ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown zoning officials on Monday approved a set of special exceptions to let a developer continue with plans to convert a “beyond blighted” industrial building into apartments.
Nat Hyman, who runs the Hyman Group, wants to build a 66-unit complex at 366 W. Allen St.
- Developer Nat Hyman is planning a 66-apartment complex known as Allen Flats
- The complex would be built in a renovated industrial building at 366 W. Allen St.
- Allentown zoning officials granted Hyman’s project several special exceptions Monday
The new complex would offer residents “modern, contemporary loft-type” apartments with rents of $800 to $1,200, Hyman said last month. The apartments would be “among the least expensive in Allentown, particularly for what [residents] are getting,” he said.
The three-story complex along Jordan Creek — to be known as Allen Flats — would have a gym, laundry room, game room and storage space for tenants, Hyman said.
Allentown Planning Commission in April granted Hyman permission to move forward with his project to convert the building into dozens of apartments.
'Beyond blighted' to renovated
The 103-year-old building was the site of several manufacturing uses before being abandoned about 20 years ago, Hyman said Monday.
The building was “beyond blighted” and was filled with trash when Hyman bought it last year, he told planning officials last month.
Only the “shell” of the building will remain as part of the apartment complex, with the entire interior to be removed or renovated, Hyman said.
Zoning is a 'constant struggle between private property rights and the health, safety, [and] welfare' of a neighborhood.Allentown Zoning Hearing Board member Scott Unger
Hyman was seeking relief Monday from zoning requirements for parking, square footage and industrial-to-residential conversions.
City zoning ordinances allow an industrial property to be used for housing if 75% of its perimeter touches residential areas. The property at 366 W. Allen St. cannot meet that requirement because it is next to Jordan Creek Greenway, which is zoned as a park, Hyman's attorney Erich Schock said.
The Allen Flats complex would include studios as well as one- and two-bedroom apartments, ranging from about 500 feet to 800 feet, Hyman said. That’s significantly smaller than the required 1,800 square feet per dwelling unit, as zoning officials noted Monday.
Hyman said he chose to create 66 smaller units to cater to couples and people without children. Designing the project with fewer, larger apartments would not be practical or financially feasible, the developer said.
'A constant struggle'
Zoning Hearing Board members Robert Knauer, Alan Salinger and Scott Unger voted to approve Hyman’s requests for relief with several small conditions delineating Monday's conversations.
Unger supported Hyman’s requests after pushing for the developer to include more trees in his project.
Hyman had planned to only plant two of the nine trees that would have been required by zoning ordinances; but Unger and Hyman worked out a deal that will see the developer meet requirements by planting trees on a different property where parking will be available for Allen Flats residents.
Speaking after Monday’s meeting, Unger said zoning is a “constant struggle between private property rights and the health, safety, [and] welfare” of a neighborhood.
A lot of zoning decisions, like his insistence that Hyman meet tree-planting requirements, are “driven” by case law and legal precedent, Unger said.
Zoning officials must ensure projects meet “specific requirements” and can’t grant them approval “just because [they] might have a value to the community,” Unger said.
“There has to be a legal basis for everything that we do, whether we grant relief or not,” he said.
