From brand new schools to a reimagined plaza in the heart of the city, several major developments in Allentown are set to either open or make major progress in 2026.

Here is The Morning Call’s roundup of the most anticipated buildings and other construction projects next year, sorted by category.

Schools

Two school facilities in Allentown are set to make major progress: one, a brand new, $130 million building, and the other, a major $53 million renovation to a high school.

City officials broke ground in November on the Allentown Academy, a K-8 school building on the East Side of Allentown, at the site of the former Allentown State Hospital.

The school is set to open by the 2027-28 school year and will provide 200,000 square feet of academic space to students who live in the East Side. The new school will accommodate the district’s projected growth; its elementary school capacity is 7,700, but enrollment is expected to reach 9,000 students by 2028.

It will also help the district either renovate or replace Harrison Morton Middle School, which is over 150 years old.

The former Allentown State Hospital property is also expected to be the site of a new neighborhood with over 1,000 housing units, according to a plan presented by City Center Group, which owns the land.

Allentown’s Bridgeview Academy, formerly called Building 21, is slated for major changes: The school has relaunched with a focus on artificial intelligence, health care and computer science. The construction of an academic wing will allow the school to expand to host 875 students in grades 6 to 12.

In addition to constructing a two-story academic building, plans include renovating the existing building, and adding a high-school-sized gym that can also function as an auditorium and a Family and Community Resource Center.

The resource center is scheduled to be completed at the end of 2026. Construction would then begin on the Bridgeview Academy academic and athletic additions in spring 2027, with a completion date of summer 2029.

Downtown

Perhaps the most prominent development coming to downtown Allentown is the redesign of Center Square, home to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument.

The $6.5 million redesign plans would shift Seventh Street down to two lanes and add a bike lane on one side, and eliminate one of the two lanes of Hamilton Street that bisect around the monument at the intersection. The work would create a plaza-type space around the monument that could be used for public events and outdoor seating.

The city began work on the redesign in 2025, and it is expected to be complete by the end of 2026.

Complementing the newly redesigned plaza will be a $35 million renovation of the former Merchants Bank building at 702 Hamilton St., which overlooks Center Square and is owned by City Center. Dubbed 1 Center Square, the vacant building will be refurbished into a four-story, mixed-use structure with offices and retail, and will maintain the facade of the bank with its stone pillars and decorative cornices. City Center received $20 million in tax revenue bonds from the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone to finance the project.

Waterfront

Much-anticipated development at the Lehigh River waterfront also will continue to progress in the new year, though at a slower rate than initially promised.

Two major developers have big plans to redevelop the area from a largely abandoned former industrial site into a vibrant neighborhood.

The Waterfront Development Co., which plans to construct up to 12 buildings, opened the first, a six-story office building called 615 Waterfront, in 2023.

The second, called the River House, is expected to open this March. The $69 million building will feature 201 apartments, retail space on the first floor, parking for residents and other amenities.

Another developer, Urban Residential Properties, also owns swaths of land along the river and is redeveloping them; most notable is its redevelopment of the former Neuweiler Brewery. The $91 million Neuweiler Lofts is rising at the site, which sat abandoned for decades. The project at 401 N. Front St. will include approximately 283 apartments and 40,000 square feet of commercial space.

Developers originally projected that the Neuweiler Lofts would open in 2025, but the project remains under construction. Urban Residential Properties owner John Palumbo did not respond to a request for an updated opening date.

Urban Residential Properties recently received city approval for plans to demolish the former American Atelier furniture factory and replace it with a building featuring 267 apartments, 21,000 square feet of office space and 23,000 square feet of retail/commercial space. Developers have not announced a projected opening date.

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.