Plywood Plaza

According to Matt Assad of The Morning Call,  millennials and empty nesters are flocking to Strata Flats to rent the apartments.  I suppose that they like the ambience of the 7-11, which is catty corner from the apartments.  Demand is so great that Reilly will build additional apartments across from Symphony Hall, which is next to the Hook Restaurant, formerly the Cosmopolitan, once the project gets through city planning.  Sure hope the city planners go along with Reilly, I know that they're tough on him.  Wonder if they will allow him to use wood frame like he did on the first building?  You will also be surprised to know that Alvin Butz's new NIZ Phase 3 passed city approval.

This is the second infomercial that Assad has written for Reilly, promoting his apartments.  It's apparent to me that Reilly has found a way to harvest NIZ money from residential tenants. If he isn't somehow tapping their  state income tax,  I would then be suspicious of  the prorations between the residential and commercial portions of the buildings;  Understand that nobody checks the NIZ figures, nobody produces or checks financials, and nobody cares.  All is fair in love and the NIZ.

shown above Plywood Plaza, aka Strata Flats 

ADDENDUM AUGUST 13, 2026:This post first appeared in November of 2015, and was titled Empty Nesters Flocking To 7th & Linden. Yesterday, St. Bernard of Nazareth, reported on some financial issues concerning the developer of the Neuweiler building. Unlike Reilly, who frames out his apartment buildings using wood studs, the Neuweiler partnership used steel girders. My question to City Hall is why ths apparent discrepancy in the codes?

ADDENDUM TO THE ADDENDUM:Matt Assad would continue to promote Reilly's buildings with the Morning Call. Eventually, he became the mouthpiece for the Lehigh County Planning Commission.  Jarrett Coleman was elected state senator, and has been working to make the NIZ accountable to the taxpayers.