ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board approved two appeals involving a residential complex Monday night at city hall.
The applicant, BAHX LLC, is proposing “Hanover Apartments,” multi-family buildings featuring 307 rental units at 2300 Hanover Ave. At previous meetings, the proposal specified the complex would include 317 units. The land parcel straddles the boundary between Allentown and Bethlehem.
The agenda item Monday night focused on the two of the four proposed buildings that sit in Allentown. The applicant submitted an appeal involving a pitched roof type that is not permitted under the city’s code, as well as driveway access off Wahneta Street, which is prohibited due to the street’s zoning code status.
The applicant’s first witness, engineering manager Kevin Fruck, testified the site was previously home to a car dealership. The city’s code requires access off a “C” street, which is not available to the applicant. Building setbacks and heights were noted as reasons for the pitched roof relief.
Zoner Scott Unger said granting approval for the driveway access was logical for the project to proceed. He added the code’s intention regarding the roof was to create an urban street wall. He proposed two conditions for approval. One involved the project’s two Allentown buildings have direct pedestrian access from Wahneta Street, and the renderings and materials remain consistent with what was presented Monday night through the land development process.
The project must still acquire Allentown Planning Commission approval.