At the Feb. 27 East Allen Township Board of Supervisors meeting, Imperial Realty updated its proposal for property it owns on Route 329 at Frank’s Corner.

The property is zoned commercial, and the hearing is deemed a conditional use hearing. Imperial is showing its plans to the township to see if there are any conditions that need to be set before the company moves on to the planning and review part of the development process.

Last year, the realty company announced it wanted to transform the commercial space into a large warehouse. The action was prompted in part by failing septic systems that would require a massive renovation.

The initial plan called for a 200,000-plus-square-foot warehouse on the grounds now occupied by 16 smaller job shops. There were buildings west of Airport Road that would remain, as would a strip mall along Route 329.

The company updated its proposal in November. The new proposal doubled the size of the warehouse.

The company purchased undeveloped property north of Route 329. The property surrounds an abandoned bank building. Adding the second parcel to its development allowed Imperial Realty to double the size of the proposed warehouse. The newly purchased property would be developed as a retail center, according to the previous proposal.

The latest proposal presented Feb. 27 had further changes. The size of the warehouse would remain the same, about 450,000 square feet. The development across Route 329 would be scaled back to only one entity, a pizza restaurant, at the bank building.

According to Mark Bahnick, Imperial’s consultant for this project, the latest proposal corrects problems identified with earlier plans and clarifies the development. Imperial Realty does not have a client for the property yet. The speculative development has some unknown factors that may become clearer as the planning process moves forward.

In previous sessions, the developer proposed options for right turn lanes to ease traffic congestion at Airport Road. Based on some objections, the plan was modified to allow right turns but not continuous right turns. A constantly moving right lane was considered hazardous because sight lines from vehicles traveling south on Airport Road are hindered.

A holding lane for vehicles turning right from Route 329 going south on Airport Road was lengthened. The standard data used to plot traffic expanded the storage lane to 500 feet. According to Bahnick, that should be more than adequate. There was an earlier concern vehicles coming down the hill west of the intersection might be impeded if overflow traffic queued outside the holding lanes.

Bahnick provided details showing on-site truck storage. The warehouse has 115 bays proposed for loading/unloading. The building’s 50-foot height is unnerving to some who live in the area, although it does closely match the height of the adjacent warehouse being built by Vertek.

According to Bahnick’s calculations, there would be less trips per day under the new plan. Upon closer examination, it was shown most of the trips saved were for vehicles using the retail center.

Supervisors will review the proposal and render a decision in a month. Once the conditions are agreed to, the planning and details can begin. The proposals will be reviewed before the township’s planning commission.