The first item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes of the February 10th meeting.

They've been prepared and circulated.

Does anybody have any comments, corrections, or additions to the minutes?

Okay, hearing none of those will stand approved is written.

Go right into our next item number two, which is an extension request for 902 Union Boulevard.

Melissa's gonna do our introductions today, so hand it off to Melissa, please.

This is a request for a time extension of six months up to October 12th, 2026.

By which time the applicant must have recorded the land development plans and related documents associated with the proposed restaurant and drive-thru located at 902 Union Boulevard.

The applicant states that this time extension will provide ample time for the city and the applicant to create and sign the necessary land development agreement, furnish process surety in the amount equal to the approved cost estimate, and gather the necessary plan signatures for recreation of all plans and documents.

Since the plan was conditionally approved on November 10th, 2020, said plan had has been granted four extensions, the last two of which were for Dunkin Donuts, which assumed ownership and plans for the property in early 2023.

The fourth extension will expire on April 12, 2026.

The project plans received final conditional approval on the staff comments on February 19th, 2026, and this is an update.

The applicants provided the semi-executed land development agreement on March 6th, so this Friday.

Staff looked into the former Allentown Saudo and MPC for guidance and extending timelines, and there seems to be no clause in the former Saldo in the MPC that precludes an extension when requested.

We do not object to the requested fifth extension but defer to the commission on the approval of such request.

All right, thank you for that.

Mr.

Nyman, how are you doing?

Good, how are you?

Good.

Anything you'd care to add or not too much.

Yeah, basically just to reiterate that everything we basically have all the approvals now.

It's just basically with the time frame basically ending in the middle of next month.

Maybe everything will be recorded, signed and whatnot, but just to add extra time that we're still hopeful the applicant still hopeful that construction could either start like late spring, early summer.

So this extension, six months, it won't be the full length of that.

That's just kind of just a play it safe for everything, but we're moving forward.

Okay.

Yeah, I think based on the history and the point of preparation that you're at now.

I I certainly have no problem with it.

Although I will point out that it does exceed our five year window, and technically, you know, this would trigger the new ordinance if we if we chose to deny the extension, which I don't think um given the circumstances that we're gonna do that.

But um, I just wanted to point that out.

You know, we've been dealing with a lot of extensions lately.

Um, and this is one that actually does sort of stretch that five-year window, but um all right.

Does anybody have any other thoughts on the extension?

Is anyone in the audience interested in this application?

All right.

Well, then uh I think we'll entertain a motion if somebody cares to make one for a six-month extension.

I'd move to grant that the applicant a six-month extension.

Second.

All right, Jeff.

Greg, thank you for that.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right, there you have it.

Yep, thank you.

Thank you.

All right, next item is their first land development.

This is the uh modular building uh Allentown School District Edition.

Turn it over to Melissa, please.

This project proposes the installation of a 9,856 square foot one-story modular building with 10 classrooms and two restrooms at the Sonia Soto Sotomayora dual language immersion academy of the Allentown School District.

The property is in the P2, Civic and Institutional Buildings and Infrastructure Zoning District.

The zoning classification allows a proposed development of a school building.

This building will replace the existing 1,600 square foot two classroom module building.

The current submission being reviewed also calls for the removal of an accessory outbuilding that is utilized as a concession stand for the school and the community.

After receiving numerous comments from the public, the applicants have provided a revised plan showing the proposed modular building with a smaller footprint, which would allow the concession stand to remain.

The LBPC and AEAC have also indicated their support for the concession stand to remain.

This revised plan has not been reviewed by staff.

The technical review by staff is based on the initial plan submission.

The revised plans will be reviewed when resubmitted as part of the next review cycle.

This project is initiated by the growth of enrollment of students in the school and ASD.

The project site is within East Allentown.

Allentown Vision 2030 recognizes East Allentown as a collection of walkable and pleasant neighborhoods interwoven with commercial and industrial areas.

The area is likely posed to grow as a community where people value their neighborhood schools, shopping, and job opportunities.

Allentown Vision 2030 also envisions a future for the city with for a city that is sustainable, vibrant, and resilient.

Some ways this project can help to achieve those goals, include increasing landscaping using using native plants and landscaping, and including energy saving strategies within the project, such as utilizing sustainable building materials and taking measures to maximize energy efficiency.

The AEAC also encourages the installation of educational signage describing the variety of tree species located on site in English and Spanish to benefit students and the neighborhood.

The vision of this Safe Streets for All Plan is Allentown Streets to be safe and accessible for all community members who live, work, or visit Allentown, no matter their mode of transportation.

The goal is to have zero traffic fatalities and serious injuries by 2030 using the Vision Zero approach.

The plan identifies recommended collaboration opportunities to coordinate with the Allentale School District on road safety improvements around schools and along keywalking routes to schools, along with implementing safe pickup and drop-off locations with clear signage.

Long term, the City of Allentown, Allentown Parking Authority and Allentown School District should explore the feasibility of providing busing to for students to alleviate alleviate pickup and drop off congestion and challenges.

Active transportation for people of all abilities is enhanced by the proposed ADA ramp upgrades.

The applicant is encouraged to discuss an additional sidewalk connection at the southeastern end of the proposed building to provide additional accessibility, including in case of emergencies.

The plan has a prior prioritization consideration metric, and the location of the school being within a quarter mile of Union Boulevard falls within the areas within a quarter mile of a school, including primary, secondary, and postsecondary schools for safe routes to school and community pedestrian improvements.

As the potential growth of the school emerges, the city and partners will need to be cognizant of the impact on the transportation network for all modes of transportation in the vicinity of the school, including Union Boulevard.

The bike plan, the goal of the citywide bike plan is to ensure that infrastructure investment investments promote safety, equity, multimodal transportation, and sustainable urban development for all members of the community.

The integration of bike parking facilities within urban environments is a critical component of enhancing bike infrastructure.

These facilities provide secure and accessible storage options for bicycles, thereby encouraging cycling as a viable mode of transportation.

While there are no proposed bicycle infrastructure plans identified and identified in this vicinity of the project, the locations such as these can be a hub of bicycle utilization for all ages.

People may choose to commute using an alternative mode of transportation, not only during school hours but for after hour activities that may occur on school property.

And staff does note that a bike plan is shown on the plans.

So that was an update.

For the park plan, uh the Allentown Parks Plan 2025 is a comprehensive strategy to conserve and improve the city's recreation, open space, and parks.

The plan identifies the ASD as a key local partner within the partnership network.

Programs identified in the plan can take place at parks, playgrounds, schools, civic institutions, and private facilities.

This project location is identified as a school programming location for the Midway Manor concert series.

In general, ASD and the city work in conjunction to conduct public recreation leagues and activities as detailed in the many public comments received to date.

This location is utilized extensively by the community for youth sports, holiday programming, concerts, movies, and more.

Staff suggests the commission ensure the plans are revised to maintain the existing concession stand, which benefits much of this programming.

And in conclusion, given the applicants intended plan revisions, which would allow the existing concession stand to remain.

Staff is inclined to support the proposed development.

Staff suggests the commission ensure the plans are revised to maintain said concession stand and discuss the duration of usage of the modular classroom and long-term planning for the school property.

Staff recommends sidewalk access to the southeastern side of the building.

Additionally, the applicant is encouraged to incorporate energy saving strategies, add additional landscaping, including native plantings and landscaping and educational signage.

Minimally, the following must be included as conditions of approval.

The preservation of the concession stand and shed and adjusting all comments in the city comment letter.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

My name is Lauren Chesney.

I'm an attorney with Fox Raw Child here this afternoon on behalf of the school district.

I have with me Dr.

Robert Whartonby, the chief operations officer from the school district, and uh Bob Corp and uh Cody Callahan of uh Barry Iset and Associates, the school district's engineers for the project.

Uh we are prepared to discuss the comments uh set forth in the city review letters.

Mr.

Corp uh will be doing that for us, and we'll be here to answer any questions that you may have with respect to the use of the property.

Okay.

Bob.

Good afternoon.

Uh briefly, uh not sure that I can add too much to what uh Melissa has already articulated about the site.

Um this is the again the Sonya Soda Myor Dual Language Immersion Academy.

The 10 classroom modular uh replaces an existing two classroom modular.

The net addition of students and staff then is 200 students K through uh third grade and eight additional staff members.

There will be a covered walkway from the modular to the existing building.

Uh the connection point will be the same as the existing modular into the existing building, so the uh children will be able to get in in and out safely.

The net addition of impervious uh is less than 7400 square feet, and that therefore sell uh qualifies for a stormwater exemption.

Uh should explain that the footprint of the modular got smaller as a result of ongoing consultation with the manufacturer.

The original plan that we presented to meet the deadline for this meeting showed the manufacturer's standard uh 10 classroom unit.

We were able to optimize that down to right size it for this site.

Uh the district is going to buy this as opposed to leasing it, and now it fits a little bit better in there.

Uh, there is no additional parking as we are zoning ordinance compliant.

It requires uh one space for every two staff, so therefore 16 spaces are required, and we have 20 that are existing to remain.

The use of the modular is intended for approximately 30 months to pin uh to get from the current uh need for additional capacity for third grade up to a planned redevelopment of the site to include removing and replacing the school and reorganizing the athletic facilities on the site, all as a subsequent application and a subsequent land development uh project.

The water and sewer will access the existing Tacoma Street laterals, the site improvements that are done beyond the modular in order to comply with your new sale dough, and we thank staff for pointing certain things out to us on it.

It's a new ordinance, so we're happy uh to be the second applicant to use the new ordinance and to test all the ins and outs of this.

So we're adding 23 trees.

You can see from the aerial, it's a very green site.

There's very mature landscaping, and that'll dovetail into something I'll bring up in a moment.

But then there are some gaps, and we'll fill in those gaps according to the ordinance.

Uh we will update the corner ramps and the driveway crossovers because they are old and the current city standard is new.

So we're uh changing all of those, even though we're not directly accessing those parts of the property.

At the city's request, we have an allowance in the public improvements cost opinion for uh 10% of existing sidewalk improvement for areas that might be in poor uh uh condition.

But overall, the sidewalk is in very good condition on the site, and it's on all four sides.

It's continuous.

We're gonna have a waiver request here uh relative to section 350 13 for the enhanced streetscape requirements, which I'll pass out a letter for that one.

The modular will be articulated uh in response to the form-based zoning uh provisions.

Again, it's new.

Uh the sides facing Tacoma Street to the west, the longest uh elevation of the modular.

We are not less than 45 degrees from the property line.

Therefore, we understand we do not have to have an entrance at that elevation, and there really would be no point to it.

I would just encourage, again, this ordinance is new to everybody, uh, but thinking of uh a school building with a single point of entrance for uh safety for everybody.

You do not want to have doors that invite people to try to get into the building.

We don't want to create something even that's aesthetically attractive that just frustrates people because they're never going to be able to use that.

We are respectfully seeking expedited review and approval to achieve August 2026 occupancy.

So we're here for this.

We're in process with sewer planning.

We have submitted to the city and LVPC, having gone through the initial phases of that.

The modular will come with a DCED insignia, which we hope will expedite the building permit review, and they're looking for mid-July installation to start for a targeted uh August occupancy.

There was a staff comment relative to grading.

This modular will be approximately the same elevation as the existing building with the ramp that connects the two.

The modular will be on piers.

So there will be no grading.

This is going to sit on the site, and when the modular gets relocated someplace else, the grading will be the same as it is today.

I have copies of the revised site plan if you need it, but it was on screen.

You can say everything, everything the building shrunk, everything else is the same.

I have some images here of the site and the street view, which will just pass out at either end, just to make the point here.

So if we look to the new provision of the ordinance for enhanced streetscape, uh they that provision calls for the sidewalk to be having a four-foot planting strip away from the curb.

Currently, it is flushed to the curb, it's been there for a long time.

There are very substantial trees then on the inside of that sidewalk.

In order to move that sidewalk, we would be interrupting the all of the routes for those trees, and I think the end result would not be nearly as good as it is today.

So hits so apologize for the length, but this is a waiver letter, and I tried to hit all the all the pertinent points here.

I'll just try to hit them, hit them high.

So this uh we received a letter yesterday from staff that uh called our attention to Saldo 3350 13, streetscape area regulations with the intent of to treat the space between the building and and the street curve as continuous cohesive landscape design that enhances the pedestrian experience.

We think the subject property in its current condition really already does that.

We have a continuous five-foot sidewalk on all four sides.

You can see the existing mature trees.

The quality of the existing tree canopy already enhances the pedestrian experience and will be supplemented by additional street trees that we'll be adding.

We're therefore requesting waivers from the following five subsections.

13F1 alternative compliance timing, because we think the existing sidewalk makes sense where it is relative to the existing trees.

And again, this is a small addition relative to the module with the intent to do a major redevelopment of the site in the not too distant future.

13G2, the street tree area.

Again, putting that four-foot planting strip would interrupt the existing trees by moving the sidewalk.

We don't think that's in anybody's advantage.

The shade trees given their location within 10 feet of the existing sidewalk.

They provide some of those trees are over 20 inches in diameter.

They shade over 1,200 linear feet or 57% of the site frontage.

So it's better than any landscaping that we could be putting in in the near term.

Minimum streetscape of 13H1 really applies everything in 13G, the same rationale as cited.

13H3A pavement design appears to want a pattern sidewalk.

Again, we don't want to rip up the existing sidewalk and disturb the roots of the trees.

And then 13H3D asks for pedestrian and vehicular lighting.

Routing that lighting out to the sidewalk would interrupt those street trees, which we don't want to do.

The illumination, unless these fixtures are kept low, the lamps would rate be in the tree canopy and they would frustrate each other.

This could all be revisited at a time of a major site redevelopment, although I think the same argument of trying to keep those trees would still be in everyone's best interest.

One other thing to mention is there was a staff comment letter relative to a traffic impact study.

We briefly took a look at that.

And based on a trip generation analysis, we do not believe that we trigger it.

So there's back to back fancy tables from chip generation, which I will not pretend to explain.

But the AM peak hour of the generator produces 80 entering trips and 68 exiting trips, while the PM peak hour of the generator produces 40 entering trips and 48 exiting trips.

The threshold is 100 in either an hour and we're underneath that.

With that, I think I've hit the points I was supposed to hit, and I'll take any questions that you have.

Everything else that's in the comment letter is we'll comply.

Okay.

Thank you for that.

Um this trip generation that you prepared, that's total, including the expansion.

Is that this is relative to the expansion?

This is just new trips.

Correct, because that's the that's the criteria.

Okay.

Existing is existing, new is what we like it's counted.

Gotcha.

Okay.

Um you hit on some of the things that I had noted.

I'd like to ask you just real quickly if the buildings built on piers, is this gonna have restroom facilities, though?

Yes.

Is that correct?

So how is the how's the plumbing um typing out of that?

And we're gonna tap into the existing laterals that are on Tacoma Street.

That'll come you know out of out of the module or within the skirting and then subgrade over to tap into the lateral.

Okay.

So just weather conditioned in that free space above the ground.

Yes.

Okay.

Um I noticed on the plan um with regard to sanitary sewer slash water note, it talked about no increase in staff and therefore no increase in sanitary sewer and water usage at the site, but you said you're going through sewage planning.

We have to.

Uh well, we have we have less than the 800 gallons per day, which normally would not require it, but anything in the city of doing anything at this point requires sewer planning.

So we're going through the process, but it's existing lateral, it's got capacity.

Right.

No, I'm just uh so but but you did say that there's gonna be eight new staff members.

Is that what you said?

Eight staff members, correct?

Okay.

So I'm just pointing out that the plan says that there is no increase in staff.

Um I suppose that should probably be owe you uh a the parking table that I cited have will have population numbers, and that that'll get supposed to be on the plan, it'll be on the plan.

We'll just resubmit.

Okay.

So it is 200 new students and eight new staff members.

Correct.

Okay.

Uh the last uh question I have then is for the um the access.

So I saw the the original or the current modular that's out there is accessed off of I guess the south western face of the existing building.

There's a concrete walkway that comes out, but then it just the new modular just shows what's called a new ramp in two different directions, but not necessarily connected to anything.

Is it is the intent that that's going to wrap over to that existing concrete walkway?

Coming into the same, yes, coming into the same walkway in the center on the uh Tacoma Street side of the building.

So there'll be a covered walkway that goes out of the north end of the modular, wraps around and won't enter in at the same access point of the existing modular to the building.

All right.

The reason for that is there's a corridor right there, so it's it's the best access point.

All right.

It it doesn't appear to be connected on plan.

That's just what I was asking.

Seems like there's a little bit of a gap there.

Um perhaps I'm misreading it.

But um otherwise, I I would agree with the uh I would agree with the waiver request and the quality of the tree canopy uh and the street trees in general.

Um appreciate the improvement.

Yeah, this is there's nothing there.

So I'm not crazy.

I know it's there, therefore I don't see that it's happening.

I I've I've been there, Bob.

I know the feeling.

