READING, Pa. – The Reading Zoning Hearing Board voted Wednesday night to grant a special exception to allow the adaptive reuse of an historic property at 1501 Mineral Spring Road.
The building, which is known as the Hawthorne Mansion, sits on 3.22 acres at the corner of Clymer Street and Mineral Spring Road.
The mansion was built in 1878 by George Frederick Baer and was turned into an assisted living facility in the 1960s.
The co-owners of record are Yellow Smidgen LLC, One Frog LLC and The Governors LLC.
Dominic DeStefano with Yellow Smidgen testified during a hearing last month that he was seeking zoning relief to convert the 22,684-square-foot building into 19 apartment units.
The property is in the R-3 Residential zone.
Former Brewery Inn
In another matter, the board voted to deny zoning relief for The Ace Lounge, LLC, 546 S. Ninth St.
Owners Adalbertos Acevedo and Hector Colon had asked for a special exception to allow a former non-conforming restaurant to operate as a bottle club, or BYOB, until a liquor license can be obtained.
A special exception was also sought from parking requirements since the former use did not have any parking.
The former restaurant was the Brewery Inn, a longtime popular dining location in the city.
Rancho Merengue
In new hearings, the board heard a request for a special exception from the owners of Rancho Merengue Inc., 101 and 103 S. 10th St., to expand the existing lounge use to allow a 100-seat restaurant in addition to the current use.
The applicant also requested a variance to permit leased off-street parking spaces to be greater than 300 feet from the property.
Attorney for the applicant Joan London said the business has operated as a lounge with a liquor license since 2006.
London said the expanded use would include a rooftop deck, which would operate during the dining hours, which are expected to be 4 p.m. until 9 p.m., seven days per week.
A decision is expected Dec. 9.