'Complete shock' over rejection of Easton West Ward apartment plan

Developer Munhel "Manny" Makhoul knew Easton's mayor opposed his plan for 22 apartments in the former Easton Area School District administration building.

But he's still having a hard time understanding why the plan was rejected at Monday's zoning hearing board meeting.

"I am in complete shock that the city does not want you to come and spend money in their town," said the developer from Allentown.

Makhoul had an agreement to buy the property at 811 Northampton St. in the West Ward from developer Abraham Atiyeh. The school district struggled to find a buyer for the rapidly deteriorating building until Atiyeh stepped forward in 2013.

Atiyeh said he planned to develop it quickly, but the building sat idle until Makhoul came forward with his proposal this year.

He got approval from the zoning board on Monday to develop it as apartments, but did not get the variance he needed to put in 22 units. He said he got permission for 14 apartments, but he couldn't turn a profit unless he developed more than that.

Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. previously said 22 apartments were too many and they would be too small. He favored 12 or 14 apartments.

"At this point I don't have any motivation to move forward," Makhoul said Tuesday. "I just feel as if I'm unwelcome in Easton. I have no motivation to dump $500,000 into the city."

The unusual vote came from only one zoning hearing board member. Only two members of the board were present at the meeting. Pam Panto recused herself from the vote after her husband, the mayor, spoke out against the development.

Why Easton's mayor spoke against apartment plan

The remaining board member, Stephen White, granted the special exception for apartments but denied the variance allowing 22 units, according to zoning hearing board solicitor Robert Nitchkey.

Makhoul could have put off the vote until a quorum of members were present but decided to move ahead rather than delay the decision.

He said it's unclear what Atiyeh will do now. Atiyeh didn't immediately return a phone call Tuesday.

Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Parents of Student Murdered by Maintenance Man Sue Apartment Complex

He pleaded guilty to murder late last year, now the case of a maintenance worker who killed a Blinn student is back in court. The parents of 20-year-old Jenna Verhaalen are suing the Bryan apartment complex where she was killed. Verhaalen was strangled at the Autumn Woods Apartments in 2008, by 27-year-old maintenance worker Jeremiah Rosser . The suit claims Autumn Woods ignored complaints made about Rosser. Specifically, a complaint they claim Jenna made to Rosser's boss, when he entered her apartment while she was in the shower. The suit alleges the complex's negligence led to Jenna's death. Attorneys for Autumn woods said management had no reason to believe Rosser was a risk. However, that's not what the complex's corporate office told News Three in 2008. Back then, a spokesperson said Jenna complained to the maintenance supervisor about Jeremiah Rosser , but never filed a complaint with the office. Rosser quit his job at Autumn Woods several day
Read more

“Blacklist” star Megan Boone lists West Village apartment for $2.4M

Image
Megan Boone and her apartment at 302 West 12th Street (credit: NBC and BKR Partners) Megan Boone, who  plays FBI agent Elizabeth Keen on NBC’s crime thriller “The Blacklist,” has just listed her condominium at 302 West 12th Street for $2.4 million, per city records. (credit: BKR Partners) Boone bought the apartment in 2014 for $1.85 million. According to the listing, with Brian Kanarek of BKR Partners, the 837-square-foot unit has one bedroom and one bathroom. It overlooks tiny Abingdon Square Park, and has a large fireplace, soundproof windows, high ceilings, a walk-in closet and access to the communal landscaped roof terrace . Kanarek did not immediately respond to request for comment. (credit: BKR Partners) Per city records, Boone and her husband, artist Dan Estabrook , bought a townhouse in Carroll Gardens in March 2016 in an off-market deal. In addition to starring on “Blacklist” with James Spader, Boone has also appeared on “Law & Order: LA,” “Blue Bloods” and the film “St
Read more

Charlotte affordable housing forum raises possible solutions

There’s a big demand for more affordable housing in Charlotte, where rents and home prices have shot up much faster than wages over the past few years. Many of the apartments being built now target more affluent renters, waitlists for housing vouchers are long and starter homes are snapped up almost immediately. So why aren’t developers building more affordable housing ? That was one of the main questions at a candidate education panel hosted by the Greater Charlotte Apartment Association on Friday, where about two dozen candidates for Charlotte City Council turned out to learn some of the basics on a complicated subject. “ Affordable housing is one of the topics you’ll talk about a lot,” Bryan Holladay, who supervises the group’s government affairs outreach , told the candidates. The subject is an alphabet soup of acronyms (like NOAH, or “ Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing ”) and overlapping terms and definitions. Sometimes when people say “ affordable housing ” they mean go
Read more