Um appreciate all of the uh intersection improvements and ADA curve cuts.

I think that's uh you know that that's important given the nature of clientele we're serving on this property and uh appreciate the adjustments that the school district has authorized you to make to hopefully resolve uh many, if not all of the um the public concerns.

So anyway, that was those are my comments.

I'll open it up to my colleagues.

Anyone air card?

Um where were the locations of the of the uh bike racks again?

They're uh right off the parking lot.

If they're actually shown on SP1.

Okay, um yeah, you can see right there in the gore area of the existing striping where the parking lot approaches the building.

Okay, there's a small bar and then a leader note that comes out of that.

Then there's a detail on the detail sheet, shows it.

All right, I too had a concern with the connection, as as Christian did as well, but I think that's clear now.

So everything else was uh addressed in your uh presentation.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Twelve or I'm sorry, 18.

I believe it's listed on the detail sheet.

I I think you addressed all my comments.

Um looking forward to the whole site redevelopment a few years when that comes forward.

I think that'll be an interesting conversation.

Yes.

Regarding the transportation study, um attendance school increases significantly.

Um is it the districts um does the district anticipate that most of these students will be bussed here, or the parents will provide transportation?

I guess Dr.

Wharton B to address that in general, uh, you know, it's a neighborhood-based school, but I'll let him chime in on that one.

Good question.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Glazer.

Robert Wharton Beach Chief Operations Officer for the School District.

Right now, students that are typically bused are those students that have disabilities.

So that's predominantly how the students that we transport.

Uh our older students obviously get Lanta for free, which is great.

That helps out a lot.

Parents do drop off their kids.

That is a true statement.

Uh are we looking to expand transportation in the future?

Yes, but somebody might still drop their kids off via a personal vehicle.

This school hasn't been a neighborhood school since you know before I had gray hair.

So it's you know the newcomer academies we we well know, and I suspect that most of those students were bust.

And I'm really asking if you expect the same mix if um demographic is gonna come throughout the city to take advantage of the school's programs, or if it now is truly a neighborhood school, and most of the students are good going to come you know locally.

Well, currently the program at the school allows for other students from other areas of the community to come in.

So it's not just uh for lack of better words, the Midway Manor neighborhood.

It is a dual language immersion program where students are encouraged to learn Spanish as well as English, read, write, and converse.

So uh that that comes throughout the district, it's not exclusive to the locality transportation studies are not my specialty, but um you know the area is rather tightened area.

I'm sure that um does the district know how many of these students that currently attend and or that you expect to attend live locally and within walking distance?

We could easily find that out through the student registration.

And that the transportation study was uh based on the uh the increased enrollment, not on the total enrollment.

That's what your ordinance requires.

Okay, I like I said, I'm I'm I'm I'm not the expert.

I would say that if the district doesn't quite understand where the clientele is coming from, then the results of the transportation study have to be suspect.

I mean, if you're if it's a great program, and I've no idea that it is that it would have attraction to parents and students throughout the district, right?

Um we know that only special ed students are getting door-to-door busing.

And what grades is this?

Currently it's yeah, well, it's good for this school next school year, the 26-27 school year, third grade will be entering into the building.

Currently it's pre-K through two.

Right.

And then the growth for the 10 classroom edition would allow up to fifth grade.

Um parents allow second graders to go on land to buses on their own?

No.

Okay.

So we know we don't have bus transportation.

We know, and I and I don't if I don't know if you gentlemen know how many of these students qualify for special ed for that kind.

So really where we are is that because it's a good program, the catchment area is citywide.

Um I think that we need to expect the district to do a little bit more due diligence in the number of trips that are generated because of that.

Yep.

Mr.

Corp said yes.

Well, so did I.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

Well, I I think I'd like to expand on that, Jeff, and I'm glad that you brought that up.

Um, you know, because some of the comments that we that we have seen, you know, refer to some of the um intensity of drop-off and pickup time and and driveways being blocked and and people being double parked and stuff.

Um so what has the school district considered or what could be done to better manage drop-off pickup times.

I mean, we we talk about that a lot with with other projects that may have um you know special event operations, you know, whether it's uh you know an arena or a school or something that's gonna that's gonna have an impact periodically, and in this case, um quite regularly have an impact on traffic patterns and in the surrounding neighborhood, and the fact that this is right in the middle of of a residential neighborhood.

So what what what is it what has the school district done done or what could be done to sort of better manage that?

Well, right now, what's nice about the school, you know, even going to third grade, that's a limited amount of student population.

Uh that doesn't alleviate the number of cars that are dropping off.

However, with that said, I think programmatically as well as across the district entire, you know, we're looking at the double parking, right?

That big and notorious one is uh Harrison Morton.

That just bottlenecks everything on second street.

So what we've been doing this year is getting more set school safety officers out there, and plus administrators or teachers to usher people along more quickly.

That's how we're kind of doing that so we don't get that cue in any of our streets.

Does it work?

Sometimes it does.

Does sometimes law enforcement have to show up and tweak their lights and blow their horns?

Yes, it does, and that gets them to move.

Uh calling APD to help us out in the morning to render that assistance and make it less predictable.

They have done that at down at Union Terrace to help us out with that too.

So all these little things we're trying to do.

What's difficult to quell in general is that drop-off.

Right.

Right.

How about staggered start times?

Does that help uh that for lack of better words?

That would be an act of God to change school start times.

They did that two years ago, I believe.

Not staggered, but just moved it a little bit.

Uh, but I couldn't make that recommendation.

I could obviously bring it back to Dr.

Burke's.

However, that would be a Herculine lift.

I mean, you know, the last couple years school districts have been talking about changing high school times, right?

Making it later as opposed to earlier and flip-flopping that whole dynamic.

I don't think we're there yet, to be quite honest with you.

Okay.

All right.

Well, I appreciate I appreciate the answers.

Um it is a uh a big deal.

And you know, it's a great location, it's a great school.

It's it's a great concept to have a community school, but when it's not functioning like a community school, then it or a neighborhood school, then it starts to become, you know, the opposite and and potential burden on the neighborhood.

So I don't know if this if this addition is is makes the makes the difference.

What's the total enrollment um prior to the addition?

I believe right now, only because I was looking at it, 176 students.

We're adding and this adds the capacity for 200 more, is that possible, yes.

Over a three, four-year period.

Right.

Wow.

So we're more than doubling, you know, the students and potentially doubling the edicts.

I mean, that that's I guess.

Yeah, uh, so you said you would do a traffic study for this.

I think what we would look at is uh queue lengths uh relative to what's a reasonable expectation for the pickup and drop off, and then what the capacity is on site and within the surrounding uh sidewalk network and what increased signage could be done because that is what happens in some of the other schools where it's signed for no parking in a particular time period to facilitate that pickup and drop off.

I I think especially once you move towards the full site redevelopment to Colma Street and especially the intersection with union is gonna have to be evaluated with all this extra capacity.

Um I don't know if this will reach a threshold will it will warrant earlier study based off of having 400 some students on the site, but you know, definitely once you get to that full redevelopment, I think that's gonna be a big concern for city and of course the community to see those impacts addressed.

So that the benefit is the site is 6.2 acres, but the demands for that will uh accumulate very quickly.

Certainly if you think of uh Brigadier General Hayes School that has a lengthy parking lot in part to provide all of that queue length.

And we um did the same thing in uh redesign for Crater Elementary School Park and School District.

So that would certainly be as an idea so that people are not occupying the street or using the site, but try not to be too invasive over the site as well.

Gotcha.

It's a balance.

Yeah.

I I too have an issue with the with the queuing, but I do have a question.

So I'm assuming the U-shaped driveway is your is your queuing in and out, right?

I think it's the drop-off, is that correct?

Is it possible to add another lane within that that semicircle and have a double?

It goes underneath the porticashare.

Oh, okay.

To my fellow board members, if you haven't seen the school, you really need uh to go visit it.

It is a time capsule.

I don't know, I don't remember exactly when it was built, but from the late 50s, very early 60s.

40s 40s, of course.

You know, it's truly mid-century modern.

It's quite a place.

Not as old as some of the district's facilities, but it's not young either.

I have a little more style than some.

I don't know.

Harrison Morton's pretty that's built really really well.

Um, yeah, I just want to echo some of my uh fellow council members' concerns, especially about the traffic and the tender age of the students we're gonna be serving here in particular, um, especially with the lack of alleviation with um um the Lanta buses or bikes and things like that.

Um so making sure that these kids have a safe space to be dropped off and feel comfortable doing so.

Um, I'd encourage us to look at like a staffing plan or something like that.

Um student safety, I think is is a pretty big concern for us.

Yeah, I mean, and you know, I think one of the benefits is is all is is the lengthy perimeter that you have on on the whole site and and how that can be utilized.

Um, within the pickup drip and and drop off and pick up windows of time, you know.

Can that whole can that whole square perimeter be restricted to just you know pick up drop-off only?

Or is that how it functions now?

Yeah, I said we should do an analysis of cues and then present uh some signage recommendations that would accommodate that without again being too invasive to the neighborhood.

Right.

Yeah, yeah.

I think if it was limited to a certain window, um other comments on that topic.

Um does anybody in the audience having heard what you've heard thus far.

Um this we'll take you one at a time and uh please stick state your name and address for the record, please.

Good afternoon.

My name is Linda.

I am reading a letter um on behalf of Casa Guadalupe Nona Escasa, um, just to put into the record.

And where do you live, Linda?

I live at 314 North Front Street.

Okay, please continue.

Okay.

Casa Guadalupe Center nonescasa respectfully submits this letter in strong support of the continued expansion of the dual language immersion academy, Sonia Sotomayor.

Casa has been a long-standing community-based organization serving the families and students of the Ellen Town School District.

We have consistently collaborated with the district to advance initiatives, promote equ equity, academic opportunities, and family engagement.

From the early and earliest planning stages, Casa played an active role in supporting the creation of a dual language immersion program, an effort driven by the needs and aspirations of the families we serve.

While Allentown is home to many cultures and languages, Spanish remains the language of preference for a majority of our families.

For decades, these families have hoped for a school that not only accepts but celebrates their future, I'm sorry, their culture and linguistic heritage as an academic strength.

The opening of the dual language immersion academy two years ago marked the historic step forward for the first time.

Our district established a school where bilingualism and biculturalism are intentionally nurtured as assets for all students.

From its inception, the school was designed to serve pre-K through grade five.

And the Midway Manor Building was selected because it offered the physical capacity needed to fulfill that vision.

At the board, as the board prepares to add additional grade levels next year, expansion is not simply a preference.

It is a necessity for delivering the full program.

The board directors originally approved and the community supported from the beginning.

We understand that some members of the surrounding neighborhood have concerns about changes to the park and nearby grounds.

Casa Guadalupe respects respects these feelings and recognizes that change can be challenging.

At the same time, it is essential to remember that this land is owned by the Allentown School District and was designated for school use long before the dual language immersion academy was established.

The district now has a responsibility to use the space in a way that best serves its students, particularly as enrollment grows and the program continues to show strong promise.

For our families, the dual language immersion academy is far more than a school.

It is a place where children feel seen, valued, and academically empowered.

It is a symbol of dignity, inclusion, and inclusion, a model that is strengthening family engagement and building practices.

I'm sorry, and building bridges across cultures.

Its benefits extend well beyond the Spanish speaking community.

All children in the program are gaining bilingual and bicultural competencies that will prepare them for a diverse and global society.

The school's expansion will allow hundreds more students to access these opportunities.

Without it, the original vision and the commitment made to families cannot fully realize, cannot be fully realized.

Casa Guadalupe Center urges the school board to move forward with a planned expansion and continue investing in a program that is transition transforming lives, strengthening communities, and elevating Allentown as a leader in dual language education.

We are confident that through clear communication and collaborative dialogue, concerns can be addressed in a way that respects the neighborhood while prioritizing the needs of our students.

We deeply appreciate the board's leadership and ongoing commitment to educational excellence.

Casa Guadalupe stands ready to continue partnering with you to ensure that the dual language immersion academy, Sonia Sotomayor, reaches its full potential and remains a source of pride for the entire Allentown School District.

Respectfully, Luz E.

Delabar, executive director of Casa Guadalupe Center.

Thank you.

Thank you.

I would like to correct a statement.

Yes.

Unfortunately, I did not come prepared with notes or whatever.

But from what I've heard today.

Can we get your name and address, please?

My name is Richard Wilburn.

I live at 1039 North Van Buren Street in Allentown.

I received one of the letters.

I'm within the 300 whatever.

And I have a couple properties on Tremont Street, which also received those letters.

My son, who well, anyway.

Because I didn't prepare a specific statement, I'd like to give you all some background.

My wife was born in Midway Manor.

My wife attended Midway Manor School.

And she has been at in our area, the Midway Manor area all her life, with the exception of when she went away to college.

My wife will be 80 next year.

We have been, I have been uh resident of Midway Manor since 1969.

And I have been uh involved with the Midway Manor Community Association, serving on uh the board.

I've served as individual who was treasurer, uh vice president, president.

I've I've been dealing with the school district for many, many, many years.

And up until this last administration, Midway Manor has had an excellent, excellent uh rapport with the school district.

If you look at the facilities, if you go over to the facilities and you look at what's there, what we call the snack shed, up until the last two months, the school district thought that was a storage building.

That building has water running to it, that building has uh electricity running to it, all paid for by Midway Manor, not the school district.

That uh building is used to provide an uh a resource for income for Midway Manor during uh soccer games when we used to have baseball games there, whatever.

That was our source of income.

We did not know anything about these plans that the school district has until David Tagg, our president, got a notice that the snack shed was going to be torn down.

And that's the way the notice came.

The snack shed has to be torn down because we're adding a modular.

As I said, up until this new administration, Midway Manor has had an excellent uh rapport with the school district.

Uh Tom Smith was the former head of buildings and grounds and whatever.

And Tom and I have had many, many discussions throughout the years about what we're doing and how we're doing it.

And uh because of that, Midway Manor has paid for equipment, playground equipment.

If you go over and visit the facility, all that equipment that you see there was paid for by Midway Manor, not the school district.

Midway Manor paid for all of the building of uh the storage shed and the uh snack shed.

That all came from our funds.

The school district was never asked for uh helping.

We were under the understanding that we had access to and use of that facility so long as we contacted the district before we made any changes.

We didn't know anything about this until two months ago, maybe.

Um the naming of the building.

I have no problem.

I should have started by saying this.

I have no problem.

Our neighborhood has no problem with the education that is going on in that facility.

What we have a problem with is the school district taking away from our community, our children, the opportunity to have a place to go and play, to provide sports activities, and to uh provide other activities for the neighborhood as a whole, like the uh music programs, the the band playing and whatever.

My understanding from speaking to the school board, the school board we were at the last school board meeting, uh school board members came to our uh monthly meeting last Monday.

Uh the information we get from them is there's no decisions made.

But what I hear today, there's decisions made.

They know exactly what they're going to do.

And unfortunately, we've been uh told that within two years, there the plan is that building and that modular is coming in, it's going away, and they're building a new building on that site where our current soccer field is.

Did they ask us anything about it?

No.

We don't expect to uh have input.

Uh, but we do expect to be notified if something's going on.

I don't know how much you know about the East Side, but Eastside used to have a couple playgrounds.

The only playground now is Midway Manor.

If that goes away, we have nothing.

Our kids have nothing.

Richard, if if if I could, I and and I and we I think we we all sympathize with um with those concerns, but um, you know, the project that's before us, this commission, um, is for the modulars and has been revised uh to address the concerns regarding the concession stand.

We cannot speculate what's going to happen in two years or or two months from now until there's something before us.

Um so while we are, I think deeply sympathetic to the community, and we've seen these comments come in, and I'm not trying to cut you off.

I just want to say that um regardless of what we talk about here today, our our subject matter is the proposal before us.

And and I and I believe that the school district has made some some significant effort to address the immediate concern regarding the concession stand.

Anything else does not seem to be impacted at this time.

Um I just I I you know I don't want you to spend a lot of time educating us on stuff that necessarily isn't going to factor into any decision that's made today, or you know, this might be something better safe for when those future submissions come before us.

So I I just I I you know I don't want you to spend a lot of time educating us on stuff that necessarily isn't going to factor into any decision that's made today, or you know, this might be something better safe for when those future submissions come before us.

And I don't mean any disrespect.

I understand exactly where you're coming from.

But our history with the school district these last couple years is we'll tell you about it when we decide to tell you about it, and probably then it's too late.

Um it was mentioned about who attends that building.

To my knowledge, and if you push the school district, they have to provide that information.

Not one child from Midway Manor attends that building.

Not one.

And my understanding is there's going to those that are coming in are not going to be from Midway Manor either.

Now, again, I don't want to sound like I'm being negative about that program, because that is an excellent program.

But this school district has buildings throughout the city.

They're building a new facility on Hanover Avenue.

Why are you, in our case, my point, picking on Midway Manor.

One last thing I want to say is in connection with the history.

