Allentown Waterfront rental units more than double as developers buy rail track

The pending acquisition of a railroad track has spurred plans for a surge in the number of rental units and Class-A office buildings for a $300 million mixed use project along the Lehigh River in Allentown.

Construction is set to begin in July on the infrastructure for The Waterfront development, said Mark Jaindl, president and CEO of Jaindl Properties of Allentown, one of several partners in The Waterfront Development Co.

In a news conference Tuesday afternoon, Jaindl said the company agreed to buy 3 ½ miles of railroad in Allentown and neighboring Whitehall Township. The track, on the western side of the Lehigh River, extends from Union Street near the America on Wheels Museum to the south to Pine Street in Whitehall to the north.

The company plans to convert the rail track into a new road through Allentown and Whitehall called “Riverside Drive,” which Jaindl said would improve access to the site and provide an opportunity to link two significant legs of the Delaware and Lehigh Rail Trail. These trails are comprised of more than 165 miles of bike and walking paths, he added.

The end result allows the company to boost recreational and business opportunities by expanding the number of buildings on site and more than doubling the amount of planned apartments.

The Waterfront, introduced in July 2014, originally called for 172 apartments. Now, it would have 433 rental units, said Zachary Jaindl, chief operations officer for Jaindl Properties.

Also, plans call for five new buildings, bringing the total number of buildings to 14 that the company’s engineers said could be feasible for the project, Zachary Jaindl said.

All of the apartment buildings will have retail spaces on the first floor, he added.

The increased access could also attract more renters, office and retail tenants.

“We are talking to four or five big tenants right now,” Zachary Jaindl said. “Having that urban, walkable community is fantastic; we believe in that sustainable environment.”

The road will bring together Allentown and Whitehall but also ease the stress that’s on the infrastructure, adding a new layer of accessibility, he said.

“This rail meant so much; it brings it altogether,” Mark Jaindl said. “We had really good access to begin with.”

With a project that covers one million square feet of space for the buildings, it would take eight to 10 years to complete construction, Mark Jaindl said.

Once complete, The Waterfront could have five to seven restaurants along the river, he added.

The first building, 615 Waterfront Drive, would be 170,000 square feet, eight stories and have retail and restaurant space, with offices on the upper floors.

The 26-acre site was once home to the Lehigh Structural Steel Co.

Dunn Twiggar Co. LLC and Michael Dunn Co. Ltd. are the other partners on The Waterfront project.

Source: LVB.com