A Brooklyn-based developer is looking to convert the former Reading Central Catholic High School into a 78-unit apartment complex.
The Reading Zoning Board heard the testimony last week of representatives of Reading Hill LLC, an entity of Heights Advisors, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The development company is seeking a special exception for adaptive reuse to create 78 residential units in the former school, 1400 Hill Road.
The property is in the R-3 Residential Zoning District.
If granted, the exception will permit a change from one non-conforming use to another.
Reading Hill also is seeking a variance for the required square footage for the dwelling units and a variance for the number of required off-street parking spaces.
A total of 98 spaces are planned. However, city ordinance requires 1 1/2 spaces per unit, which would be 117 spaces.
Off-street parking would be at 1500 Eckert Ave., a property also owned by the developer.
A building on the lot, once used as a convent for teachers at the school, will be used by the LLC for storage and office space.
The Reading Parking Authority has endorsed the developer’s parking plan.
Andrew Goltzman, co-manager of the property, said the former school contains almost 80,000 square feet of interior space, including the basement and attic areas.
“We probably had 30 or 40 drafts of the plans to get it right in order to make sure that we’re maximizing the space,” he said, “not only from our perspective, but really from the perspective of the occupant.”
The units will use only 49,000 square feet, he said, and were designed to maximize the building’s interior without the demolition of any interior walls.
“If we did demolition to create clear floor plans,” Goltzman said, “we could put in more units and be compliant with the zoning code.”
Due to the building’s layout, the bedrooms of some units would not have windows, and some units would have less square footage than the city permits, he said,
However, Goltzman noted, others would be larger.
City ordinance requires a minimum space of 400 square feet for efficiencies, 550 square feet for one-bedroom apartments and 700 square feet for two-bedroom apartments.
Mayor Eddie Moran and City Manager William Heim sent letters in support of the entire project.
However, City Council opposed the plan by resolution.
Councilwoman Marcia Goodman-Hinnershitz, who represents District 2, where the building is located, said council opposes the project due to density issues.
Increasing the population density, she said, puts challenges on city resources, including fire and police protection and public works and infrastructure.
“We’ve been consistent as City Council to take positions on this over several years,” the councilwoman said. “This is a concern for how high density can impact the quality of life and the safety of the city.”
Several area residents also expressed concerns and asked questions.
William Vitale, a resident of the 1200 block of Hill Road and a retired architect, said he does not oppose the project, but is concerned about the lack of windows in some bedrooms.
Vitale also said he looked at the list of proposed units and thinks more than 50 units will fall below the square-footage requirements.
“The building’s existing structure created a situation for us where we really have no option but to design a smaller space to accommodate the existing walls we are dealt with,” Goltzman said.
One of the challenges, he said, was working with the various sections of the former school, which were built at different times.
The oldest section is known as the Luden mansion, or Bon-Air, a Renaissance revival style mansion, was built in 1914 as the private residence of cough drop and candy manufacturer William H. Luden and his second wife, Katherine Fasig Luden.
It was converted for use as Monsignor George Bornemann Memorial Reading Central Catholic High School in 1939.
An addition to the building in 1941 included a gymnasium, cafeteria and science wing, and connected the former residence to a smaller building that had been Luden’s automobile garage and chauffer’s quarters.
The school closed at the end of the 2010-11 academic year after the Allentown Diocese decided to form Berks Catholic High School in the former Holy Name High School building, 955 E. Wyomissing Blvd.
The plans were designed with respect to the exciting structure, Goltzman said.
“We didn’t just engineer this to maximize unit count,” he said. “We did this to maximize the integrity of the building, while maintaining our respect for the historic nature of the structure.”
Several of the rooms on the mansion’s first floor were used by the Ludens for entertaining guests and are richly decorated with plaster moldings, ceiling medallions and wood paneling.
One of the best-known features is the grand marble staircase in the entrance foyer.
A long-standing school tradition reserved the marble stairs for use only by seniors and faculty.
Goltzman said the intent is to preserve the staircase, foyer and other embellished areas for common use or event space.
The zoning board is expected to render a decision Nov. 8.
Source: Berkshire mont