That property was developed by uh uh Anthony Ayacoco.

I'm not sure how familiar you are with the neighborhood, but all the homes and whatever that are there was built by Mr.

Ayacoka.

He purchased the land back in 1943.

And when he was living and a member of our committee, it was always understood that that plot of land would be used for recreation, community recreation, and uh education.

We've been told by the school district, we don't care what Mr.

Ayacoka said, we own the property, we can do with it what we want.

Well, I would recommend that you guys take a look at the deed.

I researched the deed this morning.

I went back to 1943 when Mr.

Ayacoca first bought that property.

I recommend you research the deed and see what it says about recreation.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir.

Hi, my name is Alice Rumberger.

I live at 1325 North Van Buren Street.

I'm not here as an official um member of the Midway Manor Community Association, but I am the vice president because I asked about the yard sale.

But anyway, when the school in Midway Manor was built in the 1950s, it was planned as a neighborhood school where children walked to school, and after school, the children would play in the playground, the jungle gym, and so forth, and the sports in the large field behind the school.

And as um Mr.

Wilburn said, there was even a gentleman's agreement as to whether that the park would be shared by the neighborhood and the school.

Well, today there is one child who in a neighborhood who attends the Sonya Soda Meyer School.

And let me just say the Sonya Soda Meyer School and the program is an excellent one.

Um we're not you know we're not upset about that.

But um all the other, and according to the website, the Allentown School District website, there are 145 children who are transport who are who attend there.

So this morning I decided to do some observation just to check to see what was going on because neighbors have been complaining about the congestion and so forth.

And so this morning, I watched two school buses and one white transportation SUV pool up in front of the school on Pennsylvania Street around 8.45.

At 8.55, I observed 23 children getting off the bus and entering the school.

Now, around the corner on Tacoma Street, there were many cars parked on the street, in addition to the in addition to the residents who don't have off-site parking.

Now, summed cars went through the drive around on the school grounds to drop off the students, and many other cars were parked on both sides of Tacoma Street with adults getting out of their cars and walking their children to the school entrance.

It was all orderly.

It was all very, very pleasant seeing the children happily entering the school.

I never saw so many kids skipping into the school building.

They were happy.

And so, yes, Tacoma Street was quite busy this morning.

And since there are currently 145 children from pre-K to grade two, according to the school district, I'm guessing that 145 minus 23 students on the bus.

Well, that means 122 children arrived by private vehicles from across the city, since the school district only provides transportation for children who live further than 1.5 miles from the school, according to the Allentown School District's website.

Now, I began thinking of today's busy streets around the school as a math problem.

And I started to look into the future.

Now let's see.

The school plans to increase its population to about 37, 40 students each year.

Because I'm assuming that's how many children would be entering.

So by 2028-29, when the fifth grade is added to the school, the population will be 257.

And traffic concerns will be increased by 76% from today.

Now, according to the long-range planning by the district in 2031, 2032, grades 6, 7, and 8 will be added, bringing the population, well, adding once again, 40 students per year to about 368.

152% increase from today.

And that's only the school population.

I did not add in the extra staff for parking or the parking spaces parents and grandparents will need for special school events.

And I appreciate the outtown parking planning committee, you know, questioning about the transportation network.

What are you going to do about parking?

Well, I guess the green grass in the park area and around the school is available for parking.

And in two years, according to what I heard here about the major development about planning of an additional school building on this site, well, that green space, the current soccer field, will be torn up and transformed into a school.

Nothing definite, but a definite possibility or distinct possibility.

The neighborhood is used by many adults and children.

Many who live outside of the manor, who enjoy listening to the chirping birds and the laughter of children playing and feeling the cooler temperatures from the shade of the mature trees, which might be gone.

And 110 children drawn from throughout the city from ages five to 17 who currently play soccer on the field with the assistance of the Midway Manor Community Association.

Well, they'll need to find somewhere else in the city to practice and play.

And hopefully the summer concerts will not be on asphalt, and the Halloween trunk and treat and egg hunts that are enjoyed by the children in and outside of the Midway Manor.

Well, hopefully new locations will be found, or they'll just go by the wayside, like so many other things in life.

Yes.

The growth plan will have significant impact.

152% impact on tomorrow's Midway Manor.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, everyone.

My name is Florida.

I live in 318 North France Street.

And I'm going to read a letter from Allentown Latino Coalition and National Puerto Rican Agenda and Puerto Rican Culture Preservation.

We write this letter as a coalition dedicated to supporting the education and success of Latino students throughout the Lehigh Valley.

Our works with the Allentown School Districts and its leadership has consistently centered on what is the best for our students and their families.

Our advocacy remains in advancing the academic achievement of Latino students and empowering the communities in which these family live.

We have been active participant in the development of the District Strategic Plan and a strong supporter of ambition to establish the Dual Language Immersion Academia in Sonia Sotomayor.

From the Ailus Planning stages, we understood that the school will offer a dual language program beginning in pre-K through grade 5th, with continually bilingual biculture pathway through the high school.

Sorry, the goals has always been to cultivate bilingual and bicultural students who strengthen understanding unity and share community across Allentown.

Allentown is a diverse community representing many languages, and Spanish is the preferred language for the majority of our families.

For this reason, we celebrate the opening of the academy with pride and hope.

From the beginning, the Midway Mainers location was considered ideal because of its potential for future expansion.

We are aware that some members of the Midway community have concerns regarding the school growth.

We acknowledge that challenge can be difficult.

We understand the neighborhood has traditionally use the surrender park and value certain spaces as part of the heart of them of the midway mainers community.

While we respect these sentiments, definitely.

Yes.

It is also important to recognize that the land surrounding this school is the property of the Allentown School District.

For this reason, the Dual Language Immersion Academy Sonia Sotomayor was assigned to this site.

As the district prepares to add additional grades next year, expanded space will be essential.

As a community, we understand that priority may differ.

However, the continual growth of this school is a critical priority for Latino families.

For us, this school is not only the heart of our of our children or family.

For the first time in the history of the Allentown School District, our language, our culture.

Challenges such as this are part of growth and transformation.

And we believe our community is strong enough to navigate them together.

Respectfully, Allentown Latino Coalition, Puerto Rican Cultural Preservation, and National Puerto Rican Agenda.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Hi.

My name is Amy Fiddler.

I live at 1204 Alster Street in Allentown.

I have been a member of the Midway Maor community for over 60 years and a child of the Allentown School District.

I also know that safety is pivotal.

Moving forward on the SSDLA modular building expansion needs a comprehensive traffic study, not only addressing parking for families to drop off their children, but also parking for the teachers as well.

It has brought up, been brought up at every single meeting of the Midway Manor Community Association, the need for stop signs, the need for recognized school zones, the need for police to enforce because people just drive through every single stop sign.

And when you walk around, you will notice it no matter how much you scream.

So in addition to needing a traffic study, I think you need to have a land composition looking at a study, a survey that would be actually evaluate the flooding in the area.

As I said, I've been a member there for 60 years.

I know about flooding.

And about two years ago, I spoke to an engineer who across the street was doing some surveying.

And when I questioned him on the surge and the flooding, he stated, what did you expect?

You know where you live, you know where the school's located.

Yes, I do.

I understand that.

So I know that you are only going to be addressing the first phase of expansion.

However, this is a park area as well, where families and children gather to play and to relax.

A safe place for children are learning to ride their bikes in the park, not on the streets.

When children and adults play baseball and soccer, and when we host movies and concerts, we have Aster icon trunk or tree.

We do that because we value our community.

In our community, we value green space and nature.

Expanding beyond the current plan building will have an impact on the quality of life in the city of Allentown.

I want to thank you for your consideration.

Thank you.

Anyone else?

Anyone online?

You guys?

All right.

Well, um, on behalf of the planning commission, I want to thank all the residents for coming out and providing public comments and then but um I think you know we all appreciate it and and certainly take it into consideration.

Um and again, I think I'll just sort of repeat what I said earlier.

I think a lot of this consideration right or wrong will apply perhaps a little bit more to uh any potential future um development on this site.

Um and that you know, currently we're we're here to decide or discuss um the current modular addition.

Um I'm curious, and I'm glad the last person, Amy, I'm glad you brought it up because I saw it in in one of the public the written public comments that we received, something about flooding.

Can somebody tell me a little bit about the flooding, whether it be city or the school district?

Um is there what what's the like uh some idea of what we're talking about here?

What I can address is on the east side of the site.

Um along Ulster, there are um there has been some historic ponding, and so underneath the sports field on the south eastern corner, some uh perforated underdrains were placed there to help convey that uh to a inlet that is then along Highland and connects to the street infrastructure.

Uh there was a substantial storm line that runs north to south through the site that is city-owned.

And then more recently within the last four years, there were uh area drains that were added up in the northeast and eastern side to again connect to that storm uh area.

So since then I am not aware of ponding in that area, but historically there was a lot of ponding there.

If the the lawn sits relatively low relative to the surrounding neighborhood.

Yeah, yeah.

It appears as though the the athletic field almost acts like a little mini detention basin in a way, the way it's graded.

Is that correct?

In the no one knows what the future holds relative to site redevelopment, but I think we have to to take a look at you know, city requirements, um, school dist requirements, community interest in what what's going on at the site, stormwater management.

Right.

So to the extent we're adding impervious cover, we'll have to add stormwater man uh stormwater management.

Currently, what we're doing here does not rise to that level of triggering anything.

But a new building, new parking lot, they certainly would.

Sure, sure.

Okay, thank you, Bob.

Um, maybe over to the city staff.

Is there any known you know deficiencies in that main trunk line or or any I I know I worked on a project nearby where there was some known um inadequacies, if you will, to the to the trunk line servicing my particular project.

Uh not at this time, no, but I can uh contact our stormwater manager, Michael Lichte, and we can check on that.

Okay.

Sounds like it may come more into play in the future.

Um I mean, I think we all know in general this area is flat and everything runs pretty flat through there, so our capacities, hydraulic capacities are compromised just by that fact alone.

Um where do we go from here, guys?

This is preliminary final.

I believe so.

Yes.

I think that the major concerns that the um commission had had to do with traffic.

Were there any other ones?

Well, I I I think basically it was just compliance with everything in the staff report otherwise, but I think traffic was the only additional comment.

Um I think I would I would add to that.

I I think some of the speakers um brought up um the issue of of proper signage and enforcement now enforcement's certainly beyond the purview here, but the signage aspect, I think is well within what we do.

Um I'm not quite sure how to um memorialize this for a motion, sir.

Well, uh so yeah, that that you know, I think what we're so on one hand, we're we've already sort of acknowledged that the increase in trips doesn't warrant by code a traffic study.

So I think what we're talking about here is kind of what what are some common sense approaches um to to you know to to help remedy the current situation and this in the expanded situation, um and I think maybe that is easier to do, um, especially if there's nothing there now.

Like if we truly are lacking school zones and and and things like that, then I think that's a that's an immediate and easy thing to remedy.

Um I think maybe a good condition if if they would be applicable would be to do an analysis of the on-street you know signage and in striping to see what would be appropriate for the needs of the school drop off to you know better improve the flow of the the situation for student pickup and drop off.

Right.

And I I think we got some agreement from the advocate.

Yeah, that makes sense.

We'll look at the queue, we'll look at the arrival departure, and we'll look at the street capacity and what makes sense for signage to restrict within that window so that people are doing it in a responsible manner, there aren't conflicts that way.

Just wanted to remind you about the waiver request.

Thank you.

Oh, right, thank you.

Um, and I think this is all good homework for the future, too, because we're gonna you know we're gonna be right back talking about this stuff again, and then some so um okay.

So um let's talk about the waiver first.

Yeah, so um new to us, and I have a feeling we may see these from time to time just given existing conditions that may differ.

Um or in part from what we're looking for nowadays in our new saldo.

Um questions about the the waiver request.

No, I I think this is a pretty reasonable waiver request to preserve the trees.

Um, especially if this we look at the site again in the future, some of these things would be more applicable there.

But I think just for the modular expansion, these these waiver requests are pretty reasonable.

Yeah.

Agreed.

Agreed.

Okay.

Um we vote them as one.

That's what I'm looking at.

So if we I think typically we can make one motion on all these waivers.

Yeah.

Staff okay with that.

We'll we'll make it relative to the written request dated March 10th from the applicant referencing subsections of 350-13 of the saldo.

Um somebody care to make that motion to grant the waiver.

I'll make that motion to grant the waiver requests as written.

Thank you, Craig.

I'll second.

Thanks, Eric.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right, waivers are approved.

Um, and then um how about a motion to grant what preliminary fine uh conditional preliminary final approval um based on the city review letters um with an additional concentration on a on-street parking, queuing, signage and striping study.

So moved.

Nice.

Thank you, Jeff.

Thank you, sir.

All right, I'll second uh just to move that along.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

All right.

Ayes have it.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, guys.

All right.

The next item on the agenda has been postponed.

560 business park lane has been postponed.

Anyone need a break?

Are we good?

Good.

Okay, we're gonna roll right into the next one.

Um number five on the agenda.

We're drafted.

Okay, good.

Um 301 North Front Street.

And sorry, really quick before you get started.

Um I have to recuse myself from the next four items.

So five, six, seven, and eight on the agenda.

That's no fair at all.

I'll still be able to do that.

But she can't leave either.

Yeah, you can't see you in a couple hours.

All right.

Melissa, all right.

So this is 301 North Front Street revision.

Um this project received preliminary final approval from the commission on June 10th, 2025.

The applicant has revised the project by increasing the proposed number of dwelling units and parking spaces.

The revised plans call for the construction of a 16-story mixed-use building with total floor area of 565,465 square feet, including approximately 21,500 square feet of commercial space with 360 apartment units, um, having 71 studios, 1861 bedrooms, 1032 bedrooms, and four three bedroom units.

Um, in addition, interior parking and tenant amenities.

The revised floor plans call for the addition of residential units on the third through sixth floors.

And staff notes the following.

Um the total floor area of the building as it is shown to have been re reduced from 707 um thousand square feet um to 565,000 square feet, right?

Event space was added to the revised floor plans, bicycle bicycle room and storage room shown on the previously approved plans have been removed from the revised floor plans.

These are zoning requirements for multifamily dwellings.

Um the revised land development plans and floor plans are no longer consistent.

Um the revised plans show a newly designed pedestrian walkway and ramp from North Front Street to True Street and Chu Street to Riverside Drive.

Due to the revisions uh to the plans, a portion of the proposed walkway and ramp um is outside of the pedestrian easement.

The revised elevations show a large vertical blank wall area on the north elevation where a staircase has been added.

At the northern side of the building, floors three through six have been changed from parking to residential.

A roof plan was not provided with the revised set of architectural renderings.

Uh the revised plan still shows overhead electrical lines.

Um at the June 25th, 2025 planning commission meeting, the commission granted conditional approval with the following conditions uh which were agreed upon by applicant.

Um the first one was addressing the comments contained in the city comment letter and the staff report.

Um applicants agree to all those except the burring of the overhead wires.

Um it would be attempted, right?

So the planning commission um let's see.

Okay, addressing the comments suggestions by the planning commission to widen to the extent possible the pedestrian access way at the south end of the building, connecting Chu Street and Riverside Drive in order to build better celebrate that connection.

Coordinate with city staff towards the installing of say a safe mid-block pedestrian crossway, crosswalk to where uh Riverside Drive to Bucky Boyle Park.

Institute traffic calming measures along Riverside Drive with respect to the parkland uh Bucky Boyle, rethink the expansive appearance of the planned office space along Front Street and the storefronts along Riverside Drive with a view to scale down their presence to contain more and smaller shops.

Um make every effort to place utilities underground, provide examples of garage treatment screening.

In addition, the commissioner expressed the following um cooperate in future efforts toward completing a parking utilization survey by the Allentown Parking Authority, um, cooperate in future efforts towards facilitating the development of regional bicycle connections to center city, if and when the Samuel McCows Memorial Park is to redevelop that mature trees therein be preserved and maintained.

The pickup drop-off amenity on Riverside Drive may likely raise unintended consequences, like disconnecting people from using the sidewalk, and to consider incorporating design features from New Weller.

Um so based on the revised re uh submission, in addition to the commission's prior conditions.

Um staff recommends the commission inquire as to the floor area being reduced as the building does not appear to be smaller in size, whether the event space will be for tenants only or available to the public as to the inconsistencies of the revised land development plans and the floor plans, and as to the applicant's intentions for improvements to punk park pump park, McCows Plaza.

Um staff recommends the bicycle room and storage rooms that were removed from the floor plans be maintained, that either windows, facade treatment or mule be added to the blank staircase wall, that a detailed roof plan be provided and the pedestrian easement be revised to include the entire walkway and ramp, and finally, any recommendation of approval should be conditioned on the applicant appropriately addressing comments in the city comment letter.

Thank you.

All right, thank you, Melissa.

Turn it over to the applicant.

Good afternoon.

