ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Plans for a building that could reshape Allentown’s skyline found support among planning officials Tuesday, but the project is on hold for now.
Umran Global Investment is aiming to build a 37-story tower at an empty lot at Ninth and Walnut streets with more than 200 apartments, as well as retail and office space.
That proposal is the latest in a series of plans for the property over the past decade.
“If we had a more traditional design at the base, I think we potentially have a winner here."Christian Brown, Allentown City Planning Commission chairman
UGI bought the property in 2023, eight years after Bruce Loch’s Ascot Circle Realty first got approvals to build a 33-story tower there.
Loch struggled to get his project off the ground before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
The new owner wants to bring a “more modern” design to downtown Allentown, according to Mike Housten, owner of Arthur A. Swallow Associates, who presented renderings Tuesday.
He presented plans that showed a skyscraper with an almost-all-glass facade.
But a report by Allentown planning employees said the developer’s planned 420-foot tower “would stand in stark contrast” to other buildings and is not compatible with zoning regulations in that area of downtown.
Staff said the tower’s height would “dwarf” other buildings and make it by far the tallest in the Lehigh Valley; the PPL Tower stands at about 320 feet.
It would also be among the tallest in Pennsylvania.
Change the base
Allentown City Planning Commission on Tuesday tabled UGI’s proposal but laid out a path for the developer to earn its approval.
Commission members urged UGI and its architect to redesign the tower’s bottom five floors to better blend into the neighborhood.
“It’s just too tall and skinny to put a hat on it."Christian Brown, Allentown City Planning Commission chairman
“If we had a more traditional design at the base, I think we potentially have a winner here,” commission Chairman Christian Brown said.
Commission member Erich Hornung suggested materials that help tie the tower into neighboring structures, while member Craig Beavers voiced his support for a skyscraper with a more traditional base.
Brown also suggested changing the top of the building for an overhanging “cap” to a spire or tower that helps the building “disappear” from view when looking up at it.
“It’s just too tall and skinny to put a hat on it,” he said.
The developer is set to seek zoning relief for a small piece of the project before likely returning to seek the planning commission’s approval this fall.
