Plans for a “high-end” apartment building have received the go-ahead from Ross commissioners.
The five-story Regency at Ross Apartments will be built on 22 acres at the intersection of Perry Highway and Winter Avenue, near the park-and-ride lot off the Parkway North.
Dan Santoro of HRG Engineering in Cranberry, the representative for Real Estate Development Associates, said one of the unique features of the building is access to the 253 apartments.
“The apartment building wraps around the proposed parking structure,” he said. “So tenants will be able to drive to the floor on which they reside and walk from the garage to their apartment.”
The wrap-around design also allows for construction of a courtyard and the building will include amenities such as a clubhouse, a fitness center and business center.
While final design details for the units are still being worked out, the development likely will be modeled after its 149-unit Cosmopolitan apartments across from the Toys R Us at Ross Park Mall.
Those apartments contain decorative touches such as granite counter tops, tile back splashes, wood and tile flooring options and stainless steel appliances.
Prices are expected to start at about $1,550 a month for a one-bedroom unit and $2,100 for a two-bedroom apartment, said Larry Dorsch, a partner with Real Estate Development Associates.
Dorsch said building a 381-space garage instead of surface parking controls stormwater runoff from the site by reducing the amount of paved surfaces, which was among the concerns raised by Commissioner David Micek.
Stormwater also will be controlled via underground and aboveground water retention facilities and surfaces that allow water to be absorbed into the ground instead of running down hillsides onto adjacent properties, according to Santoro.
Santoro said the developer also took steps to reduce the building's impact on the surrounding neighborhood by creating a greater buffer zone:
• It purchased severalhouses along Winter Avenue so the building could be moved farther away residential properties.
• The building also will have a deeper setback from the road than the township require — about 110 feet instead of the minimum 25 feet.
“Significant” green space will be retained, plus there will be additional planting, he said.
Commissioner Steve Korbel said based on the developer's work on the Cosmopolitan, the project's quality should be high.
“Just from the exterior, it (the Cosmopolitan) is a really good-looking facility,” he said. “I really think that if what you are proposing is a similar structure, it will be a great addition to the township.”
Commissioners will have to approve final details for the project before construction can begin.
Tony LaRussa is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-772-6368 or tlarussa@tribweb.com or via Twitter @TonyLaRussaTrib.
