- Allentown City Council introduced a zoning overlay district at the former Allentown State Hospital property
- The new district would allow a massive redevelopment project
- City Center is planning to build hundreds of homes, along with offices, restaurants and more
ALLENTOWN, Pa. — City officials on Wednesday night introduced a package of new zoning regulations that would up the old Allentown State Hospital site for a massive redevelopment project.
City Center, the company behind much of the redevelopment in downtown Allentown over the past 15 years, is in the beginning stages of a yearslong project to put hundreds of homes on the 195-acre East Side property, along with offices, restaurants and other facilities.
Allentown City Council is likely to soon sign off on a "mixed-use overlay district" that overrides the land's industrial/governmental zoning designation, which only allows "hospitals, related medical offices and colleges," according to city code.
Allentown officials and City Center representatives have said the new zoning regulations will lay the "framework" for the developer's ambitious plans.
The overlay district — which takes the form of a 19-page ordinance — would allow housing, restaurants, offices, health care and education facilities, but it bans gas stations, warehouses and drive-thru lanes.
The ordinance lays out maximum building heights and development density while proposing the “master planning” of streets, community amenities and open spaces.
Dennis McCarthy, an attorney for City Center, has said the overlay district will require the developer to preserve at least 35% of the property — about 70 acres — as open space for outdoor recreation.
City Center is working with Emmaus-based nonprofit Wildlands Conservancy in Emmaus to develop a long-term land-management plan.
Allentown State Hospital served as a psychiatric hospital for almost a century, from the early 1910s until it was closed down in 2010. Buildings on the property were demolished in December 2020.
City Center bought the land in September 2022 for about $5.5 million after then-state Sen. Pat Browne introduced a bill pushing through the sale.
The developer expects to file its tentative plans for the property to the Allentown Planning Commission in the second quarter of 2024. Crews could break ground before the end of next year on the project’s first phase, a company executive said.
EDITOR'S NOTE: A previous version of this story said the Allentown City Council approved the zoning overlay district Wednesday night. The council introduced the measure but did not take a vote.
