Allentown developer converting warehouse into 27 apartments
In early 2018, citing a lack of on-site parking, Allentown zoners rejected Nat Hyman’s plan to convert a vacant, three-story warehouse in the 100 block of Hamilton Street into 27 apartments.
After unsuccessfully appealing that decision all the way to Commonwealth Court, the developer on Monday revisited the city Zoning Hearing Board with the same building plan — plus much closer parking.
Hyman has acquired two vacant lots, one next to the late 19th century brick warehouse and another across Walnut Street behind the building, for 36 total parking spaces.
That still falls short of the 41 onsite parking spaces the city ordinance requires. But all three zoners agreed it would suffice.
The board also accepted Hyman’s testimony that leasing the first floor for a commercial, retail or other nonresidential use as required by the zoning law is unpractical. It unanimously granted the developer the relief needed to move forward with what he said was his 16th residential project in the city.
Hyman is proposing 25 onebedroom apartments and two two-bedroom apartments in the 23,600-square-foot building, which was originally built as a meat packing plant.
It’s on the south side of Hamilton Street just west of Front Street, kitty-corner from the recently renovated Klein building but just outside the Neighborhood Improvement Zone tax subsidy district. Hyman purchased the building for $125,000 in 2015.
The building will have nine units on all three floors, Hyman said. The one-bedroom apartments range from 500 square feet to 850 square feet with monthly rent set for most around $1,000, while the 825square-feet two-bedroom units will go for about $1,400.
Hyman hopes to secure a building permit within the next three months and begin construction in early 2020, with occupancy in 2021.
He noted that the timing was relatively flexible given the inprogress status of development projects along the Lehigh River and the inactivity between American Parkway and his property.
“I’m looking at this as a link between the Hamilton Street corridor and the riverfront development,” Hyman said. “This is an effort to stimulate the area in between, and if everything else happens as intended, then I think this is very well-situated in the long run.”
Both the building and parking lots will be next to the new Riverside Drive that the developers behind the Waterfront are building where railroad tracks formerly ran. In fact, Hyman in March acquired the vacant lots for $110,000 from Trestle Redevelopment Partners, one of Mark and Zachary Jaindl’s Waterfront-related entities.
City zoning law requires parking to be within 500 feet of new dwelling units. Hyman had originally planned to provide parking for residents in a lot he owns at Hamilton Street and American Parkway, roughly 1,100 feet from the building at 128 Hamilton. Given how busy Hamilton Street is in this area, the zoning board concluded in February 2018 that “the total lack of on-lot or adjacent parking will contribute to conditions causing traffic safety hazards and pedestrian safety hazards.”
Hyman appealed the decision to the Lehigh County Court of Common Pleas and then Commonwealth Court. This May, a three-judge panel affirmed the zoning board’s conclusion.
The property is located in the city’s urban commercial zoning district as well as its traditional development neighborhood overlay district. Zoners granted relief from a requirement that the first floor feature a nonresidential use and that parking be on the same parcel.
“It’s an appropriate use for the building, it’s been vacant as long as I can remember,” zoner Scott Unger said. “Given its multiple stories, configuration, location and lack of viable truck access, it’s challenging to see what business or manufacturing use could work there.”
Morning Call reporter Andrew Wagaman can be reached at 610-820-6764 or awagaman@mcall.com