As the waiting list numbers in the triple digits for the 50 units in Cranberry's only senior citizens apartment complex, a deal is in the works to build another affordable housing complex for those older than 55.

Cranberry developer Larry Dorsch and the Butler County Housing Authority are working together to build a complex on Powell Road, across the street from the Park Place complex that Dorsch and another local developer, Don Rodgers, plan to build.

Dorsch and Housing Authority Director Perry O'Malley have said they are willing to try to incorporate into the new apartment complex some architectural elements of Park Place's traditional neighborhood style, Cranberry Planning Director Michelle Mixell told township supervisors last Thursday.

Mixell has proposed expanding the Traditional Neighborhood Development zoning district to the five-acre tract Dorsch has under contract. The land currently is zoned for large-lot residential development, which does not accommodate multifamily senior citizen housing. Mixell said the Traditional Neighborhood Development district allows multifamily dwellings and, coupled with the proximity to Park Place and the need for senior housing in the township, the extension of the district would be "sensible."

Township Manager Jerry Andree said Cranberry needs more housing opportunities for senior citizens, and he likes the prospect of a unit that would fit in with Park Place.

Andree said 100 people are on the waiting list for Rolling Road Regency Apartments, the senior citizen apartment complex that opened in 2004 and was O'Malley's most recent project in Cranberry.

"We need more housing. And the developer is willing to make it fit with Park Place,'' Andree said.

Dorsch has been working on the plan for more than a year, Mixell said.

Andree said the township would need to have the rezoning process at least under way by fall to accommodate O'Malley's schedule; O'Malley will begin in October the application process for government support in financing the complex.

Township Supervisor John Milius said he liked the idea of pairing a senior citizens complex with Park Place, which is planned to feature pre-World War II-style neighborhoods with front porches, narrow roads and tree-lined sidewalks, all surrounding a mix of housing types as well as specialty- and service-related retail businesses and offices.

"I like the inclusion aspect of it,'' Milius said.

Supervisor Dick Hadley expressed concern over whether an apartment building could be made to fit in with the facades of Park Place.

Township supervisors last week ended the public hearing, which had opened in May, on the Park Place project. Supervisors are expected to vote on Park Place this month.

The project would bring 796 residential units to the township, as well as 15,500 square feet of commercial space, two community centers and eight urban parks on 193 acres along Rochester and Powell roads.