The French International School, Philadelphia suburbs only French-English bilingual school, has received approval from Lower Merion zoning officials to expand one of its campuses in Bala Cynwyd, writes Katie Park for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The school that has a waiting list of students bought the unused space on Bala Avenue in July. It submitted its proposal to the township’s Zoning Hearing Board that would combine the existing 107-student upper school with the adjacent property.
The school would then rehabilitate the empty stone house on the property, and build another one-story building to accommodate its growing student body.
In addition to approving these requests, the board also granted a zoning exception for the residential property to be used as an “accredited educational institutional” site.
The 30-year-old school, which has separate lower and upper school campuses, last year tried to relocate both campuses to the former Charles C. Knox Estate in Wynnewood. However, the school withdrew its application after some residents made complaints, citing traffic concerns.
Now with the expansion approved, the school also plans to add a small basketball court, table tennis, spectator benches, parking spaces, and a two-way driveway off Bala Avenue towards City Avenue.
Read more about the planned expansion at The Philadelphia Inquirer by clicking here.
(Image via The Inquirer)
