ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Allentown Metal Works' 17.5-acre site along 10th Street on the city's south side has sat dormant for more than a decade.
But it will be coming back to life. And it might be happening sooner than many expect.
According to Charles Marcon, owner of Marcon Properties, the company that has an agreement of sale to buy the site, there could be a factory operating on the site next year.
- The Allentown Metal Works site, a 17.5 acre property, has been dormant since 2011
- Marcon Properties plans to buy the site and lease two buildings to Eastern Exterior Wall Systems
- The finished facility is expected to create 50 to 150 new jobs
“The [building] that we are looking at there, the one where construction has begun, is building G," Marcon said last week. "We are calling that plant number one. That building will be ready for occupancy in about nine months.”
A second, larger facility at the site is expected to be operational in 2024, he said.
Marcon, who lives in Allentown and who as a child went to school in Bethlehem, said he is excited at the opportunity to restore this part of the city’s infrastructure.
“I live in Allentown. I pay taxes in Allentown and it’s no secret that there’s been some issues over the years,” he said.
“I remember the time when all the cities of the Lehigh Valley were thriving and had great employers — you know, Bethlehem Steel, Western Electric, Mack Trucks — but those days are gone. So we are happy to be able to put a manufacturing facility back in the city.”
Plans are to lease the two buildings to Eastern Exterior Wall Systems, a company that manufactures wall panels, Marcon said. The facility is expected to create 50 to 150 jobs.
He said that number will fluctuate depending on need.
The company is currently in a 75,000-square-foot facility, Macron said, and the new space will have about 175,000 square feet, which he said will allow for significant growth.
“I remember the time when all the cities of the Lehigh Valley were thriving and had great employers. You know, Bethlehem Steel, Western Electric, Mack Trucks, but those days are gone. So, we are happy to be able to put a manufacturing facility back in the city.”Charles Marcon, owner of Marcon Properties
Recently Allentown Economic Development Corporation put in a request for $1 million from the city’s American Rescue Plan Act funds to help pay for continuing redevelopment of the site. Construction is expected to cost $35 million.
AEDC Executive Director Scott Unger said the fund request is needed, as the agency still is working to gather funds to afford the overall project. He wasn’t able to give a final number needed.
“It’s a moving target,” Unger said.
On a recent December afternoon, as they walked through the empty structures, with bitter cold wind ripping through unfinished roofs, the men said they were energized to complete the project.
“You're returning manufacturing to a manufacturing site," Unger said. "You’re building on the community. You're providing opportunities for employment. Your reusing infrastructure.
"We’ve removed blight. We’ve removed environmental issues. This project clicks so many boxes for an urban redevelopment organization like AEDC that it’s very exciting.”
Marcon agreed, noting it’s a chance to return jobs that are within walking distance of many homes and foster community in a city that has lost so many industrial careers over the past several decades.
“I’m happy to be able to bring good manufacturing jobs from the suburbs into the city into a culture where people can walk to work and, it’s just a different way of life that’s kind of been abandoned,” Marcon said. “It’s a great opportunity for us.”
EDITOR'S NOTE: Charles Marcon is a founding funder of LehighValleyNews.com. He has no influence on our editorial or business operations.
