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Middletown supervisors approve 42-unit attainable apartment at Woods campus, limit approval to phase 1
Summary
The board unanimously approved preliminary and final land development for a 42-unit attainable apartment building on the Woods campus; conditions include a traffic study, a berm and fence along Route 1, landscaping and removal of phase‑2 references prior to recording.
Middletown Township supervisors on Monday unanimously approved a land development plan for a 42‑unit attainable apartment building on the Woods campus, limiting the action to phase 1 and attaching several conditions including a traffic study and a landscape buffer along Route 1.
The project, presented by Mike McGinnis of Wood Services, will occupy about 3.78 acres in the township’s CDT Overlay District. McGinnis said phase 1 will consist of 42 units—29 one‑bedroom, 8 two‑bedroom and 5 three‑bedroom—with 65 parking spaces, four outdoor EV charging stations and a building footprint of roughly 12,680 square feet. “This building will be 4 floors,” McGinnis said during his presentation.
The board’s approval applies only to phase 1. McGinnis and Eric Clace of Gilmore and Associates told the planning commission and supervisors that stormwater improvements shown on the plan are sized for both phases but will be constructed as part of phase 1 so the drainage system functions even if phase 2 is not built. McGinnis said the developer volunteered several conditions now recommended for the final approval, including completing a traffic impact study for both phases before recording and installing screening along the Route 1 frontage.
Nut graf: The supervisors emphasized that the approval does not greenlight additional apartments elsewhere on the Woods campus; the overlay allows this one attainable apartment type only. The developer agreed to remove all phase‑2 details from the recorded plan and to supply a traffic study for township review before recording.
In discussion, Eric Clace described proposed screening on the north side of the site, nearest Route 1: “We are gonna install a berm between the parking and the property line. It’ll be 2 foot high. On top of that berm will be a 6 foot privacy fence… and on the outside of that fence, on the Route 1 side, you will have evergreens.” Clace said the berm, fence and evergreen plantings will be installed at the start of phase 1 construction to block headlights and views of parked cars from Route 1.
The developer also confirmed that nine of the phase‑1 units are reserved for individuals with intellectual or traumatic brain injuries affiliated with Woods. Management and tenant screening will be handled by a PHFA‑certified property management company selected under Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency rules; McGinnis said PHFA vets the management company and the application process. The developer and Woods representatives told the board that Woods retains a vested interest in who resides in those nine units because they will house Woods clients.
Board members asked about sidewalks and connections to PennDOT improvements on Route 1 and U.S. 413; the developer said the project will tie into any finalized PennDOT sidewalk and access plans once those designs are available. The applicant volunteered to install specified landscaping and buffering regardless of whether phase 2 is built.
The motion to grant preliminary and final land development approval with the stated conditions passed unanimously, carries 5‑0.
Ending: The applicant must submit the traffic impact study and finalize landscaping and screening details to the township before the plan can be recorded; phase 2, if pursued, will require a separate submission and supervisory review.
