The Times Herald, Montgomery County's Newspaper, Sep. 2004

 

The developers of the Millennium office and residential complex next to the Schuylkill River have turned to apartment construction in the past year because there is an abundance of unused commercial office space in the region.

The O'Neill Properties Group of Upper Merion is building a 376-unit apartment complex called Riverwalk at Millennium. The first 80-unit apartment building will be completed by mid-November, said Len Poncia, Riverwalk at Millennium development principal.

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The development company had originally planned to build eight office buildings on the former 24-acre brownfield site when construction started in 2000. The company has built three office buildings so far with more than 800,000 square feet of office space on Washington Street.

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The office space is almost completely occupied, at present with one, 6,500-square-foot space left to lease, Poncia said. Fast Track was the last commercial tenant to lease space by taking a 17,784-square-foot space in January.

Construction on the four, four-story brick apartment buildings will be completed in winter 2005. The $51.8 million apartment project brings O'Neill's total investment in the Millennium project to more than $112 million. That includes $30 million for land acquisition and $31 million for site improvements, utilities, roads and the construction of the three office buildings.

“This is the ideal time for long-term investment in Conshohoken,” Brian O'Neill said, the chairman and founder of O'Neill Properties. “This next phase of community revitalization in the borough will provide much-needed workforce housing and spur more economic growth.”

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The apartment site is located on the former, 9.2-acre Kempf Building Supply facility. O'Neill partnered with the Bozzuto Group of Greenbelt, Md. to develop the apartment complex. 

Pre-leasing for the one, two and three-bedroom apartments will start in mid-October. Rental fees for the apartments have not been determined yet.

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“These are new urban/metro residences,” Poncia said. “It's West River Drive meets Manayunk.”

A 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, with an outdoor pool, a hot tub, a fitness center and kitchen facility, will be completed by mid-November. A 100-foot wide open space next to the Schuylkill River was deeded to Conshohoken borough to provide public access for residents.

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In 2001, a $2.5 million state redevelopment grant was announced that will pay for a public river walk, amphitheater and gardens within the open space. The Millennium project has also received a $2 million grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development's brownfields economic development initiative, a $3 million loan from federal Section 108 funding for underground utilities and environmental remediation and a $204,940 low-interest state loan for site signage, park benches, trash receptacles and decorative light fixtures. 

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The developers are also building two boathouses on the Schuylkill River shore that will provide boat slips for Villanova University and other rowing clubs.

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A 250-unit, multi-story extended-stay hotel will be built on Washington Street beginning in fall 2005.

O'Neill Properties has also gotten borough approvel to buid a 22-story condominium tower with 200 units and a two to three-story parking garage at the base. Construction on the 250-foot high building would start in spring 2005.

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“There is a strong, pent-up demand for residential products,” Poncia said. “We provide a tremendous opportunity for people to live, work and play here.”

“We have one buzz word at O'Neill. It's up,” Poncia said. “We're going vertical.”

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