Fantasy museum developer gets variances for project at former Altoona YMCA building

Developer seeks parking, window variances

The company that plans to create a museum for fantasy art in the former Altoona YMCA building -- subsequently the KNY -- on Lexington Avenue has obtained variances in connection with plans for a second building addition and the construction of a parking lot across 10th Street from the main parking lot.

The three-story second addition will host a cafe on the first floor, a classroom on the second floor and a small theater on the third, according to information provided by developer’s consultant Keller Engineers to the city Zoning Hearing Board.

One variance will allow for parking closer than the required 10 feet from 10th Street -- the “secondary street” -- for both the main lot and the auxiliary lot, so that the area within those lots can be maximized, according to Keller.

Granting the variance on both lots reduces the ordinance-based parking deficit from 16 spaces to 11, according to Keller.

Mouseion, the development company that represents the owner -- an Australian native living in London who is an aficionado and collector of fantasy art, and who has not been named publicly -- is seeking to buy other properties nearby for additional parking, according to Keller.

Another variance would allow for fewer windows than called for in the “Composition and Massing” section of the zoning ordinance.

The variance is necessary because “portions of the additions cannot have windows due to their interior functions,” according to Keller.

The owner is considering murals or banners on the blank areas of the walls of the Eidolon Museum of Fantasy and Imaginative Art to add visual interest, according to Keller.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.