ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A "state of the art," theater-size music hall that developers say would be a "true destination point" for the city of Allentown and a five-story hotel are being proposed by a developer for center city Allentown.
City Center Investment Corp. of Allentown on Monday presented to the Allentown Historic Architectural Review Board plans for the 30,000-square-foot, two-story entertainment center, called "The Colonial" in developers' documents, and a 140-room, 55,000-square-foot hotel with a bar and restaurant.
- A theater-size music hall and five-story hotel are being proposed for Hamilton Street in Allentown
- The two projects are being pitched by City Center Investment Corp., of Allentown
- If approved, the music venue and hotel are slated to open in 2024
The proposed entertainment venue, to be built on a vacant parcel at 935-937 and 939 Hamilton St., would "accommodate audiences of up to 1,500 standing room and would be designed to cater to events too small for the PPL Arena" nearby, which has a capacity of 10,000 for concerts, according to documents submitted by City Center.
Artists' renderings in the developers' documents show the venue with a street marquee listing an upcoming show by The Hold Steady, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based indie rock band.
Wide-open standing space
The renderings show the front of the building would have arched openings spanning five bays wide, with a second-story open terrace.
Inside, the drawings show a flat-floored performance area and wide-open standing space. It also shows a balcony-type second floor that also would offer a view of the performance area.
HARB reviewed the entertainment venue at 935-939 Hamilton St. as requested by the Zoning Hearing Board.
The Zoning Hearing Board requested that City Center make a “good faith effort” to work with the HARB on the design of the new building.
The entertainment venue project application will be presented to the city Planning Commission on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
"It will be a true destination point for the city of Allentown and activate Hamilton Street and all businesses located on Hamilton Street."Robert DiLorenzo, City Center Investment Corporation of Allentown
City Center has proposed a downtown Allentown music venue before.
In 2017, as part of its proposed Five City Center complex in Allentown, it announced it would build a 1,500-capacity popular music concert hall that would open onto a grassy commons area to allow for an outdoor audience, as well.
But the Five City Center music venue never materialized.
More reviews ahead
The projects would be completed in 2024.
The plans for both projects faced review by the board to assess the historic significance of the properties on which they would be built, said Genesis Ortega, communications manager for the City of Allentown.
Ortega also said the fate of the proposed projects will be determined primarily by the subdivision and land development ordinances, as well as other city ordinances and zoning codes.
To make room for the newly proposed hotel, which would have guest rooms on the second through fifth floors, the existing structures at 949-959 Hamilton St. would be razed, according to a review sheet presented to the city.
Part of the site was home to the former Rialto Theater, which closed in 1979. The structure is viewed by some as historic, as it was Allentown’s first movie theater, having opened in 1918.
According to the project description submitted by Robert DeLorenzo, director of planning and construction at City Center Allentown, the mixed-use painted brick building that anchors the corner of 10th and Hamilton Streets maintained separate ownership under the address of 957-959 Hamilton St.
A third building, previously 11 N. 10th Street, was historically a private residence, but now is connected to the corner building.
The HARB staff report to the board noted the differing historical significance of the buildings. It said the Rialto buildings “retain some historical and cultural significance,” but a fire that destroyed the original building in 1946 left the property with low architectural significance. Several other structures within those street addresses are nearly 150 years old.
For the proposed hotel, the HARB review was the first step in the Historic Building Demolition Overlay District process. HARB provides comments to the Zoning Hearing Board, which will review the application and make a final determination.
A major land development application also was reviewed by the planning commission for the construction of the hotel. The planning commission does not have an application for that project, Ortega said.
