HOLLIDAYSBURG — Details are limited, but plans for a new nursing home building at the Hollidaysburg Veterans Home complex recently received a favorable review by members of the Blair County Planning Commission.

The state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs plans to construct a new 170,000-square-foot, 200-bed nursing home along Plank Road in Allegheny Township.

In addition to the main structure, various parking lots, access drives, sidewalks and walkways, landscaping, stormwater management facilities and various appurtenant structures will be included as part of the project.

The department is in the design/development process for the new nursing home, which will replace old infrastructure. More details regarding cost, timeline and staffing are being firmed up and will be made available in the near future, said spokeswoman Joan Nissley.

The proposed parking at the site will consist of

162 parking spaces, including 10 Americans with Disabilities Act accessible spaces, to be located in four separate lots spread across the site, said regional planner Jamie L. Klink.

Access to the site will be through existing driveway connections to Plank Road and Municipal Drive, along with the existing internal road network at the site. Additional access drives and parking lot aisles will be constructed, varying in width from 20 feet-wide up to 56 feet-wide near a loading dock and trash compactor area of the facility, Klink said.

No bicycle parking appears to be provided as part of this plan.

“We recommend providing bicycle parking facilities near an entrance to the nursing home in order to accommodate visitors and employees who might utilize bicycles,” Klink said.

The construction of the new nursing home facility has the potential to generate a significant amount of peak hour traffic; however, it has been stated that after this new building is constructed, residents will be relocated from other buildings on the property to the new facility, likely diminishing the impact somewhat of the potential vehicle trip generation resulting from this proposal, Klink said.

“Regardless, if they have not already done so, we recommend that the developer consults with both PennDOT and Allegheny Township to assess the potential impacts of this proposal on the local transportation system,” Klink said.

Mirror Staff Writer Walt Frank is at 814-946-7467.