BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 The Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday approved plans for a new 23,394-square-foot dormitory at Lehigh University.<\/p>\n
The project, known as East Hill Residence Halls, will be built at 110 Mountain Drive South and 65-66 University Dr. It is designed to include 371 beds across 265 dwelling units to accommodate rising enrollment.<\/p>\n
Approval is contingent on meeting city requirements, including stormwater management and fire access standards.<\/p>\n
Plans call for upgrades to surrounding infrastructure, including widening University Drive, adding sidewalks, improving intersections and installing underground stormwater management systems. The project also includes enhancements to utilities, lighting and landscaping.<\/p>\n
Commission members and city officials praised the inclusion of a green roof for its environmental benefits. A green roof features plantings and soil over a waterproof layer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI, for one, am astonished there is a green roof on this project. (It\u2019s) absolutely applaudable,\u201d said Craig Peiffer, the city\u2019s assistant director of planning and zoning.<\/p>\n
In a review letter, Bethlehem Environmental Advisory Council Chair Steve Olshevski said the feature would help offset lost green space and improve sustainability.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe applaud Lehigh University for including a ‘green roof’ in the plans. This will help to offset some of the green space being replaced by the building and improve campus environmental sustainability,\u201d wrote Olshevski.<\/p>\n
Project engineer Tom Serpico of Pennoni Associates said the green design will help manage stormwater and reduce the building\u2019s thermal impact.<\/p>\n
The plan also includes a watertight underground pond to capture runoff for reuse in landscaping, a feature also praised by the advisory council.<\/p>\n
\u201c(The pond) is a creative and effective solution to handle water runoff from the building and capture it for landscaping purposes. This is especially timely as our region continues to experience drought warnings,\u201d Olshevski wrote.<\/p>\n
Commission members also discussed a Lehigh Valley Planning Commission review letter that highlighted concerns about stormwater discharge on the western end of the site, where a swale may be suggested, Peiffer said.<\/p>\n
Currently, the project does not yet meet Pennsylvania\u2019s Act 167 stormwater management requirements, officials said. Serpico said the team is working with the city on compliance, which may include directing runoff into the municipal storm sewer system.<\/p>\n
The applicant will also continue to work on unresolved fire safety access, as the city\u2019s fire marshal has not yet approved truck and apparatus access to the site.<\/p>\n
The project was previously reviewed as a sketch plan in December, a preliminary step that allows feedback but requires no formal action.<\/p>\n
Commission Chair Rob Melosky praised the university\u2019s planning process.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that\u2019s obviously been done the right way,\u201d Melosky said. \u201cI think it\u2019s an awesome project.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 The Bethlehem Planning Commission on Thursday approved plans for a new 23,394-square-foot dormitory at Lehigh…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162277,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,629,39804,25505,156,2022,17002,4767,73264,32261],"class_list":{"0":"post-162276","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news","11":"tag-bethlehem-planning-commission","12":"tag-craig-peiffer","13":"tag-fire-marshal","14":"tag-lehigh-university","15":"tag-lehigh-valley-planning-commission","16":"tag-pennoni-associates","17":"tag-rob-melosky","18":"tag-steve-olshevski","19":"tag-tom-serpico"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162276\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162277"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}