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Politics & Government

New Ambulance Building May Have Walking Path

South Whitehall planners to consider allowing walking path, instead of sidewalks, bordering proposed Cetronia Ambulance building on Broadway.

The proposed Cetronia Ambulance building working its way through the permit process in South Whitehall might come with its own walking path and an extra soccer field for the Lehigh County Sports Fields

The township Planning Commission discussed details of the proposed 63,000-square-foot building at Broadway and Parkway Road with Cetronia Ambulance Chief Executive Officer Larry Wiersch; David J. Tettemer, of Keystone Consulting Engineers and Randy Galiotto of Spillman Farmer architects, at its meeting Thursday. 

The building is to be shared by the ambulance company and the Lehigh County Coroner’s office. 

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Wiersch asked township planners to consider allowing the company to substitute a walking path for the normally required sidewalks. Lehigh County Sports Fields, which are adjacent to the proposed site, already have some walking paths and the county has discussed extending them eventually, Tettemer said. 

“We want to keep this as natural as we can so it fits in and it’s as unobtrusive as possible,” Wiersch said. 

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The ambulance corps arranged with the county to add a roughed-out soccer field, he said. 

The Planning Commission voted to take the requests under advisement. 

After the presentation, Wiersch said Cetronia Ambulance is hoping to break ground in mid-summer. The building is expected to house 22 ambulance company vehicles and about 18 county vehicles. 

There will be 221 parking spaces, which is partly to accommodate people coming for CPR, EMT and paramedic training sessions, Wiersch said. 

The  project has displaced the Lehigh County Community Gardens which have been moved to a new tract across the street from Cedarview Apartments on Dorney Park Road. 

Early cost estimates for the project ran about $10.5 million with the ambulance company spending as much as $7.5 million to construct the building. 

The state contributed a $1.75 million redevelopment grant and  Cetronia Ambulance expects to sell its current building on Broadway to help pay the cost. It also is running a capital campaign. 

“We’re doing well, but obviously these are tough times,” Wiersch said. “We’re about halfway there. We need a millionaire or two to contribute to the project.”

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