ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Lehigh Valley officials are backing a new residential development in downtown Allentown to “set the standard” for future housing projects in the region.
Developer City Center Chief Executive Officer J.B. Reilly was joined Tuesday morning by city leaders including Mayor Matt Tuerk, as well as state Sen. Nick Miller and state Rep. Josh Siegel, as they broke ground on The Standard.
The four-story, 257-unit building is set to replace the old Morning Call property at Sixth and Turner streets.
“This commitment to attainable housing will ensure that the Lehigh Valley and Allentown isn’t just a luxury good and that, ultimately, everybody has the privilege and ability to call downtown home."State Rep. Josh Siegel
The Standard will help Allentown cut into the high demand for “more attainabl[y] priced housing,” Reilly said.
And attainable downtown housing makes the region accessible to more people, Siegel said.
“This commitment to attainable housing will ensure that the Lehigh Valley and Allentown isn’t just a luxury good and that, ultimately, everybody has the privilege and ability to call downtown home,” he said.
“Attainable” housing is targeted toward households that earn 80-120% of the area’s median income — about $55,000 to $82,000, according to the state Department of Human Services.
'All-of-the-above strategy' needed
The region’s housing crisis is “no secret,” Siegel said.
“We have a supply-and-demand imbalance here in the Lehigh Valley: 10,000 units,” he said. “That number grows every year, and the best thing we can do is treat everyone as an ally and not an antagonist.”
Siegel called for an “all-of-the-above strategy” to chip away at that shortage that would include cutting red tape and speeding up construction to reduce costs and “deliver inventory at a reasonable price point.”
“Whenever there's an investment in 250-plus housing units, it means that things are about to get a little more affordable in the city of Allentown."Mayor Matt Tuerk
More than 1,000 housing units are under construction in Allentown, with Tuesday’s groundbreaking adding 257 units to the till, Tuerk said.
“Whenever there's an investment in 250-plus housing units, it means that things are about to get a little more affordable in the city of Allentown,” he told LehighValleyNews.com.
Allentown is “one of the fastest-growing markets in the country,” which “shows that people want to be here,” the mayor said.
“As long as people want to be here, we have to find a way to welcome them in the door,” Tuerk said.
City Center has more than 1,500 housing units across 14 other buildings in Allentown.
'Attainability by design'
Officials about three years ago approved the developer’s plans to build a five-story complex with 230 apartments.
But the company recently “retooled” its proposals and quickly re-earned approvals, Reilly said, crediting Tuerk for issuing an executive order that directs city employees to prioritize large housing projects.
The city’s most prominent developer also paid tribute to Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and its executive director, Becky Bradley, for promoting “attainability by design.”
“Don't build too big, too much, so that you can't afford to price things right,” Reilly said of the philosophy.
The project honors the Lehigh Valley’s legacy as a “working-class community where our bedrock has always been working-class folks, whether it was Mack Truck workers or Bethlehem Steel employees,” Seigel said.
Miller lauded the project for helping to build “depth off Hamilton [Street] as we continue to revitalize downtown.”
