Allentown could add $20M luxury apartment complex to downtown

Bolstered by the successful leasing of a freshly opened 170-unit upscale apartment complex in downtown Allentown, a developer is already looking to expand the number of luxury units available to urban dwellers.

STRATA II will be an extension of STRATA Flats, a complex that opened this summer with 162 luxury apartments and eight in a smaller building next door, called the STRATA Annex.

“The expansion of STRATA is really being driven by the strong leasing demand with STRATA, which we completed,” said J.B. Reilly, president and CEO of City Center Investment Corp. “As of today, 97 percent of the 170 apartments are occupied.”

The new apartments were approved Wednesday night by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, which also approved Reilly’s plan for Five City Center, an office/residential project at Seventh and Hamilton streets.

STRATA Flats is part of Four City Center, a development that includes new retail spaces that sit on the first floor of both buildings along the ArtsWalk, a walkway that links the city’s arts venues with PPL Center arena and the Renaissance Hotel by Marriott.

STRATA II is expected to cost about $20 million, Reilly said.

He said there is a particularly strong demand for two-bedroom apartments.

STRATA II will include 66 apartments, 60 percent of which will be two-bedroom units and 40 percent of which will be one-bedroom units. Amenities include a theater room and multipurpose recreation room, he added. The complex will be five stories to match STRATA and include similar building specifications. Rents will be similarly priced.

The first floor will have room for eight retail spaces with frontage on either the ArtsWalk or Sixth Street across from Miller Symphony Hall, Reilly said.

“The retail will be relatively small, 1,000 to 1,200 square feet, and included in the retail will be a public art gallery to house art from local downtown artists,” he said.

Construction should begin in the spring and take 12 months, he added.

CREDIT INCREASE

Also at the ANIZDA meeting Wednesday, Reilly’s credit facility was increased from $180 million to $325 million.

“That’s what we will need to support the new projects we are contemplating,” Reilly said.

The expanded credit will partially finance the STRATA II development, he added.

ANIZDA reviews projects in the NIZ to determine if they are consistent with developments they see in the zone.

Having people living in the downtown is critical to the overall success of the project, Reilly added.

FIVE CITY CENTER

Reilly’s Five City Center, at Seventh and Hamilton, is near the Wells Fargo building. The project, whose details were disclosed in June, calls for building a $200 million to $250 million complex called Five City Center Urban Innovation Campus. It is designed by Gensler, a global architectural firm that also designed the Comcast Innovation and Technology Center in Philadelphia.

The project encompasses the entire block of Seventh and Hamilton and Eighth and Hamilton streets, including Seventh and Walnut and Eighth and Walnut streets to the rear. The plan now includes a 17-floor innovation tower with mainly offices and some retail on the ground floor and a 19-floor residential tower of 175 apartment units, with office and retail included, in addition to a grocery store and child care services.

Other highlights include nearly two acres of open public space and a parking garage for about 700 vehicles.

Source: LVB