Easton continues to see development, with at least three housing projects and a hotel scheduled for completion during 2026.<\/p>\n
At least 19 commercial units totaling more than $385.3 million have been completed or are in the works over the next couple of years, according to officials\u2019 estimates. That\u2019s up from 16 projects and about $289 million in project costs<\/a> at the beginning of last year. The figures do not include all the building investment throughout the city.<\/p>\n \u201cThe development activity in the city, many of us believed, was going to start to curtail \u2026 \u201d said John Kingsley, Easton\u2019s community and economic development director. \u201cBut we\u2019re not seeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kingsley said several other projects are in discussion stages in the Northampton County seat that are not listed among the 19 projects provided to The Morning Call. \u201cAnd they\u2019re sizable projects,\u201d he said, declining to give specifics.<\/p>\n \u201cYou do wonder at some point where you hit that kind of, like, ceiling of activity, but people are still learning about what\u2019s happening here, even 20 years into the renaissance that\u2019s happened in the three cities,\u201d Kingsley said. \u201cSo it\u2019s kind of weird, but it\u2019s the truth.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The city\u2019s next biggest project, also downtown, is the Confluence at South Third and Larry Holmes Drive. The $80 million project, with 278 apartments and four commercial spaces, is on track to open by mid-2026, according to the city.\u00a0The development is part of a partnership between Allentown\u2019s City Center Group and Bethlehem\u2019s Peron Development<\/a>, that was also behind the Marquis, a 275-apartment project that opened in 2025<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n City Center Chief Operating Officer Zack Sienicki said in an email the Confluence will open for residents in May. Anyone interested can join a leasing waiting list now or get updates at moveupdowntown.com\/Easton<\/a>, Sienicki said.<\/p>\n The Marquis, which opened this past May, is a few apartments shy of being fully leased, he said. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Mick Gjevukaj, another longtime Easton developer, is behind the Great Square Hotel on Centre Square, which is scheduled to be completed during next year\u2019s fourth quarter. It will have a restaurant on the first floor, a banquet facility above the first floor, about 40 guest rooms above that, and a rooftop lounge.<\/p>\n \u201cI think Easton is on a really great path,\u201d said Gjevukaj, who said he opened the first of his several downtown restaurants, River Grille, in 2002. His company, Gusto Hospitality Group<\/a>, has opened a smaller hotel, the Townley House on North Third Street, as well as several other dining establishments.\n<\/p>\n Besides the Great Square Hotel and The Confluence, two other multimillion-dollar development projects are slated to open in 2026. They are:<\/p>\n Dutchtown Pointe<\/p>\n Developer: ANR Development Jacob\u2019s Produce<\/p>\n The former Jacob\u2019s Produce building<\/a> at Seventh and Northampton streets is becoming apartments.<\/p>\n Developer: VMR Realty
\nWhat it is: a 34-apartment and mixed-use building in the first block of South Sixth Street
\nTotal estimated project cost: $9 million
\nCompletion: first quarter<\/p>\n
\nWhat it is: VMR has preserved the Jacob\u2019s Produce facade<\/a> while adding three stories with approximately 40 residential units, and possible commercial space.
\nTotal estimated project cost: $9 million
\nCompletion: second quarter<\/p>\n