ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Dozens of small businesses could soon move back into their downtown Allentown offices that have been shuttered for months because of hazards and over-occupancy.
Health inspectors conducted surprise inspections Dec. 7 at the Hamilton Business Center, where they found “life-safety violations and suspected illegal occupancy, including residential units,” Allentown Community and Economic Development Chief Vicky Kistler said a day later.
City officials obtained a search warrant after they were denied access to some areas of the complex at 1101 W. Hamilton St.
An application for the warrant said officials saw an “unlicensed laboratory with unknown substances” in the basement of the building, which has a day care on the first floor.
Searches also uncovered unregistered units made by unpermitted construction, improper sprinkler systems and blocked fire exits.
Building owner Gordon Roberts told LehighValleyNews.com that there are more than 90 tenants in the building, but city records show there should be about 70, Kistler said.
Getting better
The city’s building standards team conducted an inspection Friday at the Hamilton Business Center, and some of the complex is safe and ready to be used again, according to Mark Hartney, Deputy Director of Community and Economic Development.
“We're asking any businesses that are looking to reoccupy that space to contact our zoning office to have a zoning review performed."Mark Hartney, deputy director of community and economic development
Officials expect to issue a partial certificate of occupancy Monday to building owner Gordon Roberts, Hartney said.
The certificate of occupancy will let businesses on the first and second floors to move back into the complex, but they must first contact Allentown’s zoning office to ensure they have the proper permits and licenses, Hartney said.
“We're asking any businesses that are looking to reoccupy that space to contact our zoning office to have a zoning review performed,” Hartney said.
“We just want to make sure that we’ve got our i's [dotted] and t’s crossed, since there were so many businesses in there that we didn't know about previously."
City officials could issue a certificate of occupancy for the Hamilton Business Center’s third and fourth floors “relatively quickly,” though it “may take a little longer” before businesses can move back into the basement and fifth floor, Hartney said.
‘Systematic’ inspections coming?
Allentown officials are exploring a stronger program for commercial-building inspections in the wake of the Hamilton Business Center's closure.
The city inspects buildings after they are built or approved changes are made, as well as after complaints, but doesn't perform regular checks, Kistler told an Allentown City Council committee this week.
That means inspectors don’t know about unpermitted renovations or other serious issues until a complaint is filed, as happened at Hamilton Business Center.
Performing “routine and systematic” inspections on Allentown’s many commercial buildings is “going to be a heavy lift,” Kistler said.
But that’s the best way to ensure the safety of everyone who uses them, she said.
