What has been the pride of Allentown for almost a hundred years may end up being the tallest white elephant in the country. While Allentown is hoping that the tower becomes residential rather than just vacant, he can't fill his new apartment houses that he has already built.
As someone who spends time on the streets adjoining the NIZ, I can tell you that the street life is becoming grittier than ever. Between the wokeness and delusion, there is no plan in place to realistically address the problems. We know from the past that lipstick on a pig, or paint on a building, only lasts so long.
I have to agree. The ultimate impact of the NIZ will decimate Allentown. Having lived here a long time, I avoid downtown more than ever. I need something in center city that compels me to spend time there. There is no soul left. Wokeness has destroyed what compatibility existed and caused more divisiveness than could ever be imagined. It is people using people for their agendas.
ReplyDeleteNot sure if you saw, but now they’re looking at changing Allentown’s Center Square.
ReplyDeleteIn fact, there are two public input meetings tomorrow so they can tell us what they’re doing. I mean guide us to what they’re planning. I mean so that we can tell them what we want (yeah, that’s it).
I could be wrong, but I’m guessing that of all the problems in Allentown, changing Center Square is pretty far down the list, if it even makes it on anyone’s list.
I’m not sure who’s behind this, but my guess is his initials might be JBR.
As it was explained by our overpriced Morning Call, the ANIZDA group will be providing $5 million dollars from their excess revenue for this transformation. EXCESS REVENUE? There is no excess revenue!
DeleteFor the first 5-7 years, ANIZDA diverted away about $100 million from OUR tax dollars to create this failed program. You and I, plus every other Pennsylvania taxpayer still have not be made whole again to where we were before there even was a NIZ!
How generous of these grifters! /sarc.
Yeah, they want to make Center Square more "pedestrian friendly". with or without the monument. I suspect its without.
DeleteI attended the West Park House Tour over the weekend. It was a great event. The tour also included some properties outside of the West Park district, including two of the City Center properties.
ReplyDeleteI was curious, so I went down to see them but the door was locked and nobody was around.
I don’t know what to think of that, but it didn’t leave me with a good impression of City Center.
NIZ = a convenient excuse to ignore the rest of the city
ReplyDeleteConverting a 1920s office building to rental units (they don't believe in condominiums) isn't going to be easy (or cheap).
ReplyDeleteSad as it is the mystical finances of the NIZ just keep going. Keeping Browne involved with state government finances guarantees this. Really, who needs to go downtown? PPL employees were the last big chunk of private corporate employees to poach. (PPL is a company waiting for a buyer anyway.) Are county and city employees next? LVHN execs being located there was always phony, off-site from any medical services, kind of like managing ocean shipping from Oklahoma. I don’t have any reason to go downtown. The restaurants were nice at first but now they’ve devolved into sports bars. I go to the library at 12th street and to the Post Office and maybe the Art Museum on 5th, but nothing in between. Oh, the Arena- yes, we’ve got an arena. Look at that arena, don’t look at the empty office space, or storefronts, or apartments.
ReplyDeleteCenter Square Redesign..
ReplyDeleteGet rid of statue, the PPL building, beautiful historic post office building and possibly Bogart's bridge and the only left will to be change the name of Allentown itself into something like.. any suggestions?