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Allentown News

Developer gets clearance to build 190 apartments on ‘fishbowl’ Allentown property

The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board meeting
Jason Addy
/
LehighValleyNews.com
Michael Housten, owner of Arthur A. Swallow Associates, explains the proposal from Statewide Partners to build three four-story buildings.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A large undeveloped property in south Allentown soon could have almost 200 apartments.

Allentown Zoning Hearing Board on Monday unanimously approved Statewide Partners’ request to construct apartment buildings taller than the city’s 38-foot maximum height along East Wyoming Street and Constitution Drive.

The developer got zoning approval in 2018 to build six three-story complexes with 190 housing units; it now plans to build three four-story structures with the same numberof apartments.

The trade-off “just makes sense.”
Michael Housten, who owns Arthur A. Swallow Associates

That trade-off “just makes sense,” according to Michael Housten, who owns Arthur A. Swallow Associates, an Allentown-based land surveying company.

Building fewer but taller buildings means the project will disturb less land — which is marked by steep slopes — and lets the developer preserve forested land between the proposed buildings and their soon-to-be neighbors, he said.

The proposal also reduces the project’s carbon footprint by eliminating a large roadway and stormwater improvements that would have been needed in the previous plan, Housten said.

'A much better plan'

The new layout somewhat alleviates concerns raised Monday by some neighbors, including one who said construction near his home could cause his yard to erode down steep slopes in the area.

This is “a much better plan … to develop the property."
Michael Housten, owner, of Arthur A. Swallow Associates

The three proposed buildings would be near the East Wyoming Street and Constitution Drive, farthest away from those who spoke.

This is “a much better plan … to develop the property,” Housten said.

The 17-acre property sits in a “fishbowl,” with its elevation 30-40 feet lower than some nearby properties and steep slopes around much of it, Housten told zoning officials.

That means the 55-foot-tall buildings won’t tower over neighbors’ homes though they’ll be well over the 38-foot limit, he said.

But a neighbor warned the “fishbowl” will be filled by floods several times a year, something the developer must address as it continues through the city’s approval process.

The property is expected to feature almost 300 parking spaces for residents; an undeveloped part of the site could be turned into an open space or park.

Statewide Partners partner Zach Juffe said the project likely will take 12 to 18 months.

It still needs to earn city Planning Commission approval and get various permits before starting work.