I'm Carlos Tower, the architect on representation with Mike Lang uh John Palombo, the developer.

How are you doing tonight?

Okay, excellent.

So we agree that there still is a coordination that we have to do.

Um engineering the building, we made some modifications already when those comments that we receive.

Um, but there are other items still open.

Excellent.

This is the location of the building.

Everybody knows Riverside Drive.

Next.

Um, the parking that did not change in the parking area, that is still the same.

We have uh this is our lobby, our lobby is um is right on Riverside Drive.

One thing that we use because uh one thing that we change and um and we're gonna still need to coordinate with civil engine is the crosswall.

Before we didn't have that crosswall to the island, so we were trying to make people are going around the lobby.

So now we create that, we remove some of the landscape in that island, and then in some of the renders, you you will see the the that we create like a direct crosswall from that portion.

That was a comment that we received next.

Again, the second floor is still the same.

The retails, we eliminate the commercial spaces, I mean offices, and now we have more parking spaces, which now bring us to work in that facade that I will show you what we did when that facade, which is the facade adjacent to, and not from the facade adjacent to the residential.

Next.

And then we brought back the storage again, is on the corner.

On the if you look at the screen on the north right corner.

Um, next.

Oh, other suggestions that we did some of the changes to um we increase the number of units in the building.

That's really what the measure.

Then we went from 267 units to 340.

Um now we have more units on the residential right from the plaza.

Before we used to have all parking adjacent to the plaza, so now we have more residence as well.

We eliminate a few parking uh spots in the area.

Next, and again, the upper floor is similar than the one below.

We have all the storage that we need.

And the amenities we received the comment is this is gonna be open to the public.

So we did not add the word residence.

So this is a residence amenity.

Typically, the way this residential amenities they are open from 11 in the morning until 10 p.m.

So because noise and you know, all the things, and also we change the furniture a little bit because we have a bunch of tables before, so it's more like a like a lounge sitting area.

It's is it's and typically you put like a capacity number to on those areas, so to alleviate that that somebody's gonna bring like a hundred people.

So again, the upper floors are still uh we got more units now we have um we have uh more studios which will be more attainable.

You know, it's gonna be a low-cost studio versus a larger unit, and then there is a larger units, similar, they are still the same.

We have a few studios, which is the one on the front.

Next, next.

All the again, the the units are pretty much typical from project to project.

Next.

When they are smaller, the difference when they are smaller, they need to have their own storage.

The facade did not change on on the riverside drive, it's still the same facade.

Um, the only thing was on the right side that we brought the residential down to one of the apartments on the corner that went all the way down, but the facade is still the same.

Here we change and the facade we change the design on adjacent to the small house, so we create some depth, we create some pilaster so we can create some shadow lines and some movement.

That was a recommendation that we have, and also we change all the windows to a small scale.

And again, we are open to continue working with the team and with the city, and you know, and and come out to a final design.

Next.

Again, this is from the park.

Um, we we actually fixed that comment that we receive about the we have a stair when some windows we add the windows, we we place a small dent in the area.

So now we we put back all the windows.

So that was something that we did, and again, this is looking the building from north front, looking north.

Nice.

The building actually set back, and you will see we add some additional renders.

So the building you see is set back more than eight feet.

So when you are really on the lower area, you you know the building set back.

Here is the facade again.

Okay, the park, the plaza, the plaza is something that we receive some comments at the end, yes, to work on the landscape.

That will be a separate project.

So that's something that we definitely will work when everybody civil engineering and city stuff on this.

Again, the same facade, just the residential on the on the right side came all the way down.

And that's what I was saying that we eliminate some of the landscape.

So we create two that crosswall through the aisle.

So people don't need to go inside the lobby and go out.

Again, this is the building area view when the many spaces where the building set back.

And here it's showing the scale.

We you know, we we decide to do those additional renders so you get a view of you know of why you are looking at this building and look the three stories here, looking at our building on the back, which is the 207 building, there is also three stories, and they pretty much they look the same, like they are all in angles.

Nice.

And again, that's what I was saying.

We provide the render so you can see the new wire, and you can see what you see when you are like adjacent to those buildings on the sidewall.

And interior views, they are similar, same that we had before.

We always, you know, place it.

So you see the final product.

And so again, with this, I finished my presentation.

I'm I'm open to any discussion.

All right, thank you, Carlos.

Um so some just just so I'm clear.

So some of the things that you showed us today were trying to address some of the staff comments, but this and wasn't necessarily submitted for today.

Right.

Right.

Okay, so you're just showing us how you intend to respond to those comments.

Um, you know, I I always take the lead, guys.

You guys uh gladly hand it over to whoever wants to get started.

Go ahead, Eric.

Um the the event space, can you tell us a little more about that?

You say that's just for uh uh residents, right?

Yeah, if a residents, for example, align those buildings younger couples leave, so you can do a baby shower on them.

So it's something like that.

Okay.

Um you said 10 11 to 10, right?

Okay.

You reserve it with the building, correct?

Um you said that the bicycle storage rooms were they are in the plan now.

Yeah, we put on the plan and we put it outside too.

That's what I'm that was my next question.

Are they gonna be outside for any of the commercial spaces?

We do now because the comment that we receive now in all the projects we're gonna have the nuts out.

Okay, great.

Um the southern walkway is it is I'm assuming the zigzag is for ADA walkway, right?

Correct.

So so one thing that we do is I'm an advocate of that.

This is a Carlos Tobert thing.

When when typically you have a live steps and then you have a RAM.

So if you go in somebody in wheelchair, you typically like see you there.

So I don't want to do that.

So what I typically do, I do a RAM more appealing.

I know this is look like in angles, and we work with landscape.

So now everybody needs to go through the RAM.

So if you come with a component, nobody's on a step.

Everybody has to go through it's gonna take longer, right?

But we're going to the park.

We should be okay.

So that's that's what is the intention of that.

Okay.

I mean, uh I I think it works well.

Um, and I guess uh addressing the overhead lines is that are you uh still the the we can I put to the locker, we cannot agree to it because it's a process of cost and we're doing the building.

So right now at the moment we don't agree to it.

Okay.

Um is there considering that you guys have a few developments going on?

Is there any um interest to invest in the local parks that are going on down there at all move moving forward?

Is that in sort of adds an amenity to your to your uh you know?

Yeah, I I guess they do that.

I mean I think I was like the first person in that area talking about you know investment into the parks.

Okay.

So you know, we'd be more than happy to have you know more conversations with the city and see what we can you know come up with.

But that's uh you know, right at the top part list.

It's just it's a separate application from the building because I can't I don't own the property, I can't control it.

But I mean I think uh upgrades for the part of the you know tremendous uh asset to the uh immediate area.

Fantastic.

And in addition to that, we we have meetings with city parks and talk about money management maintenance, how we do things.

So this is something that we can compromise to continue those conversations, make sure that we're not doing our own thing and they are doing their own thing that we can all work together.

Absolutely, that'd be great.

Yeah.

Um and the TNDO sort of stipulates, you know, sort of more of an exaggerated cornice.

I'm assuming you're sticking with the original corners design at all, or we we can actually in the previous presentation you will see I think we find a solution.

So I think we can incorporate it here too.

Yeah, I think when we go through the projects, we we can come back, but I think I was able to find something to do it.

So I was having a long nine.

We're not able to incorporate that this on the other three buildings idea.

So as far as your rooftop design, I applaud that you're uh incorporating some some green uses going on there.

That's great.

Correct.

We want to have some greens and we're gonna have some uh uh rooftop units too, a small units, but we have lower levels, so we can split between the green roof and the and the units.

Is it possible for a community garden, for example, maybe some from the some of the residents perhaps or something?

I don't know.

Could be an interesting sort of dynamic.

We we can look into we had the we had the green roof in the area, but we don't typically in the in our projects we don't let the community to go there because headaches, people wandering on the roof.

But we definitely at some point in 207 between the two buildings, we're talking about like a community garden on that steep hill.

Yeah, and that's something that we can we can look at it.

Actually, that was one of the amenities that we were thinking for the future, so it's something to to consider.

Um not on the roof, but probably on the ground floors.

Yeah.

Um I I commend your your update for the pilasters on the front street side.

I think as you said, add some depth depth, you know, so some shade and shadow going on there and some scale.

Yeah, that's how older render.

So I saw the street rendered.

Yeah, it's definitely definitely a nice upgrade there.

Um I uh although my personal opinion, I still would like to see a mansard going on there to some degree, but that's just my personal opinion.

Sorry, I gotta bring it up every time.

But um, I I think it would look great there.

It's just and also fall into TNDO a little bit more, but um that's just my personal opinion.

I will keep down money.

Yeah, thanks.

Definitely okay.

I think I'll save all the design comments to to Chris over here.

No, I I think uh looks good as always, no major comments on this one.

I think uh a lot of comments I'll have for this whole area will probably be for the next couple uh applications, but um, I think I'm I'm good for now.

Yeah, I really like the uh rooftop card, and I want to take a peek at that a little bit more as you continue to develop it, but it sounds really exciting.

Thank you.

Um Carlos, do you mentioned you mentioned 340 units?

Is that our reports and plans say 360?

I don't know.

I'm sorry, I miss a spoke.

360.

It is 360.

360.

Okay.

And so um as the staff has pointed out, and and I haven't done any of the takeoffs myself, but so the overall building square square footage went down by 140,000 square feet.

Clearly, a mistake.

That's that was a land development.

I spoke to to my civil engineer.

We place the wrong number, how is gonna go down when we even have more units on the residential?

So it was an issue in the parking calculations like a square footage.

So the original square footed, the 707, that's the one.

It didn't go down.

So it is 77.

Correct, the the first one, yes.

When we did the planning, the the land development submission the second time, that's when we put the wrong number.

I gotcha.

Okay.

Um, I think um I think it's important for us, you know, as a commission and everybody that to appreciate that you know, the unit count went up 93 units, and the and the retail and office component went down, you know, less than half of what it was originally, you know.

So the the composition changed quite a bit.

And and the reason that I point that out is because I you know, I have concerns about you know about losing any sort of opportunity for meaningful jobs down here, you know.

We've got no no office now on this project, and none in the in the next couple coming coming online, and um was there what was the what was the impetus behind making that that drastic of a change?

It's just the the the office, you know, we were too more too large on the upper floors for for offices, and that's that's a difficult market right now.

So that was number one.

But what we're seeing right now a lot, which is the trend is a lot of offices are getting on the ground floors in in a thousand square feet, twelve hundred square feet.

So that's a trend.

Now people are on the ground floor, you can and and then the retail get a little bit more expensive than an office space, but still manageable.

Right.

And you just most of them you just do a single toilet.

So there is so I will you will want to all be restaurants and retail, but you know, uh a la in these new developments is very difficult.

But this is what we see a trend of offices moving to the ground floor.

Gotcha.

Um, so let's assume that these become offices or or restaurants or retail, whatever.

Um what do you see as the parking strategy for for folks visiting those businesses, whether they be retail or office or whatever?

It will be a street parking, but also on the ground level, you can keep that open to the public, um, and you will pay for, and then you go steep ramp, and then from that level to a second level, there is a badge, and then allows you to go in.

Right.

So this is where we have the two entrances.

So it will give you that that level of separation.

Okay.

I mean, I think that that was not apparent to me, you know, and I think that's that's a that's a major that's a major component to this project.

I think being successful.

Um, but it does bring up another question then.

Okay, so which level would or which entrance would the public use then off of Riverside Drive or off of the parking lot between the building to the south?

To visit somebody, you will come from the Riverside Drive.

Okay.

And to do the residential for the building will come from the not front.

Okay.

So then if you have both options from residential go from back on the other back, commercial has to be on the ground floor on the riverside.

So how does a visitor know not to go up to the next level then?

Will that be how's that going to be controlled?

That's uh that's a little bit of the nightmare.

You have to tell your clients that we have parking space above on the ground level, not the second level.

That's that will be managed to.

Well, if I mean, you know, I know and I and I use quotations because you know, excess parking when you're still considering that we're reduced by 50% in the calculation, is not necessarily excess parking, but let's just assume that access parking is a reality.

Could you not just isolate completely the first floor level parking and we can for example when you do a grocery store, which probably you know, hopefully that happened in one of those buildings, you might need to do the first and the second and isolate those two floors and go up, you know.

So I don't think what you are proposing of your feedback.

I don't think it's nothing crazy.

I think that's something that we can do.

You know, just make sure that the ground floor is totally isolated for the public.

Well, what what concerns me is you know, if you know, with the reduced calculation, which you get, you get minus four and then divide by two, you know.

So I mean, we're essentially providing 1.01 parking spaces per unit.

And you know that you know there's a chance that some households may have no cars and some households may have more than one car, right?

And I think if there's not some sort of dedicated parking to the retail and or visitors, you know, we're gonna have a problem, and that's you know, I'm surprised Mr.

Spanks not here today.

You know, we talked about parking being a major concern and one of the conditions of this project um initially was that we really take a serious look at the big picture in terms of parking down here.

Um these projects are great, but I think they're they're sort of you know, each one of them is sort of in a vacuum, you know.

I mean, when we're trying to look at the waterfront as a whole, um I just I I think it's it's something very much worth considering if we could isolate and make sort of public semi-public the you know, a certain level of parking for visitors for retail, and you know, when it's full, it's full.

I mean, maybe you've got a sign out there, it says when it's full, it's full, so you can still dedicate a certain amount to your residents, but I think there's got to be some control there.

Um and then so the one of the inconsistencies on the plan then too is you you got trash room access now from Riverside Drive.

Um, whereas the site plan only shows the the parking entrance um from Riverside Drive.

So that sort of changes the on street parking and sidewalk streetscape there.

I don't know if we're gonna lose all the on street parking on the south side of the drop off, but it looks that way.

Um is that correct that that's what's happening now?

That's correct.

Yeah, we had the the trash pick up right there on the on the ground floor, correct?

And that's something the my civil engineer needs to update the background in that area.

And I noticed that that room is called staging area.

Is that what what is a staging area?

Just moving, like somebody comments, small Uh or truck and and they can go there and move and they chair with the back of the house people.

Gotcha.

Okay.

And then just curious, what you know, I I look at around the lobby, I see the locker room versus a package room.

What's the difference with what are those two rooms?

So they you know, they send back to some of the things.

I understand what a package room is, but a locker room I'm I'm thinking showers and they have killed like the dry cleaner.

Okay.

They have to go to locker rooms and couple things they have to.

And Amazon had the same locker system.

Understood.

So yeah, so yeah, that's not true.

Thank you.

Is that right?

Okay.

Um so with the with the removal of the office along Front Street, we've kind of deactivated that street now.

You know, it it's just an empty facade for the most part.

Um will those windows um will those be how would those windows be constructed then?

Are those ventilation windows?

They're gonna be ventilation windows, so they have a screen.

Okay.

So it's it's fox, it's not real window.

Right.

That we can put a grid on it.

Um so so one of the things that I that I think needs to be um considered now with that being the case, which I think there's pros and cons to it, it but largely I think it's a negative to deactivate, you know, half block.

Um, I think there's maybe some benefit to the neighbors across the street with it being a little quieter there, perhaps.

But um, but now I think we've got this vast streetscape that um you know that that maybe needs some attention.

Um I don't know if it, you know, if if the tree planting area can get wider now because we don't need as much sidewalk, or if there could be foundation planting up against the building.

But somehow I think that that frontage needs to be looked at again, because the way it is now we would have the four foot tree lawn and then roughly 13 feet of sidewalk, you know, with nothing going on there.

I mean, unless you do a streetscape design with benches and lights and planters and and try and activate it.

But I I would go in the street escape.

Actually, it's nice that the building finishing in a grassy area.

I will show you.

I don't know when I make this project, but I agree that's a good that's a good uh suggestion.

Um and on the topic of streetscape, I I you know, I think we've talked about it a little bit, and you know, it's when you look at plans drawn at 20 scale, you know, you you you could start to see some detail.

Just what's happening between the building and the curb line on the Riverside Drive side of the building, there's an awful lot of what's called out right now is it just be concrete paving.

Um you know, I think given the fact that there's virtually no other outdoor space other than our streetscape, I think that's you know a really important area that that deserves to be planned out and and thought through, you know, at this stage, just as much as as it does need to be implemented.

Um I'm glad to I glad to see that that the connection through the parking island.

Just just curious with the drop off.

Um the what's the primary purpose you see for the for the drop off area given the residential I a lot of people right now are doing a lot of uh Ubers, you know, especially weekends and during the day, and they get really back up, you know, people waiting and getting off of that.

And that's really what you know allows the younger crowd, it's like every Thursday, Saturday, Sunday become like a whole like a hotel environment, people in so that's uh yeah, just keeping the off the road, yeah.

Okay.

Um I I believe it would the comment was made on this and and all three or four projects uh relative to the idea of uh putting on street parking on Riverside Drive by by way of some restriping.

And I think there was a comment on this particular project about you know, if that were if that were achieved, you know, would that change your approach to the drop off at all?

