The Upper Providence Township Planning Commission voted July 1 to recommend approval of a waiver for Club Studio’s proposed dark-and-light exterior treatment at the former LA Fitness building at Providence Town Center, after township staff said the plan conflicts with portions of the township's design standards.
The recommendation now goes to the board of supervisors, which is scheduled to consider the request on July 20, according to Director of Planning and Zoning Geoff Grace.
Anthony Weber, an architect working for Fitness International, the parent company behind Club Studio and LA Fitness, addressed the planning commission Wednesday evening. He explained to commissioners that Club Studio is a renovation and rebranding of the former LA Fitness at the site.
Weber said the new brand uses black lettering on a lighter background and calls for repainting the building's facade to match Club Studio locations elsewhere.
Waiver From Township Design Standards
Grace explained that the request is a waiver from Sections J and K of ordinance 270-70, part of the township's subdivision and land development rules rather than its zoning code. Those sections require a building's dominant facade color to be complementary to the architecture and state that high-intensity colors, metallic colors, and black are prohibited.
Grace said the provisions date to 2008 and that he believes they were intended to keep the shopping center in mild, complementary, earth-tone colors. He said the shopping center's owner, KPR Centers, which acquired the property in 2022, has been told it can work with the township to amend the design guidelines but has not done so.
Additionally, Grace said another tenant, Harvest Seasonal Grill, repainted its building in a way that does not comply with the township's design requirements, and that the township has not pursued the matter.
Commissioners Weigh Precedent
Commissioner Gerard Fiore raised concern that approving a departure from the approved materials could set a precedent for other tenants to "do their own thing." Grace responded that he did not believe an individual decision by the planning commission or board of supervisors sets a precedent, and said the property owner has a responsibility to make tenants aware of the center’s design guidelines.
Commissioners did not object to the proposed color scheme, and Fiore moved to forward the request to the board of supervisors with a recommendation to approve the waiver. Commissioner Joe Peters seconded the motion, which passed.
