308 apartment units planned in Cranberry Township
CRANBERRY TWP — In a public hearing Thursday, the township presented plans for a 14-building residential development north of the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
According to Ron Henshaw, director of planning and development, the Cranberry Ridge development will include 308 one-, two- and three-bedroom apartment units.
“The other amenities for the plan consist of a community center, swimming pool, some (tennis) courts and a pet park,” Henshaw said.
The development also would contain a number of small parks connected by a network of trails, he said, and garage parking.
“The garages are for anyone that would want to pay extra to have their vehicle housed,” Henshaw said. “Otherwise, it’s surface parking here, so there’s no parking below the buildings like some other projects that you may have seen.”
The development will be connected to Cool Spring Drive via a road and temporary turnaround built by the master plan developer.
Henshaw said he expects the road to be completed “sooner than later,” this summer.
Metropolitan Companies, the project developer, could start construction in late 2023, Henshaw said.
The approximately 13.9-acre development will be considered for tentative approval at the board’s April 6 meeting.
The board also swore in three fire police officers for the Cranberry Township Volunteer Fire Company.
“Our police officers are members of the volunteer fire company, but they’re assigned very specific duties,” said Bruce Hezlep, supervisor vice chairman. “These duties include directing of traffic and security around scenes requiring fire department operations, as well as other special events for anything requiring traffic and for crowd control.”
Hezlep also said the officers were under the direction of the police department while performing their duties.
“It’s a pretty thankless job,” Hezlep said, “and one where they are typically encountering the public that are not very happy to have their day interrupted by traffic.”
Officers Brandon McKenzie, Kevin Williamson and Jared Le Viere were all sworn in Thursday.
McKenzie, Hezlep said, has been a resident of Cranberry for 15 years and works as an IT professional.
Williamson is retired from the federal government, according to Hezlep, where he began his career as a police officer.
Le Viere, he said, was “looking forward to a new career in the field of first response.”
All three were presented their badges by Chief Kevin Meyer, of the Cranberry Township Police Department.
“It’s my privilege to present the three new fire police officers to you this evening,” Hezlep said to a round of applause.
