Proposed plan for former CONSOL property tabled
At the request of the developer, on Feb. 21, the Upper St. Clair Township Planning Commission tabled action on a master plan for development of the former Consol property on Washington Road.
According to Scott Brilhart, director of community development for the township, the developer has submitted a traffic impact study and is working on updating the study to address comments from the township traffic engineer.
There are 33 housing units on the proposed plan, including 12 townhomes and 21 patio homes at the development being called Siena at St. Clair, Brilhart said.
A 39,000-square-foot Whole Foods Market is proposed along Washington Road, with some underground parking beneath the market, in addition to surface parking.
A drive-through coffee shop is being proposed on the site, but the developer did not reveal a tenant at the Feb. 21 meeting.
There is one entrance off Washington Road proposed for the development, and one proposed on Fort Couch Road as a right turn in and out only, Brilhart said.
The 28-acre property was the focus of several well-attended public hearings in 2011 by the planning commission and the board of commissioners regarding a zoning text amendment sought by the developers that would permit multi-family housing units on the site, as well as a list of more than 20 commercial uses that were not previously permitted there under the current Special Business District zoning.
Hundreds of residents packed the meeting rooms at the township’s Community & Recreation Center for the meetings, which had to be moved to the larger venue from the municipal complex due to the level of public interest in the subject. At that time, residents expressed concern about the potential effect on traffic, property values, the impact on schools, and buffer zones separating their homes from the property.
Within the last six months, a two-level Dick’s Sporting Goods store opened directly across Route 19 from the site, as well as a new Bonefish Grill restaurant. A new Target store also opened this week.