ALLENTOWN, Pa. — An Allentown developer is set to build a self-storage facility more than a decade after first earning officials’ blessing for the project.
Allentown’s Zoning Hearing Board in October 2012 approved Abe Atiyeh’s plan to build self-storage facilities at 301 St. Elmo St., the site of a former cement plant.
But the developer has made very little progress since, and the property got “out of control” in recent years, with trash and trucks strewn throughout, Atiyeh said.
He said his property became a “junkyard” and “looked like a s— hole” for many years until this past week, when crews cleaned up about “90 percent” of the issues there.
“I apologize to the neighbors; I apologize to the city."Developer Abe Atiyeh
Gene Berg, of Gouk Architects, showed a series of photos he took Monday afternoon to prove the property is on the mend.
The property should be free of debris within two weeks, Atiyeh said. He said he’s spent about $40,000 to clear the site.
“I apologize to the neighbors; I apologize to the city,” he said, acknowledging more than a dozen residents who sat through a three-hour meeting to object to his project.
Residents respond
Shane Fillman urged Allentown zoning officials to reject Atiyeh’s modified proposal for self-storage facilities on the property.
Atiyeh has been associated with the St. Elmo Street property for almost two decades, but “it’s only within the last two months the property has been touched,” he said.
Other residents suggested the board require Atiyeh install security cameras throughout the property and abide by weight restrictions on a nearby bridge.
But Zoning Hearing Board Chairman Robert Knauer said circumstances of the initial 2012 approval have not significantly changed so that approval remains intact.
Board member Scott Unger said he could “not contemplate” any legal basis to deny Atiyeh’s proposal Monday.
The board’s unanimous vote — with Knauer, Unger and new member Samantha McLean all backing the proposal — brought an end to the meeting just before it entered its fourth hour.
