There's not many mid size cities that can boast having two national chain stores within one center city block, Allentown could. Not too many cities could say that one of those stores was one of the biggest producers in a chain of over 7000 stores, Allentown could. There's not many cities that are ignorant enough to tear down their most successful block, a virtual tax machine, Allentown is. This horrible mistake took a combination of political arrogance and public misconception. The arrogance is well known, so let me concentrate on the misconception. The perception was a few undesirable people, buying cheap things. The reality is Family Dollar sells the same merchandise in their suburban and rural stores. Rite Aid fills the same prescriptions and sells their standard merchandise. The new upscale stores, visioned for the arena front, will never produce the sales tax produced by Family Dollar and Rite Aid. The arena will never have that amount of employees, nor produce that much earned income.* The traffic congestion and lack of parking for arena events will destroy the new restaurants. Welcome to the white elephant, welcome to the ghost town.
Shown above and below is the early morning delivery to Family Dollar, every week of the year.
*sales tax and earned income currently going to city and state will now go to debt service for arena
reprinted from December 5, 2011
ADDENDUM OCTOBER 8, 2019: While The Morning Call promotes Allentown's new NIZ zone, only this blogger documented the reality of the former Hamilton Street. While the Moravian Book Store could have been restocked from a small hand basket once a month, the previous Family Dollar Store needed a full tractor trailer every Sunday. Retail is virtually destroyed on Hamilton Street. Over seven years later, and the Morning Call is still deceiving about Hamilton Street, and this blog is still delivering the truth.
Wise man once said nothing.
ReplyDeleteRetail was destroyed on Hamilton Street long ago, when the Lehigh Valley Mall opened, and all the independent stores closed. Even the, "Hamilton Mall," with it's pigeon-filled canopies and it's dangerous, slippery-when-wet brick sidewalks, couldn't save it.
ReplyDeleteUnknown, certainly the haydays of Hamilton ended, but retail continued, just with different merchants and customers.... the 700 block of Hamilton was very busy prior to its demolition. Those same undesirable elements are now lauded as a "success" on N. 7th Street.
ReplyDeleteWell, they did build a food court on the Arts Walk. That will pack 'em in Hamilton Street to get the fresh radishes and kimchee.
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