Allentown developer kicks off city approval process for $1B state hospital redevelopment
Developers with City Center Investment Corp., a prominent Allentown real estate company, took the first step toward city approval for their $1 billion Allentown State Hospital redevelopment proposal.
The Allentown Planning Commission on Tuesday afternoon unanimously opted to push a final vote on a major zoning amendment that would pave the way for the redevelopment until next month.
Commission members, while they expressed support for the redevelopment, said they needed more time to thoroughly review the zoning proposal.
“Personally, I really like what I’m seeing so far, and I just want to make sure we get this right,” commission member Damien Brown said. “Because
if circumstances change, it really does come down to us.”
City Center officials in early August unveiled plans for a “master-planned community” to come to the long vacant site off of Hanover Avenue in east Allentown. The former Allentown State Hospital closed in 2010 and the
building was demolished in 2020.
Developers have plans to bring businesses and restaurants to a retail corridor surrounding the Hanover Avenue entrance to the complex, which they are calling “Northridge.” The rest of
the 200-acre site would be mostly residential buildings — including a mix of townhomes, single family homes and apartments — and recreational or park space.
Developers also plan to bring office space, medical buildings and education space to the site, and would reserve at least 35% as open, undeveloped land.
The East Side property is seen by city and real estate officials as one of the biggest redevelopment opportunities for several generations in Allentown. It was sold directly to City Center by the state in early 2023 for $5.5 million after a failed competitive bidding process.
In order to begin construction, City Center needs approval on a zoning amendment that would change the site’s zoning from “institutional” to “mixed-use overlay.” The overlay designation is a “custom” land use option that allows a combination of uses on one site, like residential, commercial or recreational.
The developers presented a 19-page zoning amendment Tuesday that outlines their proposed land use requirements for the site. In response to feedback from the city, City Center made several adjustments, including limiting all but one of the buildings’ heights to three stories or less.
Robert DiLorenzo, director of planning and construction for City Center, said the goal is for the zoning amendment to be approved by the end of the year. Even though the commission pushed back its vote, City Center still is on track to meet that end-of-year goal as long as the commission votes affirmatively next month, DiLorenzo said.
The planning commission’s vote is advisory; Allentown City Council has the final say on the rezoning. City Council last month referred the rezoning to a still-unscheduled committee meeting for further discussion.
The developers are aiming to “fast track” the project as much as possible because of how long the site has been vacant, he said.
“The urgency is just the fact that the site has been sitting idle for the last 13 years, since 2010 when the state hospital closed,” DiLorenzo said. “We want to put the property back into productive use.”
After receiving rezoning approval, City Center would need the planning commission’s thumbs up on a series of land development plans that further lay out details of the proposal.