On Wednesday night (February 9), Lower Merion Township Building & Planning staff member, Jillian Dierks, gave a succinct, but thorough description of what Commissioner Josh Grimes called “an enormous project.” The project does not yet have an official brand name but to call it the City of Bala, would not be an exaggeration. The township’s name for it is 231 & 251 St. Asaph’s Road, One and Three Bala Plaza & 333 E. City Avenue, Two Bala Plaza, Bala Cynwyd. LD# 3819 and 3820. Ward 9 (pretty catchy, eh?).
The developer of the “enormous project.” is Tishman Speyer, a large international investment firm.
Dierks began her slide presentation by showing what the current buildings are at 231 and 251 St. Asaphs’s Road, at 1 and 3 Bala Plaza and at 333 E. City Avenue.
She then described the 15 new buildings that are being proposed for the project.
Phase 1
- R1 A 7-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R1 B 7-story residential with ground-floor commercial
Phase 2
- Office South – 13-story building with one floor of retail
- Office North – a 14-story building with one floor of retail
- Two “small retail” buildings
Phase 3
- Office North II – 13-story building (she didn’t specify how much retail)
Phase 4
- R1-C 5-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R2-A 8-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R2-B 9-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R2-C 15-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R3-A 13-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- R3-B 8-story residential with ground-floor commercial
- Hotel 9-story
- Parking 4-story
Dierks also called attention to some Amenities that the developer is proposing, including a “large green space with a water feature.”