CITY CENTER ANNOUNCES PLANS TO DEVELOP RESIDENTIAL BUILDING AND PARKING GARAGE AT 8TH AND WALNUT STREETS

City Center Investment Corp., the real estate development company revitalizing downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, announced today plans to develop a nine-story parking garage and a 94-unit residential building wrapped around it at Eighth and Walnut streets in Allentown. The Allentown Planning Commission approved the project today. 

“We’re excited to connect our new residential offerings with existing neighborhoods, as suggested by the Goody Clancy Downtown Development and Urban Design Plan for Allentown, to help create a seamless walkable community,” said J.B. Reilly, president of City Center Investment Corp. 

Construction of the 317,000-square-foot parking garage, which will serve the apartment residents and office and park users, will begin in July 2018 and take approximately 10 to 11 months to complete. Following that, the residential building project is scheduled to begin and will be completed in approximately 14 to 15 months. The unique design of the apartment wrap will conceal the parking garage, which will have entrances on both 8th and Walnut streets. 

Designed by JDavis Architects, the pet-friendly residential building will include studio, one- and two-bedroom apartments as well as four one-bedroom, two-story townhouses with walk-out stoops along 8th Street. The 112,000-square-foot building will be five stories tall with direct access to the parking garage. Residential building amenities will include a fitness center, an office studio, two lounges, a coffee bar, bike storage, a rooftop terrace with dog run and a pet-wash station. 

Last month, City Center announced plans to develop the Walnut Street Commons, a 61-unit residential building due for completion in May 2019 that will wrap around the Community Deck parking structure at Sixth and Walnut streets. City Center is currently developing 68 residential units in its mixed-use building called 520 Hamilton, which is due to open in September 2018.

City Center’s existing residential communities in downtown Allentown include STRATA West, STRATA East and STRATA Symphony. The first two buildings are fully leased while STRATA Symphony, which opened its first units in December 2017, is 83-percent leased. The STRATA properties contain 307 upscale units total. When the three additional residential buildings are completed, City Center will have a total of 530 apartments in downtown Allentown.