The Zoning Board of Adjustment heard a case for a 14-story, 64-unit condominium building along the Strip District’s Penn Avenue business district on Thursday, Oct. 2. While developers painted the condos as a best-use case for residential units along the corridor, residents and local business owners didn’t seem convinced.

The site at 1700 Penn Ave. is currently home to a Helltown Brewing taproom but was sold to developer Francois Bitz for $2.1 million in July 2024. Since then, the planned development has undergone a host of changes, including a partnership with luxury home builder Moritz Development. Johnathan Moritz is the company’s founder and president.

At the Zoning Board meeting, Moritz and Ryan Indovina of Indovina Associates Architects sought a variance for no setbacks on either of the building’s sides — the Strip’s Urban Industrial District zoning code usually requires 10-foot setbacks.

Urban planning codes from around the country generally use setbacks for aesthetic purposes or to allow access between buildings. The Strip’s zoning code has a special exception to allow a zero-foot setback if a property and adjoining properties both want a zero-foot setback. During the meeting, developers presented a letter of intent from the owners of a lot next door to develop their site with a zero-foot setback, though that letter was not available to the public, and the lot does not currently come with a development timeline.

The developers also presented requests for three existing special exceptions within the Urban Industrial District. One would allow a multiunit residential building on the site. Another would use its multi-residential status to increase the site’s maximum floor area ratio from 3:1 to 10:1 — allowing the building’s total square footage to go up to 10 times the plot’s base size, rather than the Strip’s base rule of three times the plot’s size. The final exception would allow construction above the zone’s maximum build height of four stories, or 60 feet.

“There’s a base zoning limitation, which is the four stories, 60 feet, but there’s another provision that allows for additional height under certain circumstances, and the developer’s position is that they have met those conditions for additional height,” Board Chair Alice Mitinger explained to attendees during the meeting. “There’s no upward limitation where additional height is allowed.” An aerial view of the Strip District shows the heights of various buildings and future developments in the neighborhood that stand above the building height requirements of its Urban Industrial Zoning District. Notably, the proposed development at 1501 Penn Ave. sits in a different zoning district than the building proposed at 1700 Penn Ave. Image courtesy of Indovina Associates Architects.

The building’s height was a primary point of contention during the meeting.

Jim Wholey, one of the Wholey brothers who currently manage their eponymous business, said allowing a 14-story building in the heart of the Strip would forever change the neighborhood’s character and small-business reputation.

“I believe that the increased congestion that would result from cramming this oversized development into our human-scaled shopping district will be detrimental to traffic, health, safety and welfare of the employees and patrons of our business community,” he said.

Wholey and his brother, Dan, also said the developers had never contacted them or the Strip District Business Association — a coalition of local business owners.

Later in the meeting, though, Moritz took the stand once more to read a text message: “John, great meeting you. The project looks great, just keep the streets open. Thanks, Dan Wholey.” He said the message was dated Jan. 29, 2025.

Moritz and Indovina stated multiple times during the meeting that they had engaged neighborhood stakeholders, and their presentation bore the logo of Strip District Neighbors — an economic development nonprofit.

That being said, neither Strip District Neighbors nor the Strip District Business Association are Registered Community Organizations (RCOs) with the Department of City Planning. In other neighborhoods, RCOs interact directly with the city’s development process through development activity meetings.

In an attempt to prove precedent for buildings well above the Strip’s four-story maximum, Indovina included a graphic displaying buildings of similar height throughout the neighborhood.

The nearest structures on the map both physically and in size were J. Marcus Wholesale (100 feet) and the Penn Rose Building (143 feet, 6 inches). The graphic also displayed a blocky mass representing a future development set to be at 1501 Penn Ave., but the Zoning Board’s Mitinger added that that structure not only doesn’t exist, but is in a different zoning district altogether.

Other attendees were more concerned with the traffic the development and influx of new residents might cause.

Patricia Rodella, a resident of The Cork Factory apartments at 2349 Railroad St., said residents trying to access the building’s street-level parking garage would lead to congestion on nearby roads.

“Let’s say you’re coming down Liberty Avenue and you need to turn left onto 17th Street to get home,” Rodella said. “There is a traffic light on Liberty and 17th, but there’s no left arrow. So, now, how many cars are going to be stacked up on Liberty trying to make the left onto 17th or Spring Way?”

Rodella added that it would affect “the health and safety of people living in the Strip, shopping in the Strip and walking in the Strip.” A rendering of the proposed development looking down Penn Avenue toward Downtown. The structure stands about 100 feet taller than the Strip District’s zoning limits. Image courtesy of Indovina Associates Architects.

Parishioners of St. Patrick Church also are concerned about how the development might disrupt the ability of priests or guests to park at the church’s attached garage off Spring Way. Notably, the 1700 Penn Ave. development was supposed to appear before the Zoning Board on Thursday, Aug. 21, but a request by the church delayed it to the Oct. 2 meeting.

Parishioner Alexis Samulski represented the views of the Rev. Nicholas Vaskov, who had to leave the meeting early to hold Mass. Like the Wholeys, Samulski said neither Vaskov nor the church were contacted about the proposed development.

“It was referenced a number of times that they were speaking to the community groups and neighbors, but Father Vaskov has never been notified at all about any of the current situation,” she said.

Later in the meeting, Moritz said he had met church officials at an event earlier this year and recalled that they had raised concerns about how seismic disturbances from excavation could affect graves.

“We offered to do seismic controls during construction to … make sure we did not affect [the cemetery],” Moritz said. “And we are leaving Spring Way open during the entire construction.”

“I understand their concerns,” Moritz said, wrapping up his response to constituent comments. “It seems to me density is more of their concern than structure, and condos are the least dense type of construction.”

Mitinger said at the meeting’s conclusion that the zoning board’s case for the 1700 Penn development would remain open for four weeks to allow the applicants and objectors to submit statements and evidence. That window is expected to close on Oct. 30. From then, the board will have 45 days to issue its decision.

Should it be approved, the proposed development will continue through the circuit of city commissions. If it is not, the applicant can submit revised plans and reappear before the zoning board.