CRANBERRY TWP — Two residential properties near the new Cardinal Wuerl North Catholic High School have been rezoned by the township to allow for commercial development.

The properties are along Hillmont Drive, which is the newly built access road from Franklin Road to the new high school. The two residential properties total about 2.5 acres.

According to Ron Henshaw, the township’s community development director, the two properties are adjacent to several much larger commercial properties.

CDM Equity Group owns the newly-rezoned properties as well as the nearby commercial properties. The acreage of the entire development is about 25 acres.

The rezoning will allow the developer to work on a master plan for the development of retail, banking and convenience stores, as well as apartments.

The residential development could include up to 300 new units, Henshaw said, while the proposed building could take up about 60 percent of the land owned by CDM Equity Group.

“We’ve been putting in a lot of time with the developer on the design to make sure they are code compliant and within the vision of what the township expects,” Henshaw said.

No plans for the project have yet to be brought before the township planning commission.

“Their experts are working hard on the plan and are nailing down the details now,” he said. “It’s at a point where it could be ready very soon.”

The commercial aspect of the plan could include a gas station, a convenience store or a drive-thru bank, although those plans are preliminary, Henshaw said.

Plans for the entire development call for it to extend from Hillmont Drive south to Franklin Road’s intersection with Route 228.