Developer plans to turn Falls eyesore property into affordable condos for empty nesters

Falls Township zoners will consider granting variances to a local developer who wants to turn an eyesore garage property along Lincoln Highway into condos affordable to older homebuyers looking to downsize in Levittown and Fairless Hills.

Brian Brzezinski, a Pennsbury graduate who grew up in Levittown's North Park, seeks several variances from township zoning codes to place age-restricted condos on a three-acre site T 654 Lincoln Highway. It was formerly occupied by the Lincoln Garage, whose slogan, "Don't Cuss, Call Us," was a high-visibility staple in the township for decades.

The condo project has changed since Brzezinski proposed the development in 2023. Originally, he planned for a four-story building, but neighbors opposed it. The homes would be on a section of Lincoln Highway that is already a mix of residential and commercial properties.

"We listened and took one floor off," he said.

The remaining variance requests include a front yard setback of 64 feet along residential Trenton Avenue, a front yard setback of 82 feet along Lincoln Highway. Setbacks along Lincoln Highway, also known as "Business Route 1," are 100 feet.

Brzezinski said the setback request on Lincoln Highway is an improvement over the garage.

"It was only 30 feet from the highway," he said.

The project also lowered the number of condos. Originally it was 96, now it can't go below 72 units to be profitable, he said.

Brzezinski also seeks variances on the number of parking spots required by the township, parking lot and "impervious surface" requirements, and shrubbery plantings.

While Falls lists the project as "apartments" that's because the township has no zoning laws specifically for condos.

"Just to be clear, these are going to be owner-occupied condos, not apartments," Brzezinski said. The place will have an HOA, too. Each unit will sell in the "upper $200s," he said.

"This is for people who are living by themselves in Levittown or Fairless Hills, who sell their house for $400,000, buy for $300,000 and, if they're paid off on their house, walk away with $100,000 in their pocket," he said.

Ownership, however, cannot be restricted or limited to specific buyers,other than by age, under the law.

Brzezinski owns an excavating business in Falls, but has been in the building biz for 24 years, he said. He built ten houses on Schoolhouse Court in Penndel, he said.

The township zoning hearing board will meet on Tuesday, April 9 at 7 p.m. at the Middletown Township municipal building, 3 Municipal Wy, Langhorne, PA 19047. Falls meets there while its township government building on Route 1 is undergoing rehab construction.

JD Mullane can be reached at 215-949-5745 or at jmullane@couriertimes.com.