Demolition Of Bar For Mixed-Use Development Proposed In Wayne

WAYNE, PA — A Wayne commercial complex housing a bar known for live music would add an office, apartments and new retail under a proposed redevelopment.

Real estate investor Joseph Smogard owns the North Wayne Avenue property, which contains 118 North — a restaurant and bar that often has live music — and a vacant space that last operated as a dry cleaner.

A redevelopment proposal has been discussed in recent months at various Radnor Township planning and zoning meetings. A hearing is scheduled for Monday's Planning Commission meeting.

Redevelopment Plan

Under the proposal, the one-floor building would be demolished and converted into three-floor, mixed-used space.

The first floor would still house a restaurant and a retail space. Developers hope to retain 118 North as the restaurant, according to David Falcone, Smogard's attorney.

"The desire is to keep that restaurant use, specifically 118 North, after that building is reconstructed and to put a new retail tenant in," Falcone told the Zoning Board in October.

Smogard's business would occupy the second-floor office, while the third floor would have four apartments. The apartments will have rooftop decks above the second floor.

Four parking spaces on the property will belong to residents, while the commercial spaces will utilize street parking.

The Sticking Point: Stormwater Management

Radnor's Planning Commission held a hearing on the proposal in February. But the governing body cast doubt on the developer's stormwater-management plans and tabled the discussion.

Currently, rainwater travels out the back of the building to an adjacent apartment complex's parking lot, which has an inlet.

The developer has proposed a "green roof," with vegetation to reduce stormwater runoff. Remaining water would be discharged into the pavement area of North Wayne Avenue.

Both systems lead water to collection on Lancaster Avenue, according to project engineers.

Planning Commission Chair Lance Vines called the green roof "innovative" but expressed concerns about the drainage location.

"That's now moving new water onto North Wayne that never existed," Vines said. "That’s a big change."

The discussion was tabled so the developer could collaborate with township engineers and revise the plan.

Another hearing is scheduled for Monday's Planning Commission meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Monday in the Radnorshire Room (301 Iven Ave., Wayne). Here's the meeting agenda.