ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A developer has another year to make progress on its plans to convert an old dairy building into housing, after getting the city Zoning Hearing Board's officials’ blessing Monday.
Zoners quickly approved Dairy on Turner’s request for a one-year extension, with that part of the meeting over in about 10 minutes.
"A dairy used the downtown building to distribute milk until the 1940s, and an auto parts store operated there until the 1990s."Allentown records
Developers in Allentown typically have two years to file their approved plans with the Lehigh County Recorder of Deeds. Approvals can lapse if developers do not file or seek an extension.
Zoning officials in fall 2020 approved the company’s conversion project at 1021 Turner St.
A dairy used the downtown building to distribute milk until the 1940s, and an auto parts store operated there until the 1990s, according to city records.
It has sat unused for more than 30 years.
The Allentown Economic Development Corporation bought the property from the city in 2009.
Plans presented in 2020 called for six residential units, with five spanning two stories. The building also has commercial space on the ground floor.
Co-owner and project architect Lucienne Di Biase Dooley and her partners “hope to give this [building] a new life for the neighborhood,” according to meeting minutes.
Extensions becoming common
Extension requests have become somewhat common for zoning and planning officials in recent years.
Many developers who’ve sought extensions listed coronavirus pandemic-related issues, such as supply chain disruptions and inflation, among reasons for their projects not taking off after approval by city officials.Allentown Zoning Hearing Board records
Many developers who’ve sought extensions listed coronavirus pandemic-related issues, such as supply chain disruptions and inflation, among reasons for their projects not taking off after approval by city officials.
Allentown City Planning Commission in February extended the deadline for a developer to record final plans for 126 apartments across 12 structures at 605 Wahneta St. That project first was approved in June 2021.
Planning officials in September granted a two-year extension for the Allentown Commerce Park project, first approved in October 2016. That extension was the second officials approved.
But the same commission in July 2023 gave a developer just six months to record plans for a 33-story building at 90 S. 9th St. Developer Bruce Loch first got planning officials’ approval in 2015 for the proposed skyscraper.
A new developer, Umran Global Investment, requested another extension in January after buying the property from Loch’s Ascot Circle Realty.
But the planning commission rejected it because new plans call for 37 floors, which members deemed was “substantially different” than the project as initially approved.
The building, set to be called The Peregrine Tower, would be the tallest in the Lehigh Valley, towering over the 24-story PPL Tower.
Lehigh Valley Planning Commission members last month voiced concerns about the size of the new proposal.
"It just seems way out of scale for the area, and this project is literally giving the finger to Allentown," member John Gallagher said.
