A 121-room hotel planned across a Route 30 exit ramp from the East Towne Mall has been put on hold.
One of the owners of the 2.6-acre 2060 Lincoln Highway East site said developer New York City-based MCR Development declined to set aside $20,000 for lawyer fees involved with the project.
So planning for the four-story Value Place Hotel will halt, said Gary Hoover, who owns the property with brothers Richard and Wayne.
The developer's architect, William Vopel of Memphis, Tenn., declined to say Thursday why MCR has put the project "indefinitely on hold."
John Keylor, East Lampeter Township's planning commission chairman, said there seemed to be a lack of parking spaces for hotel employees in sketch plans presented this spring.
Gary Hoover said that issue was resolved and the hotel would fit on the property, but for some reason the developer's interest in the project has waned.
The county planning commission issued review comments June 9 and township planners are scheduled to discuss the project at their meeting Monday at 7:30 p.m., at East Lampeter's municipal building at 2250 Old Philadelphia Pike.
Township Manager Ralph Hutchison said the item is still listed on the agenda, but Vopel said he did not know if anyone representing the developer would attend the meeting.
The plan's applicant and engineer, Stephen Bensinger of Stackhouse Bensinger of Sinking Spring, referred comments to Vopel.
Hoover said his family negotiated with MCR since last August, but is now keeping options for the land open.
The Hoovers recently put a $20,000 roof on a building on the property for tenants operating Slim Brewer Alignment Service and Leaman's Signs & Truck Lettering.
Staff writer Ryan Robinson can be reached at rrobinson@LNPnews.com or 481-6032.
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