ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Allentown Police Department could have a new-ish headquarters in about two years after city officials signed off on the project Tuesday.
City Planning Commission members voted 5-0 to let Bethlehem architectural firm Alloy5 and Ruether+Bowen, a Dunmore, Lackawanna County, engineering company, to move forward with the project.
The plan is for a 22,500-square-foot addition in the courtyard in front of the Allentown Police Department’s main station next to City Hall.Architectural plans
The companies, along with Construction Manager Alvin H. Butz Inc., plan to build a 22,500-square-foot addition in the courtyard in front of the Allentown Police Department’s main station next to City Hall.
That would expand the building more than 75% and let it serve about 250 employees. The current building opened in 1963, when the department had about 150 officers.
The pedestrian bridge from the Government Deck parking garage to City Hall would be reconfigured, and a second bridge would be built for officers to access their vehicles.
'A great improvement'
The new part of the Allentown Police Station is set to stand four stories tall — one higher than the current station, which will be renovated as part of the project, according to Alloy5’s Michelle Mozingo.
The addition would replace a maze of staircases that lead to and from the courtyard in front of the station.
Craig Beavers, vice chairman of the planning commission, said the new police department is “beautifully designed.”
“I think it's a fantastic looking project. It’s going to be a great improvement.”Craig Beavers, Allentown City Planning Commission
“I think it's a fantastic-looking project,” Beavers said after seeing renderings. “It’s going to be a great improvement.”
Representatives from companies working on the project have since mid-2023 collaborated with Police Chief Charles Roca and other department leaders to develop construction plans, Mozingo told LehighValleyNews.com.
The city is expected to solicit bids in early 2026 from construction companies for the 18-month expansion project, she said.
That timeline means the new building would be ready around the summer of 2027.
Projections show the project could cost $37 million. City council has earmarked $9 million in federal pandemic-relief funding toward it, and Allentown could issue bonds to fund the capital project.
New art museum awaits
The new police department’s finish will set in motion another project in downtown Allentown.
Allentown Art Museum last month agreed to buy the Allentown Police Department’s substation at Tenth and Hamilton streets for $1.4 million.
It plans to build a state-of-the-art museum, which a feasibility study showed would be cheaper than renovating its location at 31 N. 5th St.
Art museum officials now are waiting for the police department expansion to be complete, which would let officers move out of the substation and free up the property.
Allentown officers are set to stay in the substation until the new station is finished.
Allentown Parking Authority bundled the city’s police-station property with its adjacent lot. Allentown stands to get $770,000, a small profit on its $750,000 purchase in 2010.
The parking authority plans to use some of its $630,000 in proceeds from the sale to fund a surface parking lot in the 400 block of Ridge Avenue.
