Pocono Township has granted conditional use approval for a planned residential development of 376 new townhomes on 84.05 acres along Route 611 in Tannersville.
Trap Enterprises LLC presented a tentative plan for a three-phase residential development — a mixture of rental and owner-occupied units under an HOA — called the Ridge at Swiftwater, on a portion of the old Brookdale Resort property.
The proposed development would have an access point via the old Brookdale Resort entrance, span northward and line up above Sheetz on Route 611 across from Sanofi.
The Pocono Township Board of Commissioners voted unanimously during a Jan. 16 meeting to grant the conditional use approval.
According to Township Manager Taylor Muñoz, "This approval came after completing a series of conditional use hearings. It is not at point of full approval or completion yet. This is in a recreation district zone on the Route 611 commercial corridor and the 84-acre parcel is part of the former Brookdale property that was partitioned off and is bound by the original entrance that still has the monument sign that says Caesars Brookdale Resort on it. Ultimately it will be a loop road constructed that would go from that Brookdale road up to the new Sheetz project intersection at Discovery Drive, where there would be another entrance. Then it's a three phase development with roughly seven years for completion of all phases."
Muñoz said there are a number of conditions that were established and then a lot of other design elements that were affected by the conditions, and so the developer now has to meet all of those conditions in their final design. He said there will be future submissions to the township as they approach construction.
Preserving open space
The conditional use approval is one of the preliminary approvals to get started.
"The earlier conditional use hearing was largely to consider a number of conditions and modifications. A lot of modifications were requested in order to be able to build the proposed 376 townhomes on a smaller footprint. We have a planned residential development requirement in our ordinance where the best practice calls for conservation-based design. The idea is to consolidate more on smaller footprints rather than large expansive projects. This is to avoid impact to adjoining properties and to avoid impact to sensitive environmental features like wetlands and steep slopes."
Dante Trapasso, co-owner of Trap Enterprises, said he was excited about the planned residential development and confirmed that it was their intention to preserve as much open space in their plans as possible. "I love what this piece of land has to offer, and we aim to preserve what makes the Poconos beautiful. The property sits up on a ridge, hence the name The Ridge."
Trap Enterprises is a local development company owned and run by the Trapasso family of Tannersville. The family owns Desaki Restaurant on Route 611 in Swiftwater. Right next to the restaurant, the family is finishing construction on a new and upcoming hotel, called The Swiftwater.
Muñoz explained that while this project sounds large in scale, it's not 84 acres of property being stripped and developed. Rather, it is buildable portions of the property being developed and preserving a lot of the natural features on the property.
"I know the focus of the developer is that they are attempting to preserve more of a rural quality on the property itself by minimizing the footprint," said Muñoz. "The application states that out of that 84 acre property, roughly 62 acres are being dedicated as open space."
No short-term rentals
One of the conditions the developer agreed to was to include within the HOA bylaws a prohibition ensuring that none of the units are short-term rentals.
"Avoiding the STR in this project was a big concern for the township if there is going to be more housing constructed," said Muñoz. "If it's truly to expand housing opportunities because there is a shortage of housing in the county, then it should be housing that is specified for people to actually own, occupy or live here and work here as opposed to providing another outlet for more people to just Airbnb out their homes."
Because of the development's proximity on the commercial corridor, it is also proposed to be served by public sewer and public water. "So that also alleviates concerns about the location of septics versus wells on private properties and adjoining other properties. So everything will be provided via public utilities," said Muñoz.
Maria Francis covers K-12 education and real estate, housing and development for the Pocono Record. Reach her at mfrancis@poconorecord.com.
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