ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A public housing redevelopment being built in Allentown is set to have its own Head Start program after city zoning officials approved it Monday night.
Allentown Housing Authority has partnered with Pennrose Properties to build up to 100 new affordable housing units near Lehigh Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
- Allentown Zoning Hearing Board on Monday approved a head start program at a new public housing development
- Fifty housing units will be built during the first phase of the Little Lehigh Redevelopment project
- Zoning officials also signed off on a 22-bed personal care home and an art gallery
The project will replace the former Little Lehigh housing development. That complex included 76 units built in the 1970s that “were poorly constructed from the get-go,” according to Jacob Fisher, regional vice president for Pennrose.
The first 50 housing units are being built in the project's first phase, which also will see construction of a community building.
The zoning hearing board on Monday granted developers approval to offer a Head Start program for up to 20 children ages 3-5 in the community building.
Officials said they hope many of the children will live in the development, which would limit any traffic and parking issues, Fisher said.
Solving a 'major, major dilemma'
Community Services for Children will employ three to five staff members to run the program from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays. The Allentown nonprofit successfully runs similar programs at the Cumberland Gardens and Overlook Park housing developments, he told the board.
“To have high-quality childcare on-site solves a major, major dilemma for parents,” Fisher said.
Zoning Board member Scott Unger called the Head Start program “an extraordinarily thoughtful vertical integration of support services” for residents who will live at the new public housing development.
Crews demolished most of the old Little Lehigh complex before developers and officials held a ceremonial groundbreaking in November to mark the start of new construction.
“This has been a vision of the housing authority for many years to redevelop the site."Jacob Fisher, Pennrose Properties Regional Vice President
The first phase of the Little Lehigh Redevelopment calls for 50 units to be built on the 63,000-square-foot lot at 314 Lehigh St.
Units will be reserved for qualified low-income residents, while residents of the old Little Lehigh housing complex will be invited to move back into redeveloped units, Fisher said.
First-phase construction could be done by October, with officials hoping to see new tenants in the building by the end of 2023, he said.
“This has been a vision of the housing authority for many years to redevelop the site,” Fisher said.
The first phase of the redevelopment project is set to cost about $27 million.
A second phase of the project could bring up to 50 more units to the site in the coming years, Fisher said.
Personal care home, art gallery
Zoners on Monday also approved special-use requests for an art gallery and a 22-bed personal care home, which drew some opposition from residents over parking.
Mordechai Schweid said the board’s approval was just the first step in a number of permitting and licensing hurdles he must clear before opening Midtown Personal Care Home at 25 S. 15th St.
Schweid’s request for zoning approval previously was denied because the property didn't include enough parking spaces.
Holy District founder and pastor Ericka Henry was granted permission Monday to open an art gallery at 1115 Liberty St.
Holy District plans to “work with local artists and volunteers to bring our activities to the neighborhood."Holy District founder and pastor Erica Henry
Henry told zoning officials she founded Holy District to build community relationships and “strengthen the social fabric” in the city. Holy District is currently working on a “community-building effort” along 9th and Turner streets, she said.
The nonprofit is “hoping to expand with the goal of doing socially engaged art” at the Liberty Street location, which could serve as an exhibition space for local residents, Henry said.
Holy District plans to “work with local artists and volunteers to bring our activities to the neighborhood,” she told zoning officials.
The abandoned space that once was an electric shop would also offer residents a “beautiful green space” to grow flowers and herbs, she said.
