Despite revised plans for an expansion to Allentown’s Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Academy that would maintain a much-loved community snack stand, some neighbors remain unsatisfied.
At a meeting of the Allentown Planning Commission Tuesday afternoon, commissioners gave conditional approval to the construction of a 7,128-square-foot modular building to accommodate the next phase of the school’s buildout at 2020 E. Pennsylvania St. in Allentown. The expansion would accommodate increasing enrollment growth across the district, school officials have said.
The new building will add 10 additional classrooms to the academy, and will connect to the building’s existing water and sewer lines.
The plans earlier this year had run into community opposition because plans had originally called for the demolition of an adjacent maintenance building which houses a community concession stand that funds soccer programs and park events in the Midway Manor neighborhood.
However, project engineers revised the plans to scale the building down from 9,586 square feet to 7,128, which would allow the snack shed to remain.
Yet even with those snack shed concerns resolved, residents expressed concerns Monday about future plans for expansion on the site, which is owned by the school district.
“In two years, according to what I heard here about the major development about planning of additional school building on this site, that green space, the current soccer field, will be torn up and transformed into a school,” said Alice Romberger, vice president of the Midway Manor Community Association. “Nothing definite, but a definite possibility, or a distinct possibility.”
Christian Brown, chair of the planning commission, said he sympathized with the public’s concerns, but that any comments that speculate about future expansion plans on the site should be saved for future meetings when the commission reviews those plans.
Sonia Sotomayor Academy launched in 2024 as a fully bilingual school where students learn in both English and Spanish.
The school currently serves 146 students from pre-kindergarten until second grade, but school district representatives asked the commission for “expedited” approval of the new space in order to accommodate a new third grade class by August 2026.
By 2028, Sonia Sotomayor Academy will add up classes up to fifth grade, bringing in an additional 200 students and eight staff members within that time frame.
The school district also plans, further in the future, to add middle school classes from sixth to eighth grade. Planning for that future expansion will begin in the 2026-27 academic year, according to a news release.
Some Midway Manor residents said that the neighborhood cannot handle the additional traffic and resulting safety concerns to the neighborhood as a consequence of the 200 additional students.
Some also said the possibility of future construction on the site — like a parking lot or additional buildings — could impose upon the neighboring park, which is currently used for recreational activities like soccer and biking.
“Moving forward, the [building expansion] needs a comprehensive traffic study,” said Amy Fiddler, a resident of the Midway Manor neighborhood. “Not only to address parking for families to drop off their children, but also parking for the teachers as well. It is brought up, then brought up at every single meeting of the Midway Manor Community Association, the need for stop signs, the need for recognized school zones, the need for police to enforce, because people just drive through every single stop sign.”
Several advocates for Allentown’s Latino community urged the commission to support the Sonia Sotomayor Academy’s expansion.
“[The school’s] benefits extend well beyond the Spanish-speaking community, all children in the program are gaining bilingual and bicultural competencies that will prepare them for a diverse and global society,” said Linda, an Allentown resident who did not give her last name and read during public comment a letter from Lucy DeLabar, executive director of Allentown nonprofit Casa Guadalupe. “The school’s expansion will allow hundreds more students to access these opportunities.”
Commissioners unanimously approved the construction plans, though some shared residents’ concerns about increased traffic to the area causing back-ups and delays. Commissioners asked the school district to assess putting additional “School zone” signage in the area to help minimize that traffic impact.
“I think we need to expect the district to do a little bit more due diligence in the number of trips that are generated because of [the expansion],” said Commissioner Jeff Glazier.
Robert Wharton, chief operating officer of the Allentown School District, said the school would agree to further study traffic impacts and add additional signage.
Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.