- City Center is working to build a boutique hotel and music venue in the 900 block of West Hamilton Street
- The developer and local officials broke ground on the project this month
- City Center has yet to announce which promoter will be responsible for attracting acts to the 1,800-person Archer Music Hall venue
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A new boutique hotel and music venue are at the heart of a developer’s plans to bring “entertainment-based vibrancy” to downtown Allentown.
Those plans are beginning to shape after City Center broke ground this month on a five-story, 140-room hotel that will cost $27 million.
The 55,000-square-foot facility is expected to also feature a ground-floor bar and restaurant, with guest rooms on the top four floors.
"We wanted to bring in another Marriott product that would complement the full-service, luxury brand of the Renaissance with a more boutique brand."J.B. Reilly, City Center president
Global hotel chain Marriott will operate the new boutique hotel under its Moxy brand when it opens next year, City Center announced in mid-October.
Company President J.B. Reilly said he wanted to work with Marriott again after forging a successful relationship with the Renaissance Hotel a couple blocks east in Center City Allentown.
"We wanted to bring in another Marriott product that would complement the full-service, luxury brand of the Renaissance with a more boutique brand," Reilly said.
Still talking to promoters
But it’s still unknown who will bring music acts to the Archer Music Hall next door — a critical piece in driving visitors to both projects in the 900 block of West Hamilton Street.
The Archer will be a 31,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art venue that could fill a hole in the Lehigh Valley's entertainment scene. Allentown hasn't had a large-club-sized music venue since Crocodile Rock Cafe closed in 2015.
"We think the hotel and the Archer will be core to creating that kind of entertainment-based vibrancy."J.B. Reilly, City Center president
It's expected to accommodate up to 1,800 people for standing-room-only shows. The region already has the 10,000-person PPL Center, the 3,500-standing capacity Wind Creek Center and the 1,000-standing capacity Musikfest Cafe in Bethlehem.
Jerry Deifer, who was a founding partner in Sands Bethlehem Event Center — now Wind Creek Event Center — proposed a 1,400-person music hall for a 24-story complex that's since been shelved.
He told LehighValleyNews.com earlier this year that a venue that can hold 1,400-1,800 people is the sweet spot for a new venue in Allentown, calling it "an underserved capacity."
The Archer Music Hall "will be an iconic destination in Allentown," a company executive said earlier this year, comparing it to The Fillmore in Philadelphia.
Reilly said he believes the venue and hotel will help extend the "success of revitalization" in Center City into the "Downtown West" sector.
"We think the hotel and the Archer will be core to creating that kind of entertainment-based vibrancy," Reilly said.
"They're both designed to support this vibrant environment that's emerging in Downtown West," Reilly said.
"With all the new apartments and the activation that goes along with all those new residents, we thought the synergy between a music hall and cool boutique hotel was really strong."
Slated for Fall 2024
Both redevelopment projects are running a bit behind the schedule City Center laid out to Allentown officials earlier this year.
Robert DiLorenzo, City Center's director of planning and construction, told Allentown officials in March that demolition to make way for the hotel likely would be done by the end of June, with construction to start in August.
Demolition wrapped up slightly later than planned, with company executives and local officials holding an official groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 10.
“We’re full steam ahead on that project."J. B. Reilly, developer of the planned The Moxy Hotel and The Archer music venue in downtown Allentown
The Archer was projected to open in spring 2024 when City Center started working through Allentown’s approval process at the start of this year.
Work on the venue is “well underway,” with crews installing foundations, Reilly said. He expects the building to start taking form in the next few weeks.
“We’re full steam ahead on that project,” he said.
The hotel and venue are now expected to be completed in fall 2024, with both to open around the same time, Reilly said.
