Politics & Government
Pre-School Planned at Linden and Johnston
Developers show pre-K sketch to Planning Commission, had initially intended nursing home at corner in Northeast Bethlehem.
A development sketch plan for a single-story pre-school at the west corner of Linden Street and Johnston Drive, the site of a previously proposed assisted living facility, was presented to Bethlehem Planners Thursday night.
The developers, the Negrao family, now want to consolidate three lots at 3045-3057 Linden St. into a one 2.64 acre lot and build a 17,264 square foot school for infants through kindergarteners.
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Planners gave brief comments on the project, which first must receive approval by the city’s zoning hearing board.
The Nazareth-based developers had initially proposed building Alexandria Manor, an 83-bed assisted living facility across from Elias Market in 2005, but market conditions no longer support the plan, they said.
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Al Bernotas, a Johnston Drive resident, who said he supported the plan, pointed to increased commercial and residential development in the area and traffic issues, saying “it is a very busy corner,” and, “you’ll have tractor trailers across from a pre-school,” at .
Planners chairman Jim Fiorentino responded that the developers would be required to apply for a left-turn arrow from northbound Linden Street onto Johnston Drive to address congestion problems at the intersection.
The pre-school plan includes 50 parking spaces with access to a security door at the front of the school off Johnston Drive. The school would be a franchise of the New Jersey based Rainbow Academy’s early learning centers, and its first school in Pennsylvania.