Not really.

Not really.

Not really.

Um yeah, I think it will be a nice feature because now you're gonna increase, you're gonna have more parking, more people sitting in front of the building, and it's always nice.

I mean, I I understand they are cars, but there is something about safety and connections in people parking in and out.

Right.

Um okay, so then I think um one of the last things I I just was curious about um on the retail that faces the park um, you know, that faces to the north on on the park.

The um so the floor elevation step was great along the park there, and looks like it ranges five or six feet from the lower retail to the upper retail, yet all the doors access the parking garage elevation, which I imagine has some slope in within it, but that seems like an awful lot of lot of slope.

All right, and I your other projects don't have rear access from the retail.

Are these retail areas in any different than those other ones that that they get the rear access into them?

No, they are there are no any difference.

It will be nice to have them.

I I agree, and I don't see it on some of the other retail spaces on this building and the other projects.

Um but I'm just curious.

Uh I think it presents a little bit of challenges as far as the the grade, the grading and elevations are concerned.

Um, and then the initial build on this, because you're not doing anything with the park, is is represented correctly on the site plan.

We're just gonna build to that to uh to a curb line along that vacated Pine Street and and then have steps down to Riverside Drive.

Yes, that's that's pretty much the representation.

The representation is is quite right.

So down there at the end of that retail, it's gonna be like a terrace, right?

On that corner, right?

Okay.

Uh just so uh this is to my fellow commissioners, you know.

So there's there's revisions that have been made to the plan since the plan submitted.

Um, I think in some ways they're all improvements.

Um I think there's I think there's enough discrepancy between the plan and the architecturals, and now we have revised architecturals to where I think they ought to be revised and brought back to us.

One you know, one final set before we re-approve this thing, but um, I just throw that out there for a minute while I just double check my notes.

Oh, there was something about a mid block crossing at the end of the at the end of the pedestrian ramp down to Riverside Drive over to Bucky Boyle Park.

Um I believe that's what this refers to, right?

The opportunity for mid-block crossing of Riverside Drive is over 400 feet to establish crossing a pump place in front street.

Um that was in the engineering comment letter.

Correct, and we agree to that.

Okay.

There are a few things that we have to do.

One there and other on the corner, don't so yeah.

Okay.

Okay.

Um that that's that's the extent of my comments.

Go ahead, Eric.

Um, you had mentioned earlier about a grocery store.

Can you expound on that a little bit?

Is there any thoughts or any initial things you have?

We all want a grocery store, but they are very difficult to get.

But uh course, yeah.

Yeah, so yeah, no, not right now when the developer was pick a la, wow, this is really what we need.

Okay.

Um, they are really, you know, they are really hard to get.

But we definitely always designing the 20 feet on the bottom, so we had the height, the loading area.

So we're we're ready for for then.

That would be great considering um, yeah.

Um considering that the DNL, the trail itself, I'm sure you're familiar with it, runs from the waterfront, obviously all the way up to Jim Thorpe.

It's gonna be one of you know the reasons people would move here, amongst many, many other reasons.

Um, the first thing is the amount of bike storage that you have.

You might want to think about.

I mean, almost everybody in this building is probably going to want to have a bike.

So you might want to consider that considering that the DNL trail is right there and it's you know, great ride every day kind of thing.

Um the connection to the DNL trail.

Is there anything just because I know the master plan brings it down a bit further by your other building?

So that was a conversation for those, but is there any sort of direct connection?

It's so really the connection.

The trail is already right across the street.

Right.

So really the connections like what we're sending the pedestrian walks that's connecting right in front of the building on the previous image.

If you can see see, there we go, right there.

The one after that.

Yeah.

Right there right the bottom.

Right there.

We have a lot that one, yeah.

We have uh all right by the access, there or exterior by rack.

So this is, you know, um, this is one of the amenities that we have for this building.

So it is that and then also room.

We have at the end on the of the parkings, there's some spaces.

Okay.

Um they look like lost space, but you know, a lot of people they're gonna do kayaks, you know, especially being on the river.

Um, so those are the amenities the living on the waterfront, you would have to do kaya, you can go from a hanton all the way down, you can come on the trail.

Absolutely.

Um, so yeah, so those are yeah, we definitely think about these things.

Yeah, I mean it's definitely gonna be high traffic days like today.

A lot of your residents are gonna be going back and forth.

Um brings me, I know it doesn't fall under the purview specifically of your project, but making sure traffic calming goes in right in front and around your building, slowing down the traffic right there would be great just to be cognizant of it.

You know, I know it's not your you know purview, so to speak, but but I know it's a city, but being you know engaging that would be great.

It definitely and that's uh being part of the engineering preview comments, and that's what we considering the amount of pedestrian traffic.

So thanks.

You know, Eric, I think the on-street biking and the mid-block crossing are gonna contribute to natural streetcoming effect.

But right.

Anyone else on the commission?

Um yeah, I just had one quick question about this um drive drop-off area.

Would it be big enough for a small school bus to pick up in that area?

Um just cars.

Um it's tall enough.

It's more busy can go through it.

You know, they are not really that big, so yeah.

Thank you.

Um actually pick out the dogs.

People living in those buildings.

A lot of people have pets, so you see the dogs, you know, people.

Yeah, and then um I just wanted to commend you too on the place making of this particular building and the couple that we're about to review as well.

Um, the amenities are great, and I'm really looking forward to this one coming up.

Thank you, thank you.

All right.

Is there anyone in the audience interested in this application?

Nope.

We've got one carlos.

Hello, my name is Linda Vega.

I live at 314 North Front Street, directly in front of this project.

Um, I'm sorry I missed the meeting last year in 2025.

I didn't have enough time to get off of work and get here.

So I have some concerns, some that have been addressed, some that need to be discussed a little bit further.

Um I wrote some notes, so I'll probably be a little bit all over the place, but please bear with me.

Yeah.

Um first of all, this is gonna be probably the third tallest building in the city, I think.

It's PPL, Episcopal House, ADL.

No, it'll be more than ADL, because the A D ADP, I'm sorry, is 13 stories.

So this is gonna be 16 stories.

So just get perspective of how big it is.

Um and I know these folks have like a lot of projects going on.

I think there's four on the agenda today.

And that's wonderful.

I'm an lifelong Alentonian, and I'm all for the progress, and it's really, really wonderful.

However, the first ward is a very, very compact, very busy um ward of residents.

Um I'm just gonna go back to Ridge Avenue.

There's second street, of course, but I'm just gonna talk back as far as Ridge Avenue, railroad, Front Street, Chew Street, Pine Street, Gordon Street.

Um almost none of those homes have any type of garage access.

Almost more than half of them have no garage access.

Um, with no parking at all for railroad streets.

So already on Front Street, we're contesting with the folks that live on Ridge Avenue and likewise, sorry, and likewise on Pine Street.

So I do appreciate what they're saying about um addressing the parking situation.

Um I'm just concerned, like whenever somebody's having an activity at home, and um they're having, I don't know, Christmas Eve dinner, they're hosting, and there's a family of 15 that are coming over.

Are all those people gonna park in the in the guest parking lot?

Or are some gonna be able to park there because only certain spots are allotted and everybody else has to park in the street where we park.

So that's that's a big concern for me.

Um let's see.

Again, some of these have been addressed, some uh had need to be a little bit further discussed.

I just mentioned the uh parking deck, and it'll have multiple parking spaces for per tenant.

I think you brought that up.

Um most households have more than one car in within.

So if one how many spaces are going to be allotted per apartment is what I'd like to know.

Um let's see.

For the event space, suppose you're having a baby shower and you have a hundred guests coming.

Is there gonna be a hundred spaces for those people to come and and park to attend those events, or were they parking?

So that's important to know.

Um the another thing, the uh small park in front of Gordon Street.

I've always called that the the pre-park because it's a little area that the neighborhood we all take our our pets there for their necessities and so on.

Um, I understand that's guess it's being called a plaza.

Um I I'm curious to know how much green space is there, and I'm so sorry, today's the first day that I'm looking at the renderings.

So some of my questions may already be answered in here, but I just want to note and put it on the record that it is a concern.

Um, and I'm just curious to know is that does that continue to be owned by the city, or have we sold this spot this area to them?

Okay, all right.

So it the city can have public events in that plaza and you know, whatever.

Okay, that's good to know.

Um, the children and families walking through for sports, like the Allentown A's down at Bucky Boyle and uh the splash pad and all the things that we have currently down there.

Um it's my observation in the summer months when the Allentown A's kids are going down there and they're wearing their football gear and stuff, and they're crossing the street, walking through the parking lot that's currently between this project and another residential area that just was constructed.

And they're walking through the parking lot, there's no lining in the parking lot, so to alert for pedestrian walking.

And then the children, when they're getting to the other side to get to the park, they're walking down an embankment that's not paved, there's no steps there, there's nothing of that.

And I understand you're addressing the pedestrian uh crosswalk uh situation.

So I just want to say how important that is.

Um let's see.

Okay, this one is a this one's a little bit of a biggie.

Um, the physical look of the for lack of a better term, your gentrification of the area.

Um, the renderings look fantastic, and the houses that are pictured in the rendering is not what our houses look like.

Um, speaking for myself personally, like I said, we're eight homes with a ninth one on the corner, and but that house faces two street, which I still I would still consider it being affected.

Um I believe that our homes that they it's something like a facade grant or something should be considered so that our homes can look cohesive with this beautiful new building that were that are being constructed.

And um, that's something that the neighbors, Robert.

Yes, do you agree?

That's something that the neighbors and I have uh consulted, and like based on the multiple projects that uh these folks are uh have what is it?

Uh the urban residential properties folks, um, I think it would be a minimal commitment to make their neighbors look like they belong there.

Um we we just want to be able to not be looked at as yeah, that's the poor side of the street, this is the good side of the street, you know.

I I want it, I want for when people come to visit, whether they're visiting a restaurant, a retail space, whatever the case might be, that they can see that they're in one neighborhood and they can walk on this side of the street rather than feeling the need to just be on one side of the street, and like I said, it doesn't look cohesive.

I've traveled many, many places and been to many large cities, and I've never quite seen a situation like this where there's this beautiful big building and then just regular degular um homes across the street.

Um our homes were constructed in 1900.

So our homes are over 125 years old.

Um for me personally, I'm a single person, I own my home.

I make less than the medium household income.

So I I gotta admit that the front of my house doesn't look the very best.

It's clean, but it doesn't look the very best.

And I just want to be able to feel like since they there are amenities that we're not gonna be able to have access to because they're for residents only.

I think the minimum that could be done is to invest in some of the communities, just as a gesture of goodwill, you know, for for our coexistence, basically.

Um let's see.

Yeah, and that would lessen the disparity between the two different uh lives, I guess.

Um I one of the questions was about is there gonna be storefronts on Front Street, but I I think you said no.

It was switched to the other side or something like that.

There'll be one corner fronting on Front Street at the northwest corner of the building, but the rest will be parking on the other side.

Okay.

Um and then addressing the streetscape situation, um, which would mean minimal outdoor space aside of whatever they have on the rooftop there for anybody in or around the building.

Um I think that in itself, um, in uh asking for some from benches and and bushes and all that stuff.

Um I think that they should be required to commit to building up and making that front street Bucky Boyle uh park up to par as well.

Um for several reasons.

Um they have buildings, they have apartments with balconies facing the river.

Well, between the river and the building is the park, and the park is not at its best condition, to be absolutely honest.

Does it have the best amenities, does it have the best situations, and I think that as a matter of of being good neighbors and something that again, their residents are gonna benefit from the DNL uh trail and and kayaking and all of that stuff, they have to walk from here to there.

So I think everything should flow and be cohesive.

Um let's see.

Excuse me, I'm so sorry.

Okay.

Um yeah, uh I've had done some research.

I was looking for the terminology that it's called a but a community benefit agreement.

Um if we can maybe get some kind of you know uh meetings on the books or something that we can all agree and be able to live with so that we can again be uh good neighbors to one another.

Um I I congratulate them for the beautiful things that you guys are doing through the city.

Um it's wonderful.

My my main office is at one city center, so I I've benefited from some of these uh uh new buildings.

Um but I just would like to be able to live in a place where I feel like I belong.

I don't want to feel like, oh, look at you know, like look at that big expensive building, and then here's my little meteor, you know, meek house.

So um, yeah, so parking, and then I think like I said, there should be some kind of investment for facade grants or something like that, so that we can look cohesive, and then you know, we would also be uh open to that being part of their design project.

Um I'm sure from what I can see, you do a really good job.

So I could see you know something about including what the homes across the street would look like.

So that's pretty much all that I have right now.

Okay, thank you very much.

Um is it is this project in the NIS?

Are you are you utilizing any NIS uh credits?

We're not running up on this.

You're not because don't we done the doesn't the NIS sometimes do for related facade improvements around areas and streetscape for that matter?

So then the NIS primarily funds public improvements, so things like park improvement, streetscape improvements, changes to Riverside Drove.

Those are all things that could be considered as NIS projects, those would need to be applied for and funded and and worked through an Isda to uh to finalize.

Who uh then um I'm curious, I'm sorry, sir, but um on with with some of the downtown work, I feel like there's been some facade work done on the 8 street, South A Street gateways, and even some of the work on Amblin Street.

Where did that facade money come from?

I can't answer that.

Um we can look into that, whether Anisda funding was used for those private improvements.

I think probably if they were um structures, uh commercial structures within the NISDA, perhaps that could have been used, but the public improvement fund is a different pool of money.

Right.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yes, uh, my name is Rober Valez, I'm uh 318 North Front Street.

Um over 30 years, uh Alentonian brought up my daughters out here.

I first moved there because the park had a little small swimming pool for the kids.

So I was like happy.

I raised five daughters here, and then um and uh they're all you know, teachers and stuff like that.

But the thing is that um when I moved around the neighborhood, I love that neighborhood.

Sometimes I go to North Carolina, I go to Florida, I'm retired already.

And then um we run a nonprofit organization here too.

So by me staying in Allentown, it's because I love it.

I love the people, I love my neighbors, and and I love everything about it.

And I love uh that uh what's happening here with this project, but we we have to understand too that there is um the parking is gonna be a real big issue here, and if what I would suggest if they would have like an overflow parking too, so if they have to charge whatever, you know, whatever that comes up to.

But I see like parking one side, and I don't see parking on the other side.

So that will really cut down on the parking for the our neighbors.

And then um, and the same thing.

I agree with Linda, uh, my neighbor, um uh bought the facades.

I mean, some of the places they need help, and I know there's uh a lot of elderly there too, so they're really gonna need help.

But um, but the thing is if you're gonna have something that's gonna look beautiful and you're we're beautiful uh our neighborhood, we should um consider the other side of that too.

So that's when I'm just requesting, all right.

Um pretty much then the cover dairy thing, but that's where I'm at with this.

And uh we need help with that, and and then in a sense, if if we could um find out how we could fix these thing and uh about the cross street in the parking.

Yeah, right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yep.

And Robert, there doesn't appear to be any any intent to change the parking situation on Front Street.

It'll it will remain on street parking both sides.

Thank you.

Although I do agree with you that parking is perhaps one of the bigger concerns.

Yes, sir.

Uh John Mortensen, 10105 Ridge Avenue.

Um my wife and I own a business on Ridge Avenue.

Um, and um we are huge proponents of the construction.

We actually purchased our building um in hopes that things like this would happen downtown.

And I know Eric helped us out quite a bit back in the day uh with his architectural firm.

Thank you very much.

Um I have a couple concerns.

Um I guess uh parking is a big big thing, especially when it snows.

Um people are parking on mounds crooked all over the darn place, and uh it's uh quite dangerous, um, especially um I have two young children that you know it's it's unpredictable.

Um question is um, you know, we have Bucky Boy park across the street and um or from this project, and um there's a certain amount of parking spaces there, so when there are events like a hundred people going to uh an event in their community space, um will they be taking up Bucky Boyle parking?

You know, during an event, and uh especially since it's right across the street.

There is a kind of a gravel area on the corner that um is utilized sometimes by random cars, um not many, but um I think uh a lot of the guys who are doing construction to the New Weiler property uh use that space uh during the day.

Um perhaps the developer could um uh renovate um that corner and uh utilize that as more parking for the neighborhood since it's pretty much just a graphical lot.

Um excuse me.

Um also um my business is an art gallery, so I have to bring up public art.

Um I think it is um um a necessity in the city.

Um and um it brings culture and different things to the neighborhood.

Um I see their rendering on um the riverside uh actually on um yeah, that is a riverside drive area above the parking is just a big blue square.

Um perhaps some more elaborate dressing on that piece or some public art associated with the building, um sculpture or um something of that nature, um the uh riverside um um the uh other property that's owned by um uh the jandles.

Um if you go into their building, they have beautiful artwork on the walls, and um their design is pretty nice.

So um yes, uh public artwork is important to me.

Um I know that there's uh this is gonna be a long meeting because there's actually several buildings, and there's gonna be one really close to where I live.

