A credit union inside the Carbon Plaza Mall plans to move to a now vacant property right next to a stand-alone Starbucks being built near Blakeslee Boulevard in Mahoning Township.

Township supervisors on a 4-0 vote Wednesday granted First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union: They also:

• Allowed plans to be submitted as a combined preliminary/final plan.

• Waved the requirement of a planting strip of at least 20 feet in width along the property lines and parking areas and service drives. The adjoining property owner submitted a letter allowing for the 20-foot planting strip not being provided along the property lines.

• Lighting should be reflected away from adjoining premises and public right of way. A light spillover would exist across the property lines.

• Granted conditional final plan approval conditioned upon the LTL Consultants review letter dated Dec. 6.

• The board granted approval for Benchmark to submit a Highway Occupancy Permit application for the curb and stormwater work associated with the proposed Carbon Plaza Associates II LLC project, contingent upon the township engineer’s review and approval.

Earlier, the board heard from Victor Kelly, executive vice president of Larken Associates, which owns the Carbon Plaza Mall.

Kelly said First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union would be moved from inside the Carbon Plaza mall to the former Country Harmony Natural Foods location at 1235 Blakeslee Boulevard Drive East. The store closed in April.

The plans call for demolishing the existing building. Work on a stand-alone Starbucks has begun and will be located next to the credit union at the entrance of Carbon Plaza Mall.

According to plans reviewed by the Carbon County Planning Commission in September, a single-story, 2,614-square-foot commercial building that would house the credit union is proposed at the location. It would include drive-through aisles, a total of 18 parking spaces and would use the revised entrance from Route 443 to a new connection to the mall.

This would mark the second time in less than a decade that First Commonwealth Federal Credit Union would move.

The Lehigh-Valley based credit union moved the branch from South Seventh Street, Lehighton, into the Carbon Plaza Mall in 2018.