Unity OKs animal clinic expansion, reviews plan for new Burger King site

A growing veterinary practice is looking to expand into a larger space on Unity’s Monastery Drive.

Meanwhile, subdivision of property near the Mountain Laurel Plaza could provide a home for an updated, relocated Burger King restaurant on Route 30.

Unity supervisors at their June meeting approved a final site plan outlining a new 6,000-square-foot office for the Lakeview Animal Clinic.

They also agreed to the subdivision of a more than 7-acre lot into three smaller properties. One of those parcels, at Route 30 and Excela Health Drive, is being eyed as a new site for Burger King.

Dr. Andrew Stas, one of four veterinarians involved in the clinic, said they plan to construct a new, larger building next door, about 100 feet downhill from their existing office.

“This practice has been around for about 75 years, and we’ve outgrown the space,” Stas said.

As other practices in the area have dwindled, some because of retirement, the demand for services at Lakeview have increased.

Combined with an increase in pet ownership during the pandemic, Stas said, “Over the last three or four years, there’s been an exponential growth in our business.”

Stas said the practice is hoping to add two more doctors, one of whom would help with visits to care for large animals at area farms.

“Finding new veterinarians is becoming a challenge in today’s environment,” he said.

Lakeview has about a dozen additional staff on the payroll.

The existing multilevel office space covers about 2,500 square feet, Stas said. The new building will double the number of examination rooms, to six, and will have room for a second surgical suite.

He hopes to be welcoming patients to the new office by next spring. It has yet to be decided how the existing building may be repurposed.

Before construction can begin, the clinic will need approval of a new sewage connection along with plans for managing stormwater and controlling erosion and sedimentation.

Subdivision first step

The vacant parcel that is being subdivided is owned by GetGo Portfolio II LP and is between the current Giant Eagle-owned GetGo convenience store along Route 30 and the store’s former, smaller home at the Mountain Laurel Plaza — a short distance to the west.

A proposed site plan that has been submitted but has yet to be approved by township officials shows a 1.76-acre parcel occupied by a 3,050-square-foot, 40-seat Burger King restaurant. Compared to a single lane at the existing Burger King farther east, at Route 30 and Giffin Drive, the plan for the new site indicates room for two drive-thru lanes and an additional lane for picking up orders placed via a mobile device.

Access would be from Excela Health Drive or from a new roadway running parallel to Route 3o and extending from Excela Health Drive east to the current GetGo parking lot.

Unity building inspector Merle Musick said township officials want the access closest to Route 30 to be limited to right turns. Otherwise, he said, there is concern that traffic attempting to turn left from Excela Health Drive into the restaurant could become backed up onto the highway.