In 2013 developer Bruce Loch got permission to build a pencil tower at 9th&Walnut. In 2023 he sold the small parcel and essentially the permission to a new developer. That developer is now trying to keep the permission in force and marketable.
I think that it's fair to say that the marketplace is not clamoring for this building. While pencil buildings have been built in Manhattan because of extremely high real estate prices and very limited space, here in Allentown it would be ridiculous.
I remember some of Bruce Loch and John Troxell real estate development in Allentown. During the Joe Daddona era, small city owned intersection triangles, mostly in the Hamilton Park area, were acquired. Hardship lot size variances were then used to build on the parcels. In NYC these pencil buildings have been plagued by wind and sway issues. Leave it to Allentown to entertain this nonsense.
MY MEMORIES OF ALLENTOWN IN THE 1950'S & 1960'S AT AMAZON
It will never get built
ReplyDeleteNot a lawyer, but I suspect that at least part of the reason that Loch (and now the new developer) continued to keep the proposal alive is with the hope that the city would deny them an extension and they can then sue the city for damages, at the highest possible use for the property. Either that or if they do sell it they can get top dollar for it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the previous comment that the proposal will never be built, and the developer now realizes he is stuck with an effectively unusable property.
I suppose at some point the cost of hiring attorneys and architects to keep presenting the proposal will start to add up, but I supposed hope springs eternal.
BTW, any idea how much the new developer paid for the parcel, or who it is?
anon@7:28: It was purchased by Umran Development LLC for $1.2mil. At that price they were paying for the zoning permission, not the small parcel.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteHope springs eternal, I suppose.
Or a sucker is born every minute.