Council approves sale of Allentown police substation as city works toward new HQ

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — One of the Allentown Police Department’s stations is officially on the market — and a buyer’s already lined up.

City Council on Wednesday night voted 4-3 to let Mayor Matt Tuerk’s administration start the process of selling the substation on 10th and Hamilton streets to the city Parking Authority.

Council in March introduced a measure to initiate that sale, but it’s been delayed multiple times because of officers’ concerns that were publicized by Officer Dave Benner, president of the Allentown Police Department’s union.

He urged council in April to table the sale until a “proper transition” plan is in place for officers who work at the substation.

Council agreed and pushed off a vote for six months; ittabled the sale again two weeks ago after Benner asked for more time to talk with officers.

Administration and police officials are looking to move those officers a block east to a new temporary station while the police headquarters next to City Hall is being renovated and expanded.

Officials did not confirm the exact location Wednesday, but the property on Ninth and Hamilton streets is owned by "Mr. Wenner,” member Ce-Ce Gerlach said.

Don Wenner owns the eight-story Dream Grand complex at the northeast corner of Ninth and Hamilton streets. He spoke to LehighValleyNews.com last year about his plans to convert much of the building into “high-end” apartments — and make it the new center of downtown Allentown.

Station 'not up-to-snuff': Chief

Council was divided Wednesday after Benner said the city should prioritize its proposed state-of-the-art headquarters.

Most officers would rather remain at the 10th Street station for a few more years than “puddle-jump” to the Ninth Street station before moving to the new headquarters, Benner said.

The relocation to Ninth Street “isn’t a temporary move, as far as any [officer] sees, because you don’t have start or end dates,” Benner said.

“I hear guys say, ‘Well, I guess I’m going to be at Ninth Street for the rest of my career.’ They don’t have any faith" they will move to the new station once it’s built.

But Police Chief Charles Roca urged council to approve the future sale of the station.

“Current facilities are not up-to-snuff for our police officers,” Roca said. “Every time I go into that building, it brings me down.”

Council President Cynthia Mota and Vicky Kistler, who leads the city’s Department of Community and Economic Development, both said conditions at the station are “horrible” and have been for many years.

“It was horrible,” Mota said, recalling her thoughts from a tour of the station. “I saw squirrels all over; I saw walls coming down; I saw mold everywhere.”

'Very antiquated building'

Mota and council members Santo Napoli, Daryl Hendricks and Candida Affa voted to start the process to sell the station, while Ed Zucal, Ce-Ce Gerlach and Natalie Santos voted against it.

Napoli said the move to a new, temporary police station would “build morale” and boost the department’s recruitment and retention of officers.

“We can do better for our officers," he said. "We can put them in a better facility."

Hendricks called the 10th Street station “horrific” and urged his colleagues to approve its future sale.

“The city would be [remiss] in putting another penny of taxpayer dollars in that building,” Hendricks said.

Kistler in March said the “very antiquated” building would “likely have to come down for any type of development that happens.”

Roca said department officials soon will start working on a request for proposals for the project that a consulting firm said would cost about $37 million.

“We will have a solidified plan," he said. "I am not and will not put officers out on the street with no plan.”

He later noted that plan will address officers’ concerns about the proposed Ninth Street Station.

Concerns include the building’s large glass windows and the distance to the station’s dedicated parking, Benner has told council.

Profits pending

Allentown Parking Authority plans to bundle its new property at 10th and Hamilton streets with its adjacent lot to the west for resale to a developer, the agency’s board chairman, Ted Zeller, said in March.

Allentown paid about $750,000 for the property and is guaranteed to at least recoup that amount in any sale to a developer.

But the city could earn much more — Allentown Parking Authority has agreed to give the city the first $1.5 million from any sale, and the two entities will split any proceeds above that figure.

Council previously approved an amendment that blocks the parking authority from moving in before police are ready to move out, but Gerlach on Wednesday questioned the urgency and timing of the sale.

She suggested Wednesday’s approval was forced by council’s votes to approve a new police station, allocate $9 million in federal pandemic relief funding and hire Alvin Butz Inc. as the project’s manager.

Gerlach read parts of a letter sent to council by Reilly — who may now be eyeing the lot across 10th Street from City Center’s new hotel, The Moxy — after council delayed a vote and jeopardized millions in federal pandemic-relief funding.

“It makes me question, like, what's up? It makes me raise an eyebrow,” she said Wednesday. “I'm not saying things are going on. It just does make me wonder.

"It just makes me raise an eyebrow and wonder, why now? Why the push now?”

She noted that Fitzpatrick, Lentz & Bubba — the law firm defending Tuerk and Finance Director Bina Patel from council’s lawsuit — also sent members a letter urging them to hire Alvin Butz.

“I understand that the reason why Mr. Riley and Fitzpatrick [Lentz &] Bubba wrote us was because of that contract with Butz,” Gerlach said.

“But that contract with Butz is connected to the police station, which is connected to the 10th Street location. Everything's connected.”