Upper Macungie supervisors give OK for warehouse, mystery parcel

JW Development Partners can proceed with construction of a 160,000-square foot spec warehouse on Route 100 in Upper Macungie Township as local officials ponder what will ultimately be built opposite from it.The supervisors Thursday granted final land development approval for the warehouse to be built at 749 Route 100 while signing-off on a lot consolidation of nearly 20 acres in order to make it reality.Developer David Jaindl told township planners in April that a 39-acre parcel that he owns, located directly across from the warehouse site, will likely be developed within 18 months, but gave no indication as to what would be built there.He was not present at Thursday’s meeting and was unavailable for comment.The township has not yet received any preliminary plan submission from Jaindl for the parcel, planning and zoning director Daren Martocci said.“Not even a sketch plan,” he said.The future development site will likely by a retail/commercial use, he said, since it sits within the township’s highway commercial zone and not the Light Industrial zone where Jaindl’s warehouse was approved.The board agreed with the planning commission’s recommendation for waivers from providing curbing and 50-ft. driveway width along with a deferral from installing sidewalks.Jaindl was permitted a waiver to go to 60 feet of width in order to accommodate high-volume development at the future project site, with the driveway lined up directly across from the one yet to be built.A traffic signal will be installed between the two once Jaindl moves forward with construction on the 39-acre site, which backs up to an Amazon warehouse.The spec warehouse, planned as a distribution center, will generate 60 truck trips per day and 238 passenger vehicles with a maximum of 10 trucks per peak travel hour, Township Engineer David Alban said.Kevin Duffy is a freelance writer for The Morning Call.
Source: Morningcall