Business News

Allentown is the second city — after Kansas City — to join Work for America’s Spotlight Cities program, “a really cool partnership” that could be “transformative," Mayor Matt Tuerk announced Monday.

Just five months after officially being in business in their recognizable bright yellow teardrop-shaped trailer, co-owners Melinda Schneck and Josh Elmer are expending Roasties Mobile Cafe into a brick-and-mortar coffee shop. It'll take root where the couple says its heart is: Macungie.

The Foundry Chief Executive Officer and studio Director Jason Wegfahrt, a Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts graduate with a creative arts background, said the new 6,000-square-foot Foundry takes creative possibilities to another level with a variety of services at a fair price.

Easton's Zoning Hearing Board continued a meeting for a special exception related to the Easton Commerce Park warehouse on Thursday.

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Lehigh Valley will hold its annual gala at the Centennial Conference Center at Homewood Suites in Center Valley.

The Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development is providing funding to assist the international medical equipment company in growing its apprenticeship program and boosting production.

Foodies now have another late night option in Southside Bethlehem. The Barbecue Boys, which opened Tuesday, Sept. 16, offers a fast-casual dining setting that's open Sunday, Tuesday and Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. and 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. from Thursday through Saturday.

After more than a year of negotiations between the developer and a county authority, Northampton County Council is preparing to decide whether a project to build 405 apartments in the former Dixie Cup building in Wilson will get a $26 million property tax break.

Council officials will have the final say on the expenditures outlook, which includes how the city plans to pay for everything from protected bike lanes along West Broad Street to new trees and lights at Rose Garden Park to an armored vehicle replacement for police.

Whitehall Township Zoning Hearing Board heard from experts representing a developer that hopes to build a warehouse on South Church Street. The hearing ended after three hours and will resume next month.

Dorney Park officials said the first piece of Iron Menace arrived Thursday, and represents the first truckload of what will be about 68 total.

The $20 million mixed-use development is offering 75 apartments with one- and two-bedroom varieties among other things.

$2.5 million of renovations are completed for the Victory Firehouse in Southside Bethlehem as BSI Corporate Benefits' new headquarters. The renovations include modern office spaces, technology improvements, a new kitchen and re-adding firehouse-like garage doors.

Allentown officials and City Center representatives have said the new zoning regulations will lay the "framework" for the developer's ambitious plans.

Blackstone Structures’ Gary Newman said he considered refurbishing or moving the buildings in lieu of knocking them down, but those projects were too expensive and infeasible.

Another pediatric emergency room now is open in the Lehigh Valley. St. Luke’s University Health Network on Monday opened the Isaacman Family Children’s Emergency Room, after establishing a children’s hospital this past June.

The monthly report from the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors shows home sales down 32 percent in September from September 2022. Low inventory and higher mortgage rates are to blame, officials say.

Pharmacy chain Rite Aid said late Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy and now is focused on a restructuring plan that will close underperforming stores — including several in the Lehigh Valley.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

City planners voted 3-0 to approve land development plans for the hotel. The developer has a number of tasks to complete before receiving building permits.

Though Ideal Tower will have three fewer floors than the PPL Tower, it's set to stand 326 feet high — four feet taller than the iconic Allentown structure.

The Upper Macungie Planning Commission will discuss a plan for a manufacturing facility at 110 PA Route 100. A 150,000-square-foot warehouse has been proposed at the same site.