Council Approves Independent Living Units

On Monday, Hellertown Borough Council unanimously approved a plan for a building that will contain 31 independent living units behind Saucon Valley Manor, which is located on Main Street.

Council had previously approved a plan for the building as it was originally submitted.

That plan called for it to contain 19 apartments.

Due to housing market changes, Abraham Atiyeh resubmitted plans for the building, which were approved by the borough's planning commission earlier this month. 

Atiyeh owns the manor—which is an assisted living facility—and the independent living building will occupy the same footprint as the one that was originally planned, Atiyeh's business partner David Hart told council.

In contrast to the apartments, the independent living units designed for people with an average age of 75 will "go hand-in-hand with the Saucon Valley Manor," Hart said.

Most of the apartments will be one bedroom units, but several will contain two bedrooms, which will allow their residents to have live-in caregivers, he said.

All of the units will have kitchenettes and the building will have a garden room on its lower level, where meals prepared in the manor building may be served.

As a condition of the plan's approval, a traffic study in the area of the manor property will have to be conducted, but Hart sought to allay concerns over adding to congestion in the area.

"We actually anticipate less traffic because of the age of the individuals" that will be living in the independent living units, as compared with those who would have occupied the age-unrestricted apartments, Hart said.

Councilman Mike McKenna was absent from the meeting.