Um I think at um let's see uh 51 North Front Street, which is basically across the street from where I live, minus a little parking lot, which is owned by Olson Technologies.

It's mostly vacant.

Um so I might be up here talking some more.

Um but um uh a big concern of mine actually because I do walk riverside and the neighborhood every night.

I am a big walker, I don't mind the neighborhood even when it was considered the hood in 2011, 12, 13, 14, whatever.

Um it never intimidated me.

Um but you know that there is um development going on and there's sidewalk in especially in this in front of this building um this um property, um there's a sidewalk there, but there's a lot of I know I should you know probably refer to um sweep, but um I think some of my neighbors have, and there really hasn't been anything done about that, but um and I know Mr.

Palumbo to um uh in the last snowfall when it snowed whatever X amount of inches, um there was also another adjacent property to his.

But um it was never the sidewalks were never cleared, and I understand that there's uh the DL trail where people can you know walk back and forth, but uh just for the safety of the people living on the other side of the street, um walking up and down um it was you know a foot to a foot and a half of snow on the sidewalk until it melted.

So I guess accountability and the accountability into the future, especially with 10 years worth of projects we have going on here.

Right.

So that's it.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Thank you for the feedback.

That's always couple things to clarify the for the street parking we're proposing indoor parking.

We have on an adition of 90 parking spaces after the residencia.

Um we have on a many space, but this is not something for like hundred people.

This is at the beginning I say that you would put occupancy signage, and it's not gonna be more for 50 people.

Um you don't want 100 people going in in this type of building.

So just those are um the couple things that I pick, and also I um I really appreciate about the artwork.

I think this is very important.

Um we always hoping to collaborate.

Um that's everything would pick from from that.

Um back to last uh the original approval and some of the conditions that we talked about.

Could could you what what exactly was the terminology used for that parking analysis?

Oh, let's see if I can find it here.

Um future efforts toward completing a parking utilization survey by the Allen's home parking authority.

Is that the parking utilization survey?

And was that something that we expected the applicant to do?

Is that what the condition was?

Or to cooperate so cooperate in future efforts.

So I I'm assuming maybe the parking authority is gonna do that, and that's what it was.

Jen, do you have any other knowledge of that?

Uh there was some general recommendations um in the previous staff report um regarding studying and examining parking post construction to ensure that it was sufficient for um the existing conditions.

Um since several questions regarding parking did come up, I'll just say there's 360 units, 478 parking spaces.

The staff has recommended on this project um and more so on the other projects because this this is an approved project with revision, so we we've made a lot more comments on on the new ones coming in.

Um but to examine Riverside Drive and um whether on street parking can be added because that is something that continues to come up.

Um the parking authority is um has land development plans in to build a uh uh 25 um space parking um lot in that area as well, not too far from the site.

Um yeah.

Is that yeah, so is that parking lot um intended to be public?

If it's done by the parking authority, I'm assuming it will be public.

Well, I'm glad you brought that up because I think that's important for for our our neighbors to hear, and you know, I've seen so many of those parking lot projects come in, I can't keep track of them.

So is that the one that's gonna be north of our last agenda item, right?

Or the that's gonna be north on the north side of Gordon and Ridge.

Yeah, 409 Ridge Avenue.

It'll be 30 some spaces.

The parking authority is always working to identify neighborhood parking opportunities in an area as dense as this, they are limited.

There are one or two out there.

Um, bringing the parties to the table and convincing them that parking is the highest best use for the neighborhood is um not always an easy thing to do.

Right, right.

Um so we're not talking about the ones that that were coming in up towards the channel waterfront, those are larger.

Yes, yes, no, the 409 Ridge Avenue is where the parking authority is looking to add the uh the lot, and then there's additional ones associated with uh the channel development.

What's going on with the with the demo site that's right west of the pump place park?

Um that's fenced off right now, caddy corner to this project to the northwest.

The ribbon forty second house.

Oh, okay.

Oh, is that that's right.

That was a housing authority.

They're trying to get tax credit projects in there.

Right.

Yeah, you know, it's it's funny.

I feel like we're in and uh some of these comments are maybe more geared towards the next applications because you know we're seeing those for the first time, but you know, I I I have to laugh because you know when the original waterfront, you know, master plan came in and how parking heavy those those plans were, you know, it it and then I feel like we're in the exact opposite situation now, you know, where we're like just we can't get enough parking.

Um the the I I know the city approved the ordinances and and we we now you know with no choice but to live with them, but I have a these reduced parking, as much as I'm a big fan of reduced parking minimums.

I feel like these are really reduced.

Um and there's no alternative or Larry, I should say little alternative to um you know, to make up for any shortfall.

So a quick question.

So across all these properties that we're looking at today, um, how many parking spaces are you creating for these projects all together?

What's that number?

Do you mean in each building?

Yeah, like altogether the the parking spaces creating for each building added up.

Is that on it's not on that one exhibit, is it where we have the where you guys have the units?

Um yeah, that would have been sorry.

I always ask you difficult questions.

I'll get I have it right here.

It's good to have that reputation.

But these projects are all the old zoning, are they not?

They are okay.

So it's the old parking requirements, which were a little bit more stringent than the new one.

Well, but it was the B5.

It was that it was that mixed use ordinance that we passed that really greatly reduced it.

It cuts it in half, essentially.

It's it was 1.5 per unit cut in half.

So it's technically three quarters of a parking space per unit.

Yeah, I I am uh she has the numbers, thousand three hundred and sixteen spaces.

1300?

Yeah, 1360.

1360.

My bedtime reading these spaces, the high cost of free parking.

I don't know.

My son had it on his bookshelf.

I think based on the the market rents if the developers charging for this.

You know, I think people expect to have convenient parking.

And I think it would be foolhardy for them to really stint on available parking in their developments.

I mean, maybe that's what they might need to do to bring the project on budget.

But I think that would be foolhardy in the long run because it makes them much less attractive.

And I take it that you gentlemen have really tried to address adequate parking in all of these for your tenants.

As you guys stated before, I mean, the parking require parking requirement is 375 on this.

We have another of my 100 plus spaces in excess of the requirements.

So what's the proposal?

All we're proposing is uh not only in accordance with the ordinance, you know, it's above and beyond what the uh coordinates is requirement.

You gotta also remember downtown, there was a massive parking infrastructure on the riverfront.

We don't have that.

We don't have the ability to you know plug in the existing parking taxes.

They have you know 8,000 spaces, they're basically a head start, you know, ahead of what we have there.

So what we're doing is we're doing the best we can, we're meeting the requirements plus some, and uh you know, incorporating the parking within the buildings while residents aren't you know, parking on the streets, you know, residents for the most part are parking within the building.

Um so if you guys look back, I mean the city's been trying to get this plan off the ground for since 2000 at least one year at this point.

Now we have a lot of a lot of momentum, all of proposing we're really entitled to by the law, and uh we can't lose the momentum.

I mean, what I would ask for is you know, conditional approval, which is already an approved project, minor revisions, and uh you know, one of the units online and new other at the end of the year, and it's really critical for me to get started going vertical on this side by the end of the year because they have one side finishing the other side completed.

You gotta remember this is really the first step in a really long process, but for me, after today, it's gonna be a lot of back and forth in the city.

If I move at lightning speed, I'm six months from permits, and to be honest, it's probably closer to nine months to a year.

If I'm trying to get out of the ground by the end of the year, I have really no more time to waste.

This is really what everyone's been looking for for a long time.

And uh, you know, we're putting our money where our mouth is.

You know, we obviously like listen to uh all the neighbors, you know, we don't hide, we come to the community, you know, groups, you know, we open the dialogue and conversation, and you know, we really love the city of Alentine.

I see a tremendous amount of potential in it.

Like I said, we're putting our money where our mouth is.

A lot of people can say Allen Bowen could be a great city.

Not a lot of people dedicate their entire life to making the city better, and that's what you know, me and my team are doing.

So with that said, I would uh I would ask the uh the commission to you know grant uh conditional approval and uh you know any outstanding items, which I don't really think there's many of them.

Any outstanding items could be you know addressed with the city on the staff.

Right uh have to review all right, John.

I yeah, I appreciate that.

Um we appreciate you.

We appreciate you butter them up.

I think too there's something to be said for the retail spaces and things like that going in in these buildings as well.

So a lot of um what we're looking at in terms of traffic and cars going back and forth is that 80% of Allentown comes in and 80% of Allentown goes out.

So that's a ton of cars, right?

So I think that a lot of what we're working towards and what I'm seeing in your place building and community building is amenities, um, like these amenities to not have to drive by car quite so often to be able to use Lanta plugins to be able to use this biking infrastructure as well.

So um I I think that there's a lot of balancing to be going on there and a lot of new things that are going on, and again, I commend you on um taking the community's feedback on that, and parking's gonna continue to be a challenge, I think we're a growing city, so thank you.

Yeah, and that's always gonna be the issue.

I mean, you've you have added excess parking, so you met all the coordinates requirements.

There's there's only so much you can do in a challenging situation like that.

You know, maybe the parking authority wants to condemn that grass lot across the street and turn that into the next parking deck.

But maybe, maybe not, but you know, that's there's some long-term situation that needs to be addressed outside of what we can solve in a uh probably a four-hour meeting here today.

Um but you know what I commend you for the projects you're doing.

I think they look great.

Um obviously there's a lot of work ahead to finish up the plans, address comments, but you know, I I don't have a reason to to withhold uh conditional approval today for this project.

I know there's a lot of design comments that I know some others have expressed, um, but I feel like that could be a condition that the our lovely staff can try and hammer out after the fact.

Yeah, I think that about sums it up, Craig.

It's really it's this you know I'll be honest.

My my only reason and hesitation for you know doing another conditional approval is just to take a little bit of the burden off the staff because I mean I think you know the condition letter is gonna be lengthy.

You know, we've got plans that don't match, we've got revisions that have been made that haven't been submitted, and then these are all things that I know are going to work themselves out, but it's uh this ends up being uh a lot of work on the staff's part to get the conditions uh I mean, and not to mention we probably should sit here and and discuss every one of them that gets added, um, which we can do.

Um or we could say get everything cleaned up, get back so that that condition list is as small as it could be.

I think there's a lot of work that's on top of the staff in and four other projects that's gonna have you know their own list of items.

So that that's my main reason for bringing it up.

I I understand every every developer wants conditional approval.

Everybody's on a on a timeline, I get it, but you know, we're putting a lot on on the staff, so that's that was my reason for for the initial suggestion that maybe this doesn't go anywhere today.

But um luckily you have an incredible staff.

I know we do.

Well, somebody dumped a whole bunch of projects on our lab at the last minute, and we all know why, and you're really making it difficult on us.

So, which one do you want the approval on?

We'll start here.

Um beyond the debate whether conditional or final, I think that the most interesting thing that I've heard come up in today's discussion is working with facades across the street.

Um it's not something that we've really discussed in uh some of our developments because in a lot of ways it hasn't um it just hasn't come up and hasn't an initiative.

Once again, this is something where the developer and like parking has a vested interest in making the area as attractive as possible.

Um to both the tenants and the neighbors in the community or I don't know that there's a framework within the saldo or within our you know city laws to really effectuate that and and share the burden there as it were.

But uh the the question is whether or not the MPC would allow the city to require the developer to improve facades across the street.

Or to make a contribution therein.

I don't know.

I g I guess a starter question to piggyback off that for John.

You know, obviously no one's gonna commit you to anything at all today.

But is that something you're willing to like see what might be feasible with with you in the future just to see if there is a way to you know help the neighborhood out?

Yeah, we'll definitely consider it.

I mean, I think there is a state program for community block grants.

I'm just gonna be honest with you.

We'll do what we can, but this is not the easiest area to come in and get investment.

It's really, really difficult, and that's why it's been sitting like that for 40, 50 years.

So everybody's saying, you know, these are really beautiful buildings and this, that, but with no idea how hard it is, you know, behind the scenes and working every single animal just to be able to get the financing to you know put these projects together and get them get them going vertical.

Like I said, I mean at least 20 years.

We knew why there was vacant since 1968.

This building's been vacant for you know 25, you know, 25 years.

So I mean we're bringing a lot of investment to the city, and ultimately we'd love to see the neighborhood, you know, grow, and I think it's good for every single person.

So I guess to answer your question shortly, yes, we would consider looking into it, although I'm not I can't make you know that commitment at this time.

I sorry, I was just gonna say off the top of my head, I can't imagine that part of the land development approval process would require that, perhaps some other type of community MOU, I mean, you know, but not here.

I mean, I I just unless there's something I'm completely missing, but I don't see that how that would meet that within the definitions of what a land development agreement is, yeah, the confines of it.

Well, if it could be made to happen one way or another, it would certainly speak well of the city and it would certainly be um make the area much more attractive.

And again, what John said too is we're really with the community.

Like we walk around, we present the project to the city, we get the feedback, we spoke to Lanta, can we add more uh stuffs?

Because you know, at some point we feel the residents of the neighborhood need to model the walkable neighborhood with Bogwin City Parks to see how we can maintain the park and how we can all work together.

So really, you know, like like John said, to to agree to that is difficult, but definitely we are doing it.

You know, we are connecting to anybody, when everybody we go into the public meeting, what an open book, we you know, all our buildings are open to the public.

Um when you talk about uh funding, how difficult having to people to agree to the park?

And you talk the risk of I wanna be on top of the park, I want to make sure the park is successful, and we got a community feedback that they want the park.

Um, you know, and I know people want the park, and you want to know what the green area is for the to walk the dogs.

That is that is a green area, and we redesigned this park basis.

I didn't they made my job easy.

They designed it for me.

So they were you know, with the feedback, and that's a sense that we talk to the the C Bolinger.

So again, um we definitely need to look at on this no removal thing that sounds in the you know, you know what I mean.

That's that's an issue.

Um, but again, talking to the community, being with the community, uh speaking to Mr.

Spank, I think we are like I there.

So again, um the commitments here, my personal commitments here too.

You know, so no, I think there's definitely the conversation with the city that needs to be had about you know future grant opportunities to improve the front street facade as well, you know, outside of a project scope.

Um I certainly hope that DCD takes a look and see if there is an opportunity to apply for like an LSA grant or something to improve that whole corridor, you know, with these projects going in, you know, outside of a development in our purview, but that would definitely help to improve you know the entire neighborhood as well.

And it's not just Front Street, it's Brick Street, it's Allen Street, it's Liberty Street, and all the streets in that vicinity.

Yeah, and sometimes they need a corporate sponsor, you know, maybe it's a tax credit program, maybe it's something you know where you or your investors, you know, maybe could participate.

Um, you know, could be um I I forget the name of those um the name of those programs, but they're sponsored by tax credits.

Yeah.

Um, all right.

Um so let's let's I guess we're gonna we're gonna entertain a conditional approval, but um all right, I assume that's is that where we're at?

Jennifer, how have you how you been doing on your sound?

This is this is what I'm gonna throw out there, and and you tell me if uh we need to add or take away okay.

So, subject to all of the previous conditions from the June 25th, 2025 letter, and that's detailed in the staff report.

In addition to the city comment letter dated um today, um March March 5th, actually, March 5th.

In addition, identify the portion of the ground floor parking structure that will be dedicated for guest visitor parking, ensure the ventilation windows windows in the staging area along Riverside Drive are adequately designed to appear as if inactive space.

Ummit a foundation planting plan to soften the hardscapes at the edge of Riverside Drive and add on-street parking along Riverside Drive wherever feasible and ensure plans are all coordinated and consistent.

Um I guess all the revisions that that Carlos presented architecturally would be covered in the in the written comments.

So I have to be honest.

If any additional changes to revised plans were submitted at the meeting today, we have not reviewed those, so I can't comment on those.

Right.

I mean, I think they were all good revisions, and and most of them are addressing written comments, but I think you know, we would want those somehow included in the coordination.

Well, we can add incorporate and review additional elevations submitted at the meeting to ensure an overall positive design.

And if there's any um, if in our opinion there's any um negative changes to the facades, we can bring it back.

Yeah, yeah, because there was also the storage areas, the bike parking, there was you know, there was a few other things that were included.

Um I have a comment.

Do you have a club?

Yeah, okay.

Um to touch on on the getting, it's been difficult to get developers and so on to come into the area because it's not the best area.

Um, I think that's all the more reason why you would want a facade change and update because that would make the area look better.

Um, and with due respect, with all due respect to Mr.

Glazier, um, I understand Allen Street, you know, and all those other streets that you named, but in the past, whenever I needed to get something done with the city, as far as Front Street is concerned, I was always told that something could not happen because Front Street was a major thoroughfare.

So I would like that to be considered as far as you know, considering updating and upgrading that area.

Specifically, I mean, obviously, I have a personal investment, you know, interest in this, but specifically because we're gonna be across the street from such a beautiful building.

