'Welcome home': Allentown affordable housing complex opens with units for adults with disabilities

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — About a hundred people celebrated Friday as officials and residents cut the ribbon on a new affordable housing complex in Allentown.

The complex — known as 1528 West after its address at 1528 W. Hamilton St. — features 49 apartments across four floors for residents 55 and older who make less than about $45,000 a year.

Ten of those apartments will be reserved for residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The complex is “designed to foster independence” and provide a “supportive environment” for all residents, according to Dana Hanchin, president of HDC MidAtlantic, the property’s developer.'

More than 230 people already have applied to live in the building, 40% of its units already are leased and the rest could soon be filled, Hanchin said.

“It is heartbreaking that we could not provide housing to all that applied,” she said.

Monthly rents will be $225-$825 for one-bedrooms units and $260-$1,055 for two-bedroom apartments, she said Friday to a loud round of applause started by Mayor Matt Tuerk.

‘Exactly’ what Allentown needs: Mayor

Tuerk said he’s seen many exciting projects come to fruition during his term as Allentown mayor.

But “1528 West is the project I’m most proud of,” he said.

He called the complex “exactly the kind of solution that we need more of here in Allentown,” as the region faces an ongoing housing crisis.

Tuerk lauded HDC and its partners — the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center and the Alliance for Building Communities — for bringing almost 50 affordable apartments to the city.

Tuerk alluded to NIMBYism — the attitude of “not in my backyard” — and said he was proud the new affordable housing complex is in such a prominent location along Hamilton Street and in his own neighborhood.

“Today, we get to say not just, ‘Yes, in my backyard,’ but ‘Let's build it in the front yard,'” Tuerk said. “Let’s be proud of the things that we do to help those who are most in need.”

A 'model' for other communities

Friday’s ribbon-cutting ceremony was the realization of a “journey [that] began what seems like an eternity ago,” according to Bill Meltzer, co-founder of the Eastern Pennsylvania Down Syndrome Center.

Meltzer said he first pitched the idea of housing for people with intellectual disabilities during a meeting with Hanchin seven years ago at the Hamilton Family Restaurant.

She immediately agreed and they worked to bring other groups into the partnership, he said.

And “after two applications to PHFA, a few zoning and planning commission meetings, a pandemic — here we are, at our much-anticipated ribbon-cutting ceremony.”

"This is truly a dream come true for our young adults," he said. "But more important, we hope that this is only the beginning.

“Now, our dream is that 1528 West can serve as a model for other individuals with disabilities who want to live independently in their communities.”

Kim Krauter, a senior vice president for HDC MidAtlantic, said she was “immensely proud and grateful” to be part of the “special project, one that resonates with me on a personal level.”

“For those of you that are moving in, I want to offer you a heartfelt welcome home,” Krauter said with her 16-year-old son, Jesse, by her side.

“I hope this new space brings you comfort, community and a sense of belonging.”

The complex cost about $19 million to build after rising costs drove up the final price tag.

Officials said they expect it to generate about three times that amount in economic activity for the region.

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency provided more than $11 million in equity, including $4.6 million in loans and more than $1 million in low-income housing tax credits

Allentown City Council contributed $1 million of the city’s federal pandemic-relief money to the project.