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A developer plans to\u00a0demolish the former American Atelier furniture factory and construct a building with 267 apartment units, office space and retail space.<\/p>\n
Then, Commissioner Sunny Ghai questioned whether the height of the building was appropriate for the neighborhood. Seitz said the height is permitted within the city’s ordinances.<\/p>\n
“It is notably taller than some buildings in the surrounding area, but the area is also seeing similar growth,” she added.<\/p>\n
Commissioner Jennifer Gomez, Allentown’s planning director, chimed in, and said the city is still evaluating the project.<\/p>\n
“Obviously the height is in contrast within the context of the surrounding area,” she said. “We will be evaluating the height as well as the lower levels of the building in particular to make sure that [they] are designed in a way that is compatible from the street for pedestrians and buildings and trees and the overall general environment in order to minimize the mass and impact of that building.”\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
The project will be discussed during a meeting of the Allentown Planning Commission on June 10, and more design feedback will be provided at that time, Gomez said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Housing strategy update<\/p>\n
Registration is now open for the third and final public event for the Lehigh Valley Housing Supply and Attainability Strategy.<\/p>\n
“This event is a pivotal moment for continued collaboration and feedback before the strategy is finalized, so we want to hear from everybody in real time,” Seitz said.<\/p>\n
The initiative, a partnership between Lehigh County and the LVPC, launched on Feb. 5. It’s\u00a0bringing together representatives from a variety of sectors\u00a0\u2014 state and local governments, school districts and real estate development, among them\u00a0\u2014 to figure out how to ease the Lehigh Valley’s housing crunch.<\/p>\n
The LVPC estimates that the region is in need of\u00a0about 9,000 more housing units.<\/p>\n
Attendees of the final event will hear insights from focus groups facilitated by the Urban Land Institute at the end of March. They’ll also be the first to see “draft strategies shaped by extensive data analysis and all of the work strategy participants have put into this effort through the public engagement up until this point,” Seitz said.<\/p>\n