ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Allentown Planning Commission has officially approved 10 new classrooms at the Sonia Sotomayor Dual Language Immersion Academy.

“We’re just really excited for the expansion, very excited,” said Julie Velazquez, a parent with two children at the school. “They are learning in two languages, which is just so unique. It’s the only school in the area that offers a program that’s a 50-50.”

The expansion will allow hundreds more students to get that experience, and at the Planning Commission meeting, we learned that’s just the beginning. The School District only plans the modular classrooms to be temporary.

“The use of the modulars is intended for approximately 30 months, to get from the current need for additional capacity for 3rd grade, up to a planned redevelopment of the site to include removing and replacing the school and reorganizing the athletic facilities on the site,” said a man involved with the project, only identified at the meeting as a “Mr. Korp”.

But for many members of the Midway Manor neighborhood, that is not good news.

“It’s no longer going to be a park, it’s going to be a school site,” said former Neighborhood Association President Richard Wilburn.

Wilburn found the original deed for the land from 1945, showing it was sold to the School District by the City, and it was intended to be a park.

“The City had made a resolution that said that the property was to be used for recreation, park recreation,” said Wilburn.

A park that neighbors have enjoyed for decades, with playground equipment and a snack shed they paid for. Velazquez said she hopes everyone can work together.

“I think that the administration at the school and the school district is going to be very mindful going forward about maintaining green space, and shared spaces,” said Velazquez.

“We’ve worked hard for what we have there, and we don’t want to see it go away,” said Wilburn.

City Council still needs to give final approval to the expansion, but the School District did respond to one of the neighbor concerns. In the original design, the expansion required them to bulldoze the snack shed. The new design allows it to stay for now, but that could change when the school is fully replaced in the future.