes an architectural cupola/raised-ceiling design feature with the purpose of providing natural light into corridors and the main lobby reception area, as well as shielding some HVAC equipment. Please refer to Question 9 which provides links showing how this architectural feature is incorporated into the building design.
- Using Lower Macungie’s definition of ‘Height of Building or Structure’, the building height as shown is in compliance. Building height in the suburban residential zoning district of the Lower Macungie Municipal Code is limited to thirty-five feet.
- Click here for a site cross-section plan 1 and plan 2 of the site showing views from the northerly boundary to the south of the property as well as the easterly boundary of the property to the west. We believe views will not be impacted any more than a typical residential structure. Given the addition of Township setback and buffering requirements, we believe this specific project impact is a best-case scenario for the neighborhood and community development.
13. How will the property be serviced by public utilities?
Required utilities for proper operation of the site are already servicing the property or will be obtained pursuant to requisite petitions or applications including water, sanitary sewer, storm drain, natural gas and electricity.
14. How will the project impact traffic along Minesite Road?
- Because our patients are not actively mobile via vehicle, typical daily traffic to and from the site are limited as compared to other residential uses. Typical daily traffic includes nursing shift changes typically occurring at the non-peak hours of 6:00 am, 2:00 pm, and 10:00 pm. Approximately ten administrative staff arrive and depart at normal business hours. In addition, we would hope that there will be various family, friends and other supportive visitors of our patients but these visits are low volume. Greater-than-required parking has been provided to ensure ease of visitor access.
- A Traffic Impact Study Determination and Scoping Meeting Application has been submitted to PennDOT successfully. There are no known congestion, safety or environmental concerns directly adjacent to the property.
- There is one low volume driveway shown on the site accessing the property which is located directly across from Hidden Valley Road for ease of sight lines and intuitive drivability and traffic control.
- All traffic requirements will be sufficiently addressed with PennDOT and the Township Engineer.