ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Revitalization plans involving the addition of office, retail space and a restaurant at the former Merchants National Bank site took another step forward Monday.
Allentown Zoning Hearing Board unanimously approved a special use application request by City Center Group to perform partial demolition of the historic bank building at Seventh and Hamilton streets.
The project advances to Allentown Planning Commission next week for preliminary final approval, said Robert DiLorenzo, City Center Group planning and construction director.
“It is going to be a Class A office building."Robert DiLorenzo, City Center Group planning and construction director.
Demolition plans will be submitted to the city this week, he said.
Developers hope to be in position to begin demolition in August, with an anticipated finish of the $33 million project by January 2027.
The project consists of demolishing part of the building, while maintaining the first and second floors and the facade along Hamilton Street. A third and fourth floor also will be built.
Two new floors are planned above the existing building, with a four-story replacement of the annex building.
“It is going to be a Class A office building,” DiLorenzo said of the 83,000-square-foot project. “It will consist of demolishing the annex structure — that 20-foot annex structure at the southern end of the property.
“We’ll also be removing the third floor, the partial third floor, and we’ll be building an addition to the rear. And we’ll be adding a new third floor and fourth floor.”
Adds new things, ties back to the old
About 13,000 square feet of ground-floor uses will be added, including retail space and a 5,000-square-foot restaurant.
“Two new entrances will also be added to the building along Hamilton Street,” DiLorenzo said.
“That will create two new retail opportunities — one 4,000-square-foot space on the western side and a 5,000-square-foot space on the eastern side."
Given the historic nature of the bank building, which was built in 1903, zoning hearing board members asked DiLorenzo why the building can't be used in its current condition.
He responded that the currently gutted building is fraught with problems, including an antiquated HVAC system, insufficient floor plates, restrooms and small elevators.
“I like the way the project adds new things and ties them back to the old,” Zoning Hearing Board member Samantha McLean said.
The project in total is expected to generate $490,000 in taxes, including $70,000 a year in real estate taxes, DiLorenzo said.
An estimated 165 construction-related jobs will be created, with 321 more expected with office workers and restaurant and retail employees, he said.
Allentown officials in January 2020 approved a proposal to build a 250-foot-tall office tower with the old bank at its base.
But the COVID-19 pandemic greatly altered ideas about office space and how it’s used, forcing the developer to alter its plans to build what it said would “be the premier office tower in the region.”
Allentown planning officials granted a two-year extension for the 1 Center Square project in December 2023 after a City Center official detailed struggles to find tenants to fill the 16-story building, which could’ve featured almost 300,000 square feet of space.
