$17M, 71-unit apartment building approved for Allentown

After developing 170 units of upscale apartments last year and another 66 under construction around the corner, City Center Investment Corp. is looking to start a third residential project in downtown Allentown.

Demand continues to be strong for luxury apartments in the city, according to J.B. Reilly, president and CEO of City Center. Construction of the six-story STRATA III, his newest project, received all city approvals and will start this year, once permits are obtained.

“We are still in the permitting process so it won’t be until later in the year before we actually start construction,” Reilly said.

The project is planned for what is now a surface parking lot at the corner of Sixth and Linden streets, across from STRATA II and next to Miller Symphony Hall.

Though it will be built on the parking lot, there are about 3,000 parking spaces within a block of the site, Reilly said.

“There are a variety of options, and the parking authority is making arrangements as we speak,” he said.

STRATA III, estimated to cost about $17 million, will have two levels of parking with 104 spaces at the ground level and four levels of residential units, Reilly said.

Parking spaces will be both for monthly parking contract users of the residential units as well as the public, he said. Though City Center will own STRATA III, the city parking authority will own the parking portion.

Once complete, STRATA III will have 71 units, with sizes ranging from studios to two-bedroom apartments, with monthly rents from $900 to $1,600, Reilly said.

The building will have a courtyard on the second floor with a waterfall feature that will face the ArtsWalk, a walkway that links the city’s arts venues with PPL Center arena and the Renaissance Hotel by Marriott.

The project also will feature 12, two-story loft apartments with rooftop decks.

“This is literally right along the ArtsWalk, and adjacent to the ArtsWalk are … nice amenities,” Reilly said.

Even after this latest development, more residential projects are in the works.

City Center recently commissioned a study which said downtown Allentown would require 1,000 to 1,500 new residential units to meet the demand for growth, according to Reilly.

“We think over the next five to 10 years, we’ll get up to that level,” Reilly said.

Once STRATA III is finished, City Center would have developed 309 units.

Reilly said City Center is still evaluating several other locations which could facilitate a residential project.

Source: LVB