Allentown Art Museum to buy police station property for $1.4M as it looks to relocate

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Art Museum is in line to replace the Allentown Police Department’s secondary station.

Allentown Parking Authority’s board of directors on Wednesday unanimously chose the museum’s relocation bid as its preferred project to reshape the property at the northwest corner of Tenth and Hamilton streets.

The Art Museum plans to build a new location there instead of again renovating its current location on North 5th Street.

It spent more than $15 million in 2011 on its most recent major renovation.

Feasibility studies showed it would be more cost-effective to build a new museum, officials said Thursday.

The new museum “will be transformative” and feature expanded galleries, education spaces and storage, they said in a news release.

"This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the Allentown Art Museum as a vibrant cultural hub,” Allentown Art Museum President Max Weintraub said.

Museum and parking authority officials now are working to negotiate the final terms of the deal, according to Parking Authority board Chairman Ted Zeller.

Much of those negotiations will center around the project's timeline, he said.

Allentown officers are set to stay in the substation until the new station is finished.

Council in August approved a $1.15 million contract for Bethlehem architecture firm Alloy5 to lead the project.

'No. 1 destination for vibrant arts'

The Parking Authority bought the city’s police substation and is bundling that property with its adjacent lot to sell to the developer.

Allentown officials are working on a project to significantly expand the police station next to City Hall and pinpointed the substation property for redevelopment, with the building to be surplus to requirements.

Mayor Matt Tuerk in a news release called the New Allentown Art Museum project “a huge win for downtown Allentown.”

“Tenth and Hamilton is going to become the No. 1 destination for vibrant arts in our region,” Tuerk said.

He said it would build “on the momentum” started by the new Archer Music Hall less than a block away.

“The beating heart of the Lehigh Valley is strong — boldly and unapologetically Allentown,” he said.

'No chump change'

The parking authority initially agreed to give Allentown the first $1.5 million from the bundled sale of both properties, with both to split any proceeds above that figure.

But officials altered the terms of the future sale, with the city now set to get 55% of the final sale price.

The Art Museum is set to pay $1.4 million for the bundled properties, according to Allentown Parking Authority board Chairman Ted Zeller.

"That's no chump change," Zeller told LehighValleyNews.com.

That gives Allentown $770,000 — a small profit of $20,000 on its investment in the property in March 2010.

The Parking Authority received two bids, with Pennrose Properties proposing a mixed-use building with apartments and commercial uses, Zeller said.

The two proposals' scores were "not even close" after officials analyzed their fit for the property, he said.

Council voted in December to remove parking requirements on the property.

The parking authority last year bought the parking deck at 940 W. Linden St., which officials said eliminated the need for on-site parking at the Tenth and Hamilton street property.

Zeller said the agency plans to use some of its proceeds to fund a surface parking lot in the 400 block of Ridge Avenue.

Allentown Redevelopment Authority donated its property and the parking authority used eminent domain to take control of a neighboring vacant lot.

The new lot will add two dozen parking spaces and relieve stress in the "crowded neighborhood," Zeller said.

He pointed to the complex deal as proof that city government can find creative ways to serve its residents.

"Your city government is functioning the way it should be," Zeller said.