A longtime vacant building at a busy Middletown Township intersection will be transformed into part of the Piazza Volkswagen dealership.
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Piazza Volkswagen won approval from the Middletown Township Board of Supervisors earlier this week.
Piazza Family Limited Partnership, which owns the neighboring car dealerships, will renovate and expand the empty 20,000-square-foot building at the corner of East Lincoln Highway and Woodbourne Road.
Ed Murphy, the attorney representing the Piazza Family Limited Partnership, presented the plans to the supervisors. The approval follows a conditional use approval granted last month to expand automobile sales and service at the existing Piazza dealership.
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The project will involve a complete renovation of the existing building, which has been vacant for many years.
“That corner has been an eyesore for a very long time,” Supervisors Chairperson Mike Ksiazek said.
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Murphy described the plans, saying, “It’s going to become a Volkswagen dealership. It’s going to be completely gutted and completely refurbished inside and out, and it’s going to have the same look as all the other Piazza dealership buildings on there.”
A key point of discussion was the modification of an existing entrance and exit on Woodbourne Road.
The planning commission had initially recommended closing this access point entirely. However, after further review by the township’s traffic engineer, a compromise was reached.
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“[The traffic engineer] came back with a further piece of correspondence, which I’m sure you’ve seen, that recommends not the complete opening of it or the complete closure of it. It recommends that there be a continued right in and right out turning movement at that location,” Murphy explained.
The modified access will allow right turns in and out of the dealership on Woodbourne Road but prohibit left turns, officials said.
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Supervisor Dana Kane asked Murphy about pedestrian access around the property.
Murphy confirmed that sidewalks will be added along the Woodburn Road frontage of the development.
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“We will add the sidewalk on our side of Woodbourne Road along that whole frontage of Woodbourne Road,” Murphy stated.
The supervisors’ approval came with conditions, including compliance with Middletown Township subdivision and land development ordinances, as well as zoning ordinances. The applicant must also address any outstanding comments in review letters and obtain approvals from outside agencies, including PennDOT.
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The building has been owned by the dealership for years and most recently served as a Halloween costume shop more than a decade ago.
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