Bethlehem and Easton present visitors with history, architecture and ambience. Allentown lost all those attributes, as one developer leveled Hamilton Street for his office empire. In fairness to Allentown's situation, it must be noted that the pandemic has restricted the number of office workers who would otherwise be present.
The architecture of Bethlehem and Easton remains from their shopping district's past. Their restaurants and shops resulted from market demand. Allentown is a staged production, hoping to attract customers.
The easiest problem to remedy is the parking. As noted on this blog as it was happening, Allentown made a huge mistake allowing a couple of developers to build on the surface parking lots. People want close by convenient parking, not a parking deck three blocks away.
To be frank, Allentown Parking Authority, Planning, Zoning and other municipal oversights have catered to the developer, at the expense of everything else. Their rationale was that their successes are linked. Although there is some linkage, it's a big city with many shareholders.
Despite a $Billion dollars of privately owned, publicly financed development, Allentown is a dead zone. The Morning Call hyped the developer's press releases as news, and ignored the empty streets and failing restaurants.
I am hopeful that the new administration will address some of these issues, starting with the Parking Authority.
photo: Beginning demolition on Hamilton Street for the arena and its adjoining offices
Really? Someone really wondered why Allentown isn't a destination? We ripped the heart out of the city, replaced it with very generic modern styled buildings, we ignored the blight and crime in all the surrounding neighborhoods, and angered local residents by driving up rent prices through the roof. Yeah...why isn't this working?
ReplyDeleteThe cherry on top:the barbarians that destroyed Allentown's history also go to Bethlehem to enjoy the old town feel.
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