Planners OK Juniata building project
Mixed-use structure includes apartments, commercial space
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Blair County Planning Commission members gave a positive review Thursday on plans for construction of a mixed-use building in Juniata.
Dazzling Realty LLC plans to construct a 9,225-square-foot, two-story building at North Fourth Avenue and North Sixth Street, which will include commercial space on the first floor and apartments on the second floor.
A paved parking lot, landscaping and sidewalks also are proposed in the plan.
The parking lot will contain 13 spaces, including a single Americans with Disabilities Act accessible space. While the proposed amount of parking spaces does not seem excessive, the developer has not included any calculations showing that the proposed amount of parking will meet Altoona's parking requirements.
"We recommend that the developer includes parking requirement calculations to show how the proposed parking lot will accommodate both business and residential traffic," said Jamie L. Klink, regional planner.
Bicycle parking will be provided as part of this plan and the proposed two-space bicycle rack appears to meet Altoona's bicycle parking requirements.
"We recommend placing the bicycle rack on a paved concrete area that is not proposed as landscaping,"Klink said.
Sidewalks will be constructed within the interior of the site adjacent to the proposed structure and new sidewalk sections will be constructed to replace deteriorating portions of the existing sidewalk network along North Fourth Avenue and North Sixth Street. The proposed sidewalks should help to increase pedestrian safety and walkability at the site, Klink said.
No peak hour vehicle trips have been provided as part of this submission.
"We recommend that the developer provide vehicle trip generation estimates and consult with both the city and PennDOT to assess any potential negative impacts on the local transportation system as a result of this proposal," Klink said. "However, based upon the amount of parking spaces to be included at the site, we are not anticipating a large enough amount of peak hour vehicle trips that would necessitate a transportation impact study."