ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A proposed five-story boutique hotel with a ground-level bar and restaurant on Hamilton Street has moved one step closer to fruition.
The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board on Monday night unanimously approved the demolition of existing buildings at 949-959 Hamilton St. in the Downtown West section of the city.
- The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board approved demolition of buildings on the proposed site for a five-story boutique hotel on Hamilton Street
- The project could receive preliminary/final approval from the Allentown Planning Commission on Tuesday
- The hotel is projected to generate $185,000 annually in tax revenue
The next step for the project developer, City Center Investment Corp. of Allentown, is to submit a demolition permit with the city. Upon receipt of that permit, demolition of the structures can begin, most likely in mid-to-late April and completed by late June, according to Robert DiLorenzo, director of planning and construction for City Center Allentown. Construction would begin no later than July 1, he said.
On Tuesday, the Allentown Planning Commission will hear from project principals who will be seeking preliminary/final approval for the hotel. Such approval would clear the way for construction of a 55,000-square-foot, five-story, 140-room boutique hotel, with a ground-story bar and restaurant. The hotel rooms would be located on the second through fifth floors.
If approved, the hotel project is scheduled for completion in 2024.
“For us, the hotel is important for people visiting downtown to get an initial perception as they come into town,” DiLorenzo said. “We believe the project will enhance that experience as they’re first arriving.”
On Monday night, City Center was requesting from the zoning board a special exemption because the addresses in question are located in the Historic Building Demolition Control Overlay District.
“For us, the hotel is important for people visiting downtown to get an initial perception as they come into town. We believe the project will enhance that experience as they’re first arriving.”Robert DiLorenzo, director of planning and construction, City Center Allentown
DiLorenzo told the board the hotel project would have a substantial public benefit than do the existing structures. He said the $17.8 million project would generate 31 new permanent jobs and 75 construction-related jobs. The currently-vacant properties have no employment, he said.
DiLorenzo noted the current buildings generate just over $32,000 annually in property taxes, while the hotel would generate $185,000 annually.
In January, the city's planning and zoning department denied City Center's demolition application for the hotel project because city code requires zoning hearing board approval in the overlay district.
Plans for the project were reviewed by the hearing board to assess the historic significance of the properties on which they would be built. In a staff report to the zoning hearing board earlier this year, the city’s Historic Architectural Review Board, or HARB, expressed concern about the hotel design and how it might blend into other structures on the street, some of which are nearly 150 years old.
HARB eventually determined the buildings were not architecturally significant and that the proposed hotel was designed appropriately in accordance with the Hamilton Street Facade Guidelines and Traditional Neighborhood Development Overlay District.
Andrew Miller, executive vice president at North Star Construction Management Inc., of Allentown, will oversee the construction of the hotel project. His inspection of the buildings on Hamilton Street where the hotel would be built found them to be in complete disrepair, very wet, moldy, and rusty from rain pouring through torn-up roofs and into the basements for as many as 10 years, he told the zoning board.
Miller added that his inspection detected cracks in concrete, rotting wood, and ponding water throughout the structures.
Asked if any of the three buildings could be used in the future, he said, “Definitely not.”
The board heard from Kaman Skinner, an architect with Bernardon, of Philadelphia. She prepared a report on the City Center project and found the existing buildings to have no historic or architectural significance, adding the hotel would be an improvement to the block.
Over the past 10 years, City Center has invested about $1 billion in development in the west section of Allentown. Other residential projects include a $25 million, 125-unit complex in the 1000 block of Hamilton Street that began in summer 2022; The Gallery at Cityplace, a 108-unit, multi-story facility with ground-floor retail at 932 Hamilton St.; and Walnut View at Cityplace, a 57-unit residential building at 909 W. Walnut St.
Last month, the planning commission approved plans for the construction of the Archer Music Hall, a 31,000-square-foot entertainment venue in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.
