Zoning ruling sinks Allentown apartment plan at old Republican Club

• Developer Manny Makhoul wanted to turn the former North End Republican Club into a dozen apartments
• But Allentown zoning officials approved only 10 apartments Monday night
• Makhoul said he will walk away from the project and look to sell the building to another developer 

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A developer is abandoning a proposed apartment complex in Allentown after zoning officials rejected some parts of his plans for the property.

The Allentown Zoning Hearing Board on Monday night approved plans to convert the former North End Republican Club into 10 apartments. But Manny Makhoul wanted to put a dozen apartments into the vacant club at 639-645 N. Eighth St.

Makhoul told LehighValleyNews.com after the meeting that he was “in shock” that zoning officials only approved 10 units, and he now plans to put the building back on the market.

The developer said it just doesn't make financial sense for him to convert the building into fewer apartments, as ordered by the zoning hearing board.

“Maybe somebody else can,” he said.

Makhoul, who owns properties in Easton and Northampton Borough, said he hopes the property will still be redeveloped; it "just won't be in my portfolio."

"It's just going to be a resale," Makhoul said.

'More attractive' with less units, board says

Makhoul sought relief Monday night from several zoning requirements for his plans to put 12 apartments into the building he said he recently bought for about $400,000.

Eight of those apartments were up to code, but plans showed four others were smaller than the city’s 500-square-foot minimum area for housing units.

The zoning hearing board had no issues approving three apartments that fell just short of that requirement, but member Scott Unger led a push to prohibit a 374-square-foot apartment on the building’s third floor.

The board also ordered Makhoul to demolish an exterior wooden structure attached to the building that he planned to turn into one of the complex’s bigger apartments.

A report on the property by city planning employees raised concerns about someone living in that “wood-frame shed-like structure.”

Razing it would create more space for parking and make many of Makhoul’s other zoning-relief requests moot, Unger said.

“I think it’s going to be a much more attractive project” with 10 units, Unger said.

But Makhoul made it clear to zoning officials before they voted that he could walk away from the project if they capped the number of units.

Unger acknowledged Makhoul's financial commitments to the project but said the board's job is to enforce city zoning ordinances.

"It's not our job to mitigate (a developer's) risk," he said.

Several residents objected to Makhoul’s plans to put apartments in the old Republican Club due to a lack of parking in the area; but those concerns will be allayed at least until another developer comes along.