MARIETTA SENIOR APARTMENTS
ELA Group Engineers worked with a local developer to convert a former brownfield site into attractive, affordable senior housing.
ELA Group drafted a zoning amendment which allowed a density of 40 dwelling units per acre. When the zoning amendment was approved, ELA provided land development planning services, obtained necessary permits and prepared construction documents for the site work.
The development included 56 units on 1.4-acres, parking and streetscape improvements, landscaping and utility infrastructure. The property, located two blocks from the Susquehanna River, is conveniently located near a bus stop, churches and a medical facility.
Several the housing units were set aside for seniors experiencing homelessness, and the project garnered extremely competitive PA Housing Finance Agency (PHFA) funding.
MILL CREEK COMMUNITY
ELA Group worked with West Lampeter Township (Lancaster County, PA) to plan a “Traditional Neighborhood” development.
One of the first of its kind in Lancaster County, PA, Mill Creek is comprised of 237 single-family homes, semi-detached and attached homes, built on an 84 acres tract.
ELA Group worked with the municipality to craft the provisions for the “Neighborhood Design Option” via an amendment to the Zoning Ordinance. This Design Option places a premium of distinctive “place-making” through a mix of housing types, walkability, resource protection, accessory retail, and incentive-based density bonuses.
As a result, the Mill Creek Community was consciously designed around a framework of greenspaces, from forest areas to stream corridors and well-defined civic greens and parks. An existing barn and springhouse were augmented by a newly-constructed “manor house” which serves as a community gathering place with a small coffee shop and general store.
Based on this successful example, West Lampeter Township has experienced similar projects elsewhere in the Township. Additionally, Mill Creek has become a model for other communities in Lancaster County, communities that seek to allow increased density that is context-sensitive and are well planned.
TURNBERRY TRADITIONAL TOWN DEVELOPMENT
ELA Group was engaged by a developer to provide design and engineering services for a multi-family development located in Ferguson Township. The 126-acre site was designed with a mix of dwellings including single-family, townhome and apartment dwellings with neighborhood clubhouses and open space. Total build out of the development includes than 900 dwelling units.
ELA Engineers designed the main road through the development as a mixed-use collector road with a capacity of more than 6,900 vehicles a day. This new road provided a connection between two existing collector roads and tied the community together at a strategic location. This design provided vehicle volume relief on an adjacent local road.
A roundabout feature was designed along the new mixed-use collector road providing traffic calming measures while maintaining free flowing traffic circulation. The roundabout was bordered on one side by a pedestrian sidewalk with a connection to a public transit pick-up/drop-off point and the other side by a ten foot wide shared use path to provide off-road multi-model transportation alternatives. Ornamental fencing was placed around the roundabout and ornamental street lighting fixtures were installed to promote a pedestrian scale/pedestrian oriented neighborhood.