Yeah, I think I don't think the residents are gonna want to just look down and see where the peasants live, and you know, and Jen, maybe that's a comment just to bring up to Vicky to see if there's any opportunities in the future for that type of improvement.

So, one of the comments uh I hope I'm not premature in in delivering any of this.

We are looking in those areas specifically about establishing potentially a neighborhood, uh, an NPP um to secure additional funding to do potentially things like facade grants.

It's it's really early in those discussions, so I don't want to reveal anything um in advance, but um it is in the works, these discussions, um, and we will uh we will um advertise the meetings that we'll be at um discussing this further into the future.

That's what I was thinking.

I was looking for that NPP, I couldn't think of yeah.

No, that's that's the perfect vehicle.

I mean, and and I've been involved in a number of those.

They're they're terrific.

Um you have a comment.

I do have a comment.

Oh you need my name and addresses that my name is Jennifer Swan.

I'm in 1824 West Congress Street in Allentown, Pennsylvania, 18104.

Um I don't know if this is the right place for it, but I didn't since we're piling on.

I thought I would just put that on.

I'm concerned because this is one of four different groups that we're talking about in terms of housing, and there are no provisions at all for how this housing will address the issue of affordable housing.

I came this morning from a homeless commission meeting.

It was the L Rab, the um RAUB commission.

But we have a huge number of homeless people here.

A lot of them are homeless because the rents are out of control.

I don't think Allentown is alone in having their rents double in the past five years.

But we have to, in our 2030 plan, there is some suggestion that we will be providing for affordable care.

Affordable housing, sorry.

Um if we have affordable housing, how is that being planned for in these next buildings that are up?

And how are we assuming that there will be rent control?

The third thing that I'm really concerned about is landlords that live out of town.

I am working right now with Philadelphia's eviction diversion program.

The landlords that live out of town are the hardest to deal with.

They care not about their residents, they just care about their money.

And I don't know how those are being addressed in these four buildings that you are discussing, but it is part of our 2030 plan to look at this.

And so I appreciate the endless discussion about parking because I right now am probably getting a parking ticket from where I am parking to come to this meeting, so I get it.

But I also think our human beings in our community are more important than parking spaces or facades, and I would like that to be addressed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay.

Umler units on the smaller units we'd have uh a lower cost.

By anything uh public founding affordable housing working with the government, we don't have anything on these projects.

Yeah, I mean I I think for for the public, you know, I think it's it's important for us to acknowledge that our new zoning ordinance does provide incentives and bonuses uh associated with affordable housing.

This project was not submitted under those guidelines, so there really is, and and even with the new ordinance, there's nothing that we can do per se to um to mandate affordable housing.

Um but there are incentives to developers in the new ordinance should they should they wish to um pursue a portion or all of their project in affordable housing, it gets added density bonuses, extra floors, parking restrictions.

There's a lot of incentives, and I think that's how we're trying to adjust uh address that 2030 mandate.

Um I think there's also philosophies out there that says the more supply you have, the more potential competition there is and and hopefully therefore at least um some slowing of pricing increases over time um once there's more supply of housing on the market.

So I think there are ways that are sort of indirectly addressing you know the the problem, but we as a commission, and in particular under this application, we don't have any jurisdiction necessarily to further any of those initiatives so there I said it.

Um Jennifer's list of conditions if there's if there's not for the sake of time, I'd I'd make the motion of the to grant conditional preliminary final approval based on the list Jennifer has.

I'll second.

Okay, motion and second has been made.

Any further discussion?

All those in favor say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed?

I haven't abstention for our recusal.

All right.

Well, let's say let's get some four seven minutes on the okay.

Sure.

All right, take it, Jen.

We could take a five-minute break, sure.

Why don't we do that?

All right, everybody back at three hours right now.

I remember that.

Yeah, yeah.

I I think just like really exciting.

Um, like there are people.

Oh yeah.

Yeah, I'm sure.

It's better than one wall.

You are reporting.

Yeah, yeah.

I get it.

So she just went in and didn't have remote.

Yeah, but like clarifying it, then you just follow the original.

Fifteen minutes.

Fifteen minutes.

And that bar is like all that like the remote class.

Um like left.

Yeah.

And you know, the funny thing is about it is that we're all that along the way.

I would see that as long.

He said that was like a overall school.

And then like the report.

Sounds like five minutes for the and then to add a lot of each other.

That's why we're gonna end that we just report up close.

Or usually we're so dealing with my previous counterpart.

I haven't like it's like she just says, You have to give me your thoughts.

I I've met them before, but I haven't worked on the right guys.

Well, I was a little slow on the draw there, but I asked them.

What they what they very sneakily done is now it numbered which says we just need to fire just don't want to trust it can be like I know.

I guess we're not going to be able to do that.

Yeah, from the I saw that fire on your block.

Oh yeah.

Yeah.

I was I was visiting my mom and I'll be right in the bill of it now.

Yeah.

Like a bulb or whatever.

Local code.

I wasn't even there.

Oh my gosh.

Yeah, we I think it was a Saturday or Sunday.

Um but I couldn't believe it.

There was like no no responders yet.

It was like that early.

I just saw the pillow and out of the way.

There was a lot of fires all within a couple of weeks of each other.

Yeah, that was a global situation.

Yeah, the one you should be asking about is only thirty-nine a day.

That's just the last thing.

We're on the corner as late as you know, someone can control 50% control over.

Yeah, I didn't see reserve analysis.

Yeah, that's good.

So that's going to be um disagree with that.

Yeah, I'm just a lot of people.

I don't know if that's why I was like, what's like any value?

It's just the rest of the skills.

Yeah, that's what I think.

Hey Melissa, why don't we go ahead and get I think Jeff should be here any minute.

We'll go ahead and go ahead and get started.

I've got a very very long time.

I know you're doing overall review with shorter individual reviews.

So you may be hearing me talk for a little more.

Okay.

Okay.

Can we just mention that we're gonna do this a little differently than we typically do?

The next three projects are all very close in proximity to each other.

So the staff report included a really thorough analysis of all of the plans that are within the city.

We don't want to repeat ourselves three times, so we're gonna do one giant overview, the condition recommendations for all of the projects, and then go into each individually.

Yeah, so it'll be overall recommendations and then plus the individual recommendations combined for each project.

Sounds good.

Okay, so the overall review.

Um so there are several mixed-use projects being proposed in the same general area of Allentown on this agenda.

Given the similarity of the projects and the common developer and their geographic proximity, the following information applies to all three projects.

That's 51 North Front Street, 115 Riverside Drive, and two Allen Street.

Recommendations from applicable planning documents that pertain to all projects are summer summarized here.

Um with the revisions to 301 North Front Street being added to these, the four projects together add just over 1,000 residential units and approximately 57,000 square feet of commercial space.

Um with the other projects in the works along and near the river uh Riverside Drive, there is potential to create nearly 2,050 new residential units.

The project site for Vision 2030, the project site is within Center Allentown.

Vision 2030 recognizes Center Allatown as the heart of the city where neighborhoods, entrepreneurs, small businesses, and the community thrive alongside one another.

The properties are close to high capacity transit corridors, and Vision 2030 specifies that development at intersections along front street should create a sense of arrival.

Mixed use projects are encouraged.

Allentown Vision 2030 envisions a future for the city that is sustainable, vibrant, and resilient, and some ways these projects can help to achieve the these goals include adding native plants in landscaping, including energy savings strategies within the project, such as utilizing sustainable building materials and taking measures to maximize energy efficiency.

Staff would also encourage the use of bird-friendly class as suggested by the EAEAC for the Lehigh Riverfront Master Plan.

Um this plan envisions the riverfront as a second downtown district.

51 North Front Street and 115 Riverside Drive are within zone two of the plan between American America on Wheels Museum and Bucky Boyle Park.

The plan envisioned this area to be a vibrant mixed-use retail, restaurant, and entertainment corridor with mixed-use office space or residential apartments above.

The plan also calls for public private parking for a walking biking district within this zone.

Staff suggests the commission inquire if excess parking could be used by the public.

Um for those that are visiting the riverfront, utilizing the multi-use trail, and um also visiting the commercial aspects of the property.

Staff would also suggest the applicant work with the city to discuss the possibility of adding on-street parking to Riverside Drive.

Um, in addition, staff should suggest the applicant enhance the streetscape with benches, traps receptacles, and pedestrian scale lighting where it is missing for all of the applicants' projects along Riverside Drive.

The plan calls out Wharf Street as a potential future connection to the waterfront.

Currently, Wharf Street ends at the existing PPL property.

Um PPL property does a butt on both sides of War Street.

Um trees and landscaping are proposed on on both sides, um, including on that PPL property.

Both projects at 115 Riverside Drive and 51 Front Street rely on Wharf Street as their primary vehicular access point.

The planning commission should evaluate whether Wharf Street is designed to accommodate all intended users, including potential future waterfront access.

At a minimum, a walkway should be incorporated to ensure pedestrian accessibility.

The planning commission should also inquire about the potential location for loading and drop-off areas.

The Shea Tree Commission requests that the street tree design on Wharf Street be coordinated with the proposed development to the north at 115 at both these, you know, both these projects, and create a unified public street appearance.

Finally, the planning commission should ensure that the applicants work with PPL for any and all proposed improvements on PPL owned property and any required easements be required acquired.

Two Allent Street is within zone six of the plan along Brick Street between Liberty and Furnace Street.

The implementation approach for this area is to focus on retaining and revitalizing all existing owner-occupied and rental homes in the Brick Street area while also introducing new or rehabilitated buildings or light manufacturing flex office space, which would bring new employment opportunities.

The plan recommends the existing Sussman building be reused as an industrial flex use space and for Brick Street to be widened for to better support the existing support the adjacent homes.

The applicant is encouraged to explore the feasibility of reusing the existing building and/or retaining some elements in the final design and to widen North Brick Street to the extent possible.

A pedestrian easement should be provided to the proposed sidewalk along the rear of the building.

For Allentown Works.

This is a federally funded workforce development strategy of the city of Allentown that aims to transform communities by aggressively aggressively lowering prime age unemployment.

Through tailored place-based pilots, Allentown Works connects residents to high opportunity jobs by upgrading skills and education, making child care more available and affordable, shortening commute times, and bringing work closer to home.

The prime age employment gap for this neighborhood is nearly 17%, 3.5 times higher than the national average.

There are acute needs in high frequency transportation, quality child care, job skill training, and walk-to-work opportunities.

Vision 2030 strongly encourages facilitating local employment as a core principle of the city's economic strategy, noting that 80% of residents work outside the city and 80% of jobs within the city are held by commuter commuters.

Vision 2030 acknowledges that a combination of residential and job development is needed to balance this uneven job distribution.

An accepted jobs housing ratio is 1.5.

A higher ratio signals housing supply needs while lower ratio indicates needed job growth.

The first and six-ward neighborhood ratio is currently 2.09.

And these just for the three proposed 652 proposed units will lower this score to 1.61 jobs per every household.

These proposals move the neighborhood much closer to a jobs to housing balance.

For the housing plan, the city aims to preserve housing affordability, increase the affordable housing stock, and assist low and moderate income households, find housing stability.

The Lehab Valley has a housing shortage that affects all municipalities within the region.

This has pressured prices upward and increased competition for the more affordable units.

Long-standing Allentown residents are getting priced out of the city due to the loss of naturally affordable housing, namely apartments priced below $1,100 per month.

In 2024, when completing the housing needs assessment, surveys were conducted that found the rental vacancy rate in Allentown to be between 0.8% and 1.4%.

A healthy vacancy rate is between 5 and 8%.

The assessment also found that the residential areas west and north of this project are within a distressed market with the greatest risk of displacement due to investor activity and rapidly increasing home prices.

While the addition of apartments will help move Allentown closer to a healthy vacancy rate, staff suggests the commission inquire as to the affordability of proposed apartments if all the apartments will be market rate or above market rate, and if the applicant will be willing to set aside a portion for affordable housing at up to 80% AMI.

For safe streets for all.

Since the applicants have submitted several new projects in close proximity, in addition to projects that are currently under construction, a traffic impact study is being prepared to determine the impact and upgrades needed to streets within the project area.

The city has requested additional items to be reviewed, including pedestrian accommodations, Riverside Drive and Front Street corridor paving pavement markings, safe street analysis, which includes such things such as safety focused reviews, addressing intersection daylighting opportunities, potential traffic calming measures, and adequacy and placing of speed limit signage.

This also is to address Lanta's transit service.

At the time of staff reports, the staff reports were prepared.

The findings were not yet available, but they should still be discussed with the commission, and they they were that was provided right before the meeting here this week.

Citywide bike plan.

The goal of the citywide bike plan is to ensure that infrastructure investments promote safety, equity, multimodal transportation, and sustainable urban development for all members of the community.

The applicant has several projects within close proximity to one another and to the existing proposed TNL trail on Riverside Drive.

Trails are valued for their separation from vehicular traffic and potential as key components to of an expanded connected bike network.

Staff recommends the applicant to provide a trail connection to the existing trail at the rear of the abutting property at 5 North Front Street, our American Wheels property, or collaborate with them to extend the mixed-use trail along their frontage to the corner of Hamilton Street.

The integration of bike parking facilities within urban environments is a critical component of enhancing bike infrastructure.

These facilities provide secure and accessible storage options for bicycles, thereby encouraging cycling as a viable mode of transportation.

The implement implementation of bike planning parking, sorry, infrastructure involves the use of a durable of durable materials and an adherence to standardized design specifications to ensure safety and convenience of users.

Staff suggests durable bike racks be added outside for the convenience of customers, visitors, and tenants, and long-term indoor bike storage be provided for tenants and employees.

For the Allentown Parks Plan.

This plan is a comprehensive strategy to conserve and improve the city's recreation, open space, and parks.

These projects are in close proximity to Bucky Boyle Park, a nine-acre park with amenities such as a community building, playgrounds, splash pad, pavilion, baseball fields, and basketball courts, and then there's Samuel McCows Memorial Park, a.7-acre mini park.

While there have been improvements made to Bucky Boyle in recent years, the plan identifies many possibilities for the park as well as future infrastructure improvements such as improvements to the entrance, parking, ADA access, and playground spray pad, repairing existing structures, formalizing the park trail, reopening the river to public access, adding naturalized planting and canopy trees, beginning repairing, ecosystem management, and collaborating, collaborating, managing and evolving sports and program offerings.

The mini park is proposed to be modified together with other other pending projects in the area.

With a number of proposed apartments, many of which will be home to families with children.

This project, along with the others proposed, will increase the usage of this park and likely quicken the timeline that improvements are needed for Bucky Boyle.

The planning commission is urged to inquire how the projects may help support the parks.

The parks department has advised of high priority updates needed for Bucky Boyle, which include installing new safety surfacing to the playground and reconditioning the baseball fields.

Almost there.

For the first and six-ward neighborhood plan.

This plan provides a reliable situational analysis of the neighborhood's condition and identifies a series of recommendations to help guide future neighborhood level planning activities and initiatives.

The plan incorporates ideas from other plan detail, other the other plans detailed above, such as the need to provide quality affordable housing, improved pedestrian and bicycle circulation to provide safe, comfortable travel routes for all users and maintain local assets, including Bucky Boyle Park, which has been described as one of the most important assets for residents in the wards.

The plan also pointed out the need for improvements to public transportation infrastructure as utilization in the wards is nearly is nearly double that of the city average.

Another important point is the lack of food access.

There are no large grocery stores in the grocery stores in the wards, so convenience stores are major food access points.

Applicants plan to meet with the Cohesion Network on March 5th ahead of the planning commission meeting.

Staff addressed most of these issues above, but in addition, suggests the applicant meet with other local community groups, groups such as Riverfront Civic Association.

Also to consider a grocery store or farmers market or co-op as a retail tenant within one of the proposed mixed-use buildings and to communicate with the city in Lanta to evaluate public transit routes on and connecting to Riverside Drive.

Comments from Lanta concur and indicate the proposed location for new bus stops along North Front Street and Riverside Drive.

So the over overall recommendations for all three of these projects 51 North Front Street, 115 Riverside Drive, and 2 Allen Street.

Staff suggests that the commission inquire about the applicant's coordination with the Cohesion Network and the Riverfront Civic Association, as well as the affordability of the proposed apartments.

Staff further recommends that the applicant engage with community groups as retail spaces are programmed and consider neighborhood needs, including access to food options, child care, high generating employment uses.

Examples of that would be artisan or low impact impact manufacturing, and to coordinate with the Allentown School District on additional school demands.

Consideration should also be given to the design of Wharf Street for a future connection to the waterfront.

Applicants should explore the potential to widen Brick Street to better support the adjacent homes and whether any aspect of the assessment building at two Allen Street can be retained and reused.

The applicant is also encouraged to incorporate energy savings strategies and bird-friendly window designs, include native plantings and landscape and to consider building above the elevation of the floodplain and that outdoor containers and amenities be anchored and enclosed.

