Growing downtown

But the Americus reboot likely isn’t the end of hotels coming to Allentown’s downtown core.

Recently, City Center Investment Corp. unveiled plans for a 140-room boutique hotel to be built four blocks from the Americus at 949-955 Hamilton St. along with a concert hall that can accommodate 1,500 fans.

City Center received city planning commission approval for the proposed Archer Music Hall and plans to return in March to get the hotel approved. Both are expected to be completed in 2024.

City Center Vice President of Sales and Marketing Jill Wheeler told The Morning Call in February that the hotel, which has yet to be named, will have a similar vibe to the Americus in that its uniqueness will be part of its charm.

“What we do know is it’s not going to be the typical mainstream type of hotel, it’ll be more of that boutique type hotel, where the rooms are a little bit smaller, and it’s all about the experience in the lobby and what’s happening on the streets,” she said.

While Americus management was excited about the concert hall, they weren’t too sure about another hotel. Abdouche said a third hotel may not be needed for at least a few years.

“I think more of a focus would be to bring bigger music acts and such into the PPL Center, and maybe this new music venue. That’s what’s really going to fill hotel rooms right now,” Castelluccio said.

“Let’s see the market,” Abdouche said. “If we need a couple of years, four or five years, I think we’ll be needing maybe an extra one or two hotels.”

If business travel and events downtown continue to grow, the additional rooms could become necessary.

“I don’t think we need the hotel at this point,” Abdouche said.

Nidds said the two current hotels work well together, especially if one of the hotels is completely booked.

The Renaissance Hotel, which sits at Seventh and Hamilton, has 170 rooms, carries the Marriott brand and was opened by City Center in 2015. That hotel is part of the PPL Center complex.

“I know that there’s overflow when the Renaissance is booked up, and folks have an option to go and be in the Americus,” Nidds said. “I think there’s a nice synergy existing downtown. I know when we look at major events that the PPL Center can potentially host, having more hotel rooms and that downtown walkable area is so important and it’s almost it can be a deal breaker when you’re looking at certain events. So it’s really nice to have that.”