ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A prominent local developer is asking Allentown City Council to let it put up a large marquee sign it says is “essential to the sustainability” of its planned downtown music venue.
The digital marquee sign for City Center's Archer Music Hall project at 939 W. Hamilton St. has been a topic of city meetings since the start of 2023.
- A developer has worked for months to get final approval for a sign outside a planned music venue
- City Center says the sign is “essential” to the Archer Music Hall’s success
- The venue is set to open next summer
The first bill introduced this year by the council was a measure specifically tailored to the Archer Music Hall project.
Bill 1 was an amendment to allow “blinking, flashing, electronically changing or animated” signs “for structures that primarily provide for live entertainment uses for 500 or more customers at a time” for buildings in the 900 block of Hamilton Street.
The digital marquee is “the main, key piece for the success of the venue.”City Center executive Robert DiLorenzo
Those signs already were allowed on Hamilton between Fifth and Sixth Streets.
The Archer Music Hall moved a step closer to reality in April, when the council approved the amendment that allows its new three-signed digital sign.
City Center executive Robert DiLorenzo told council members the digital marquee is “the main, key piece for the success of the venue.”
Encroachment needed
Though the council amended the city’s ordinances for Archer Music Hall’s digital marquee, the developer still must secure permission for the sign to “encroach” over the sidewalk.
Allentown ordinances let “permanent obstructions” — such as steps, porches, fences and building projections — cover one-third of the width of the sidewalk on which it’s encroaching.
Sidewalks must be at least 5 feet wide after the project is completed.
City Council must approve any further encroachment.
“The north side of the 900 block of Hamilton Street is due for a major rehabilitation, and the music hall is the first step in that direction."Allentown officials, in a memo to city council
City Center is seeking permission to install a 42-foot-long digital marquee 13 feet high. That sign would be 13 feet deep, which would leave 5 feet of sidewalk uncovered, as required, according to city officials.
The city council introduced a resolution Wednesday that would authorize the Archer Music Hall sign’s encroachment over the Hamilton Street sidewalk. The resolution was requested by City Center and the city’s Public Works department.
Members will vote on the measure at a future meeting.
'First step' toward 'major rehabilitation'
DiLorenzo has said construction on the venue should start this year. A website for the Archer Music Hall says the developer expects it to be ready by next summer.
City Center’s plans for the Archer Music Hall show a two-story entertainment venue with 31,000 square feet that can accommodate up to 1,800 people.
It’s meant to attract events too small for the PPL Center, which has a capacity of about 10,000 people.
The venue also will have a smaller stage on the second floor for more intimate performances.
“The music hall will cater to smaller and start-up bands that currently do not have anywhere to play in the city,”City Center officials in a memo to Allentown City Council
“The music hall will cater to smaller and start-up bands that currently do not have anywhere to play in the city,” officials said in a memo to the council.
The venue will help activate the block, they said.
“The north side of the 900 block of Hamilton Street is due for a major rehabilitation, and the music hall is the first step in that direction,” officials said.
City Center is hopeful the Archer Music Hall can become something of a replacement for the former Crocodile Rock Cafe, which closed in 2015.
The developer also is working to open a new boutique hotel on the same block as Archer Music Hall.
Demolition crews are almost done knocking a row of empty buildings to make way for the hotel. DiLorenzo told city officials earlier this year that construction on the site will start by August.
The developer’s plans show a five-story hotel with 140 rooms. The 55,000-square-foot facility is set to feature a ground-floor bar and restaurant, with guest rooms on the top four floors.
