After reviewing what it calls a “bellwether” project, members of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s Comprehensive Planning Committee had questions they wanted to ask the developer of the proposed 37-story building in downtown Allentown known as the Peregrine Tower.
Also known as the “pencil tower,” the project is proposed for 90 S. Ninth St. and has gone through revisions, owners and numerous delays since it was proposed in 2013.
The current proposal includes 206 residential units, 2,651 square feet of retail and 9,953 square feet of office space. It would be the tallest building in the state outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Representatives of the developer, Umran Global Investment LLC of Hanover Township, Northampton County, were apparently going to attend Tuesday’s virtual committee meeting, but no one answered when Chair Stephen Melnick asked if the company had any comment.
However, there were comments from the board and one member of the public.
Committee member John Gallagher noted that the footprint of the site is smaller than that of the city’s tallest building, the 24-story PPL Tower at Ninth and Hamilton streets, and the proposed building is at least 50% bigger. He also questioned how there would be any room left on the floors if separate elevators are used for residences and businesses, including a rooftop restaurant.
“The core is going to be rather large,” said Gallagher, who is also a member of the Bethlehem Township Board of Commissioners. “It doesn’t seem practical that there’s anything left for usable space on each floor. It just seems way out of scale for the area.
“I think this project is literally giving the finger to Allentown, it’s just way out of scale,” he said.
Committee member Darlene Heller, who is Bethlehem’s director of planning and zoning, asked if the developers asked for zoning relief.
Allentown Planning Director Jennifer Gomez said Umran is working through some zoning comments and said that since the project is within the central business district, there is no height restriction. The developers were scheduled to present plans to the city planning commission June 11, but postponed until October.
“But there are a number of other things where this project is not compliant and obviously is not consistent with the traditional neighborhood development overlay district,” Gomez said. “So in terms of the status of the project with the city, we have issued some staff comments. They’ve postponed the project before the planning commission. They’re hoping to receive all comments at this point in time and come back with a revised proposal. So we’re waiting for their project to be resubmitted.”
Melnick expressed concerns about fire safety and whether the Allentown Fire Department has been consulted.
LVPC Executive Director Becky Bradley said developers would have to put together fire suppression plans further down the review process under state law, but such language could be added to the draft letter.
Speaking as a neighborhood resident, City Council member Ce-Ce Gerlach was concerned the project would take away rare greenspace from the downtown and it doesn’t fit with the neighborhood’s character.
“A huge skyscraper doesn’t fit in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “There’s been zero attempts of communication from the developer with residents. I’m a homeowner. I got something from the city. Other homeowners, property owners got something from the city. But when you’re doing something of this magnitude that will completely change the character of a neighborhood, you would think that a developer would reach out to at least the homeowners who have been there or the property owners who have been there for a while.”
The project will be taken up by the full LVPC at 7 p.m. Thursday in a meeting that will be livestreamed.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission’s staff and appointed commissioners review major projects in Lehigh and Northampton counties for conformity with the FutureLV comprehensive plan.
Morning Call reporter Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected].
