A developer who had been working on bringing condominiums to western Delmar has changed gears to take a stab at building townhomes.
Viscusi Builders will follow in the footsteps of several other housing projects and make the change after proposing 64 condo units in 2008. The market for that type of housing has dried up in recent years, said Luigi Palleschi of ABD Engineers and Surveyors.
We withdrew the application because of the economic times, he said. `Townhomes are a better market.`
There would be a total of 46 townhome units in the Delmar Pointe project, in buildings consisting of two units each. There would be a mix of 2- and 3-bedroom designs and 1- and 2-floor setups, all with front facing garages. These types of homes generally attract empty nesters and other residents without school-aged children, Palleschi said.
The project site is west of Bethlehem Central High School, across Delaware Avenue. The land is now zoned residential, so the developer is looking to the town to approve a planned development district.
The Town Board on Wednesday, March 23, passed the designs along to the Planning Board for a review. That body will issue a recommendation back to the Town Board, which must approve rezonings.
The board voted 4-1 to forward the application, with Councilman Mark Hennessey dissenting. He said he has concerns about introducing dense housing to this area, and said 46 units is double what would be allowed on a parcel this size under the current zoning.
`I don’t believe that the PDD is maybe the best vehicle for development,` he said.“
