Montgomery County · Lower Merion · MCPC #24-0227-004
SOPI - 19-21 Bala Avenue
19-21 Bala Avenue, Lower Merion, PA · 32 homes, 1,800 sq ft non-residential, mixed use · 0.69 acres
About this project
A new mixed-use building would replace two older single-use buildings and a surface parking lot at 19-21 Bala Avenue in Bala Cynwyd. It would contain 32 apartments and about 1,800 square feet of ground-floor retail, with parking moved behind and under the building and a public gathering space along the Bala Avenue frontage. The plan is at the tentative sketch stage.
County planning commission: No position
Issues raised: Feasibility of meeting landscape and greening standards, No clearly marked pedestrian path from the five commercial-designated parking spaces to the retail space, Earlier county review comments still open for discussion
- Engineer / rep.
- Ruggiero Plante Land Design, LLC
- Zoning
- CAD-BV
- Approvals needed
- partial waiver from Subdivision & Land Development code section 135-4.9.Q.7, subdivision and land development review
- Demolition
- Two existing single-use buildings at the rear of the property and the surface parking lot that covers most of the site
Filing history
- 2025-03-14 · MCPC #24-0227-004 · SubDiv Plan, Sketch Plan, Resubmission · 32 homes · 1,800 sq ft
- 2025-01-17 · MCPC #24-0227-003 · Land Dev Plan, Sketch Plan, Resubmission · 33 homes · 1,800 sq ft
- 2024-12-23 · MCPC #24-0227-002 · Land Dev Plan, Sketch Plan, Resubmission · 34 homes · 1,800 sq ft
- 2024-10-21 · MCPC #24-0227-001 · Land Dev Plan, Sketch Plan · 34 homes · 1,800 sq ft
County review letters
2025-01-17 · LMERI 24-0227-003r.pdf
2025-03-14 · LMERI 24-0227-004r.pdf
Scope estimate for contractors
Estimated construction value: $18.4M
- ~1,024 roofing squares
- ~32 HVAC systems
- ~32 kitchens / 64+ bathrooms
- ~89,600 sq ft of finished living space
- ~4 roofing squares (assumes 4 stories)
- ~4 tons of cooling (rule of thumb 400 sq ft/ton)
- Subsurface infiltration basin for stormwater, with seepage bed and sediment trap details
- Parking tucked behind and under the building
- Public gathering space along the Bala Avenue frontage
- Sidewalk improvement along the Bala Avenue frontage with a separate pedestrian path to the ground-floor space
- Fence along the property frontage