Not unlike Jurassic Park, Allentown's NIZ is raising dinosaurs. Tomorrow's Morning Call announces that Bruce Loch wants to build the tallest building in Allentown, 33 stories. Loch is a developer from yesteryear, when Joe Daddona was mayor. Daddona sold all the little corner triangles in Allentown to Bruce Loch, and his building partner John Troxell. All those houses in Hamilton Park, the ones with few windows, on the small odd lots, were built by Loch/Troxell. Back in the day I took Troxell to zoning, because he wanted to build twins on a small lot. Although I succeeded in restricting him to a single house, after the hearing, he told me if he had his way he would parachute a dozen prefab boxes on the parcel. Needless to say, there's no market for Loch's skyscraper, but isn't Allentown's NIZ fun?UPDATE: When you want permission to convert your useless old factory building into cubicle apartments for single mothers and their offspring, the buzz word is Loft Apartments. The Pawlowski Administration envisions yuppies sipping cappuccino. The new buzz word for the NIZ is restaurant. Loch is supposedly in negotiations for a new restaurant, how about the other 32 stories?
I say put City Hall on the top floor.
ReplyDeleteIf that's as far away from Pawlowski as I can get until he's elected Guv, I'll take it.
This project should be raising eye brows and drawing questions. The paper as usual is acting like a press agent for whatever proposal the NIZ pulls out of its hat.
ReplyDeleteScott Armstrong
My problem with the project is the geology of Allentown. We have enough of a problem with sinkholes under houses. put one over an unstable limestone deposiy with undetected caverns and watch what happens, Oh, wait, that happened with a much smaller building a few years back, didn't it?
ReplyDeleteScott Armstrong,
ReplyDeleteThis project will produce significant tax revenue for the Allentown School District.
"significant tax revenue"
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that the 144 teachers and administrators that are reportedly being let go by the Allentown School District will now be getting their jobs back?
Thank you in advance, Mr. Molovinsky, as I am just not smart enough to interpret all the developments and your guidance is most appreciated as I monitor the Progress.
Sincerely,
ROLF OELER
Bruce Loch building a skyscraper.
ReplyDeleteUh huh. Right.
You know the Morning Call has a young staff because experienced staffers would laugh at that preposterous sentence.
@12:53, i believe if he gets enough incentives he would build it. i would think that the real market demand for each aspect of the proposal is very low, but the only thing that seems to real in allentown right now is that we must lease the water dept. for 50 years.
ReplyDeleteThis feels to me like the early years of the World Trade Center. Two 110-story boxes in lower Manhattan that they couldn't even get close to renting. So the Port Aurthoity and states of New York and New Jersey shifted offices from other locations in just to 'make a big show' of the occupancy.
ReplyDeleteThis building has no eye appeal. It looks like City hall on stilts. Anything that rises to that level in Allentown should enhance the skyline. Not scare it.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the "significant tax revenue" coming from the NIZ, if that is so then why is the City leasing it's water and sewer system for 50 years?
ReplyDeleteMaybe the actual revenue isn't all that significant.
Leasing the water system will give the city hundreds of millions. A project like this will produce millions in tax revenue. A couple hundred grand a year for the school district is a big deal.
ReplyDelete