Additional recommendations include loading drop-off areas, ensuring the garage screening material will be suitably suitably prevent headlight glare on to uh properties and riverside drive, installing durable outdoor bike racks and indoor bike storage for tenants and employees and enhancing streetscape with benches, trash receptacles, and pedestrian scale lighting.

Staff recommends that the applicant work with the city to explore on-street parking along Riverside Drive, evaluate the possibility of allowing public parking in the proposed garages, and implement improvements identified in the traffic study.

The applicant should also coordinate with the parks department on park-related needs and collaborate with Lanta to assess transit routes surveying the first and six wards.

And a couple of those items, they're relevant for all of them, and they're mentioned in the project specific reviews.

So you heard a couple things in the recommendations that Warren and all the other stuff I read.

So that is the conclusion of the overall comments for all the projects.

And so if you're ready for 51 North Front Street, I can roll right into that.

Absolutely.

Okay, so for 51 North Front Street, staff incorporates the overall review of recommendations presented.

Um this project is a major land development, which applicant proposes to construct a seven-story mixed-use building with 210 dwelling units.

The property is located in the B5 Urban Commercial District and the TNDO, traditional neighborhood development overlay zone.

So please note, you know, these projects were submitted prior to the new zoning code, and uh therefore the previous zoning ordinance and map apply.

The zoning classification allows the proposed development of a mixed-use retail and residential building.

The first level of the building is proposed to include about four uh 4,500 square feet of retail space.

The lobby leave leasing area and trash mechanical areas.

Interior parking is proposed on the lower first and second levels.

The third level will include various indoor and outdoor amenities spaces for the tenants.

210 dwelling units are proposed with set 47 studios, 1101 bedrooms, 48 two bedrooms, and five three bedrooms.

286 interior parking spaces are provided, which exceed the required amount.

The floor plan shows several areas where drive aisles dead end without space to turn around.

Staff suggests applicant revise their interior parking layout to improve traffic flow and avoid avoid cars backing down aisles by adding connecting drive aisles or designated areas to turn around safely.

Additional information is needed, including a more detailed light plan, an off-street parking loading on loading space, and a bike rack andor storage.

The LBPC recommends constructing the ground ground floor of the building above the elevation of identified 500-year floodplains to reduce reduce risk of property damage and support long-term community resilience.

The AEAC suggests care be taken to ensure no negative impact to the hydrology and hydraulics of the Lehigh River during flood events and that outdoor containers and amenities be properly anchored and closed.

This project will be part of defining the entry to the riverfront and in particular to the many urban residential property projects along Riverside Drive.

Staff recommends a more active and interesting facade on the first two stories of the south elevation with windows along the first floor.

The project falls within the TND, which provides design guidelines for consideration.

Staff finds that the proposed new construction complies with with some of those guidelines and offers the following comments.

Staff finds the roof to be inappropriate, a cornice in a style that complements the building should be added.

This area of North Front Street and Riverside Drive consists of larger, mostly older industrial buildings.

While there are no seven seven-story buildings in this immediate area, there are also no small residential buildings around this building.

Staff finds the building our orientation to be appropriate.

The levels of parking visible from the streets are proposed to be screened with decorative metal paneling, which all will allow ventilation and add to the aesthetic of the building.

Staff suggests the applicant provide confirmation this material will suitably prevent headlight clear onto adjoining properties and riverside drive.

And that the commission inquire if the decorative metal screening is proposed around the entire building or only around the frontages.

Since this is a frontage scene from North Front Street, staff suggests windows be added to give the area a look of an active frontage.

Staff also just suggest that windows be recessed four inches, that variability be added to the building facade, including projections and recesses or changes in the building height, and that the commission inquire if the vertical elements around the building are only a change of color or if they are they are actually projections.

In conclusion, staff suggests the commission inquire as to whether the decorative screening is proposed around the entire building, if the vertical elements around the building are only changes in color or if they are projections.

Staff recommends that the interior parking layout be revised to add connective uh drive aisles or designated areas to turn around, a cornice in a style that complements the building be added, more detailed lighting plans be submitted, that a more active uh facade be added to the first two stories of the south elevation with windows along the first floor, that windows be recessed to avoid uh avoid flat facades, that variability be added to the building facade, including projections and recesses or changes in building height.

Additionally, staff recommends the applicant provide a trail connection to the existing trail to rear of the Mary Canal Mills property or collaborate with them to extend the mixed-use trail along their frontage to the corner of Hamilton Street and to work with PPL for any and all proposed improvements on to PPL property and that any required easements be acquired.

Staff generally supports the proposed development, but is interested in understanding which elements of the overall recommendations, the traffic study recommendations, and the project specific recommendations can be incorporated into the project prior to approval.

Any recommendation of approval must be conditioned on the applicant appropriately addressing comments in the city comment letter.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Carlos.

Um excellent.

My name is Carlos Toward, I'm the architect deployer and representation of uh John Palombo.

Developer.

Um the location of the building is so we all get familiar is right adjacent to to the museum.

Um is a connection between the parking lot where they can song of the parking lot of the of the museum.

Ray on the From Riverside Drive.

Next, please.

Um next.

This is all parking.

Uh we have a small retail space on the on the ground floor, and then we have rayung on Riverside Drive.

We have um uh the lobby area, and we have uh zone mechanicals too.

Um these plans we're putting uh we have uh outdoor racks.

Um that will connect when the DNA trail.

The pad is still there.

If if you look at the side plan, the the system pad of the trail is actually there.

Um we just need to one of the things that we propose here to proposed the bikes, so in case there's somebody stopped in the area.

Um, and we will work with the museum to continue that connection.

But again, the connection is already there of the off the throw.

Carl, something ask you some um I'm looking at the so you've got a basement level of parking uh on the plans that you submitted.

There's a basement level parking, then there's first floor, then there's second floor.

Correct.

How and yet there's only one ramp location.

So um I'm confused on how you get up and down.

Maybe I'm just not visualizing it, but from the first floor level, that's the level you drive in from Wharf Street, right?

Correct.

There's only one entrance into the parking facilities.

Okay.

And then you, and then there's a ramp that takes you both up and down.

Yeah, the ramp will go down and then the other go up.

Okay.

Sort of like a steep ramp.

So you cannot park on it.

I got you.

So the the middle ramp.

Well, okay, so I guess they're both both two way.

Okay.

Sorry, go ahead.

That's confusing.

So and then the upper floor is parking.

One of the comments that we receive about storage, this is a sketch of where we can have the storage on the on the back of the building.

So it's something that we can complain that with the comment.

Next one is again the next is the typical apartment units layout.

We have a total of 47 studios, one bedroom apartments, we have two bedroom, and we have just five two percent of three of three bedrooms.

On this floor, we have amenity space, we have outdoor area, we don't have a pool in this one, and then we have the gym on this level.

So all the amenities are with this courtyard.

And then the upper level, it's just the typical breakdown of of the units, the mix of the studios and two bedrooms and one bedroom.

Again, this is typical from project to project, and the next in the next floor plan, you just show the the enlarged.

We have prototypes that we use from project to project.

So similar.

Similar next.

That's the corner units.

And then we have the building elevations.

Um one of the comments that we received was the corners.

So in this one, I actually on the end of the building, I add the corners.

You know, it's a contemporary corner, but I think it gives some of the movement the the you know from the feedback that we got.

Next.

Again, this is the red of the building.

This is um adjacent to the PPNL on the back of the building.

Next, and then this is other facade.

And what we do have on the second floor is a screen.

Um I wanna show you how that works.

A percentage of uh five feet or four feet of the screen is gonna be solid screen, and then so you don't get glare, and then above that is all ventilated.

We we place a detail here for clarification.

Next.

And cement board panels, and we do have uh a little bit of metal panel, and then uh thin brick on the ground floor.

Next.

Here is what we send when the mash.

So the match is gonna be a four feet high, it's gonna be more solid, and then on the upper floor is gonna be less of, it's gonna be more perforated.

That's that's the the detail.

And here exterior views, so actually now is Riverside Drive looking back the museum, that's the main corner of the building.

This is an eye view.

This is again from Riverside Drive.

That's from the museum from the other side.

The screen, the retail spaces, and then the interior views of the apartments.

All right.

Um so I guess uh some of my initial thoughts.

I'm gonna kind of take um um Alyssa's approach here a little bit, you know, just thinking about um in general, um, and at least maybe this one and the one next door, is you know, 301 we sort of already reviewed and approved.

Now we're getting all these these new ones in, and and the first thing that I that I that I'm curious to know is like sort of what what's the big vision, you know, like I guess you know, New Weather, we had a little bit of something to work with.

The the 301, you know, was an important security message.

Computer has been locked up.

Oh your IP address was used without your knowledge or consent to visit websites that contains identity theft virus.

Yeah, but it's also important.

Doing that maybe to data loss and identity theft.

The computer lock is aimed to stop the legal activity.

Strange.

with the the 301 you know was an important security message computer has been locked up your IP address was used without your knowledge for consent to visit websites that contains identity theft virus to unlock that meetings do not expect the county GIS viewer doing that may lead to data loss and identity theft the computer lock is aimed to stop the legal activity strange okay sorry um so yeah so you know I mean we're we're you saw the one the one image you know you you guys have pretty much m monopolized the whole southern half of the waterfront you know so I realized you know 301's kind of come and gone so I didn't really bring it up then but but now we're looking at the rest of these and with the exception that they sort of look similar which I don't necessarily think is you know is is a good thing.

Like what what is the what what makes these other than just individual projects like is there and and how are they waterfront development projects like so the so the vision here is uh you look at this portion of the city there we have uh open open areas open warehouses so this is area that you can you know propose something new create like a like a like a city create create like a city blocks um the whole idea is when you are in a city block each individual building have his own personality and then the buildings that we did for example 207 it was you know 207 into a little building is just the brick building we work with that warehouse then we move to the new while which we keep the classic but then when you turn around no while it's all darker and it's more contemporary on the river side drive and then we move to the three to the 249 the the the high rise building and then to have a little bit of the class and have more of the mother um the whole idea is on the waterfront start playing with these panels and have more contemporary buildings and that area and um and I can see for example the next building or other project to be it could be classic.

You know it could be I I don't think everything needs to be all the same.

I think the whole idea is create individual building where they have their own personality and this building is adjacent to the museum kind of complement the museum with the colors and then the other building which is the park loft the you will see the two things complement each other so those those three guys are kind of wind the send development but again the whole idea is always create building they have their own personality and and depends where you are on on the street.

So that's uh the vision again the vision too is create a walkable community a la outdoors all those all those feedback that we get from the park we understand we see the potential um we are always there even people ask me why you are doing projects in here and now that you start seeing the projects coming off the ground people now say oh you are lucky you had the water front you have the park oh okay so when we started it was not Riverside Drive it it was nothing and now people are saying the word locking because we have the park and we no we we hope to the things to to to happen but that's that's that division you know and again those buildings um listen is this is a holistic vision I I really it's not about me as a designer it's not about that's what I like to see and is something that you know in every project I collaborate with the community I collaborate when you guys so this is their honest where things come it's it's nothing here that John is telling me you I want this no this is not this is not what happened this is just uh human nature kind of looking uh well that so the the reason I and I appreciate that Carlos and and but I guess the reason that I ask is the only thing waterfront about this is the address like I don't I don't you know I I think when we were on the other side of Riverside Drive you know you're sort of you're you're locked into the urban fabric but we're on this we're on the river side of of Riverside Drive and I can't tell which was the which you know is this building even taking into consideration the the views to the river is it contemplating that this should be you know the the the riverfront even though I know you've got the BPL property in between you and the river but um I I don't know I mean I I think you could you could plot this anywhere and it would be and then it would generate the same reaction you know like if you drove by you wouldn't know there's a river over there's nothing that speaks to river or any of the heritage of the riverfront or um it's a it's a handsome building but it's it's it's not a waterfront project and and I don't know why you know with two side by side projects I know there's a wharf street in there that's you know that that's a public street but you know I feel like missed opportunity to sort of look at those together create some synergies maybe consolidate some amenities you know and maybe actually provide some open space you know make it a waterfront community that's actually got some outdoor space um like I don't even know how these people get if if they want to go assuming there was somewhere to go back there and hopefully there will be in the future down wharf street they have to go all the way out the front of the building to get to the waterfront.

I know there's a Wharf Street in there that's you know that that's a public street, but you know, I feel like missed opportunity to sort of look at those together, create some synergies, maybe consolidate some amenities, you know, and maybe actually provide some open space, you know, make it a waterfront community that's actually got some outdoor space.

Um I don't even know how these people get if if they want to go, assuming there was somewhere to go back there, and hopefully there will be in the future down Wharf Street, they have to go all the way out the front of the building to get to the waterfront.

You know, but it's like the building itself is turned its back on the waterfront.

And you know, I don't know.

I mean, I know you've got a lot of uh unattractive views back there, and I thought, you know, maybe you would angle towards the bridge or cut, you know, make some interesting angles like you did on the 301 project and and maybe try and capitalize on better views that you can control.

Um I don't know.

I know you had to get these projects in, and technically you're vested, so no matter what the outcome is, you're you're good on the old on the old ordinance, but I I don't really feel like these projects celebrate the waterfront.

I just reread the master plan that that was put together, and and this is the exact opposite of of what the master plan contemplated.

Even if you look at it at the most basic level, you know, not I mean that master plan got into some really detailed stuff, you know.

But even if you just back out of that detail and look at it just you know, conceptually and stuff.

I don't see any of the master plan in these projects, and and it concerns me.

It concerned me on the north end of the waterfront, but what did we just see?

We just see we just saw a massive effort, you know, of consultants and experts that came in and came up with it.

I don't know if you guys attended any of those meetings or presentations, but it was fantastic.

And it was and it was a it was a 180 reversal.

Um they had projects just like this in their master plan, and now they're doing a 180 and they're breaking it down to something that's a little bit more organic and a little bit more waterfront oriented in every sense of the way.

And um, I you know, I know you need density, I know you need to make money and and and and everything, but I just I feel like there's just something missing with these guys.

Um and and I know there's a certain level of you know, buy right, you know, um you know, privileges that you have here, but I'm just throwing it out there that I think you know it it's impressive what you're doing, it's impressive what you're willing to spend and invest and stuff, but um, as a planner and a planning commission member, I can't help but to say that I feel like this is a mess.

I'm sorry, but and and I've got other technical stuff, assuming you know, we get into technical stuff, I've got technical comments, but I just wanted to start with this, and and it and it hurts me to say this because I like you guys a lot, and I think you've done some really great work thus far.

Um but um that you know that's my feeling.

Even even the materials are I think there's you know, why are we seeing red brick and more connection to you know, to Allentown, you know.

I know that that you can blend and mix of old and new, and I think you know, America on Wheels is a perfect example of that.

What you're doing at New Water is a perfect example.

I totally think you could do something with the Sussman building, you know, because it relates to your retail footprint.

I mean, those are the things that bring absolute tremendous value to urban projects is when you can integrate the old and new.

And yes, it costs more, and yes, it's a little more difficult, and and it may affect your bottom line, but those are the places that are going to be you know in high demand because they're so cool and they've got connection and they've got character.

Um you know, we're not working with anything existing here, but I but there were some cool buildings.

You go to some of the street views, and depending on where you're at on the street, you see the old building that used to be here, and it was awesome.

You know, I didn't realize they had to tear it down for economic development, but it's I think it's a shame that we're not and and you guys control so much.

You guys control so much now that any hope we have of preserving any character or connection with the city and the and the origins of the waterfront and and anything like that are in your hands at this point.

I mean, it's out of our hands because you know, these ordinances allow you to do this.

But um anyway, I'm sorry, but I I didn't want to get that to get that off my chest.

Um I do have some technical stuff, but I'll I'll turn it over to some of my colleagues.

I have to believe by I make a few comments.

Sure, go ahead.

Yep.

Um completely agree with Chris 100%.

Um if these were anywhere else in the city, I would say these are one of the best projects proved yesterday.

It is important to try and figure out how that's these projects along the riverfront really blend into that whole waterfront plan.

Um I just like Chris mentioned, I know the chandels just redid a whole community vision, a process for their facilities, reimagined it.

Um I I really wish there was a way to do something similar with that um for these projects.

Um, you know, I I commend everything you guys do.

These are great designs, but it really does need to celebrate a little bit more of that waterfront.

Um I'm not gonna echo everything Chris said because I think he said best.

Um, but I I do have two other additional kind of comments about these projects.

Um my one concern is with War Street.

Um now I know that there's PPL owned property on either side of War Street, which complicates things, but I really do think that Warfreet needs to be widened in a way to celebrate that future access to the waterfront.

I think whatever building ends up going there, um, it's gonna be an important piece uh to get that connection to the river uh for these projects.

So I think that needs to be evaluated for the next resubmission for these projects.

Um the other concern I have is with up the road with Jordan Drive and and Front Street.

Um I know we're adding about a thousand new units here, and I know the existing intersection with that three-way kind of pointed traffic light, it's kind of a mess now as it is.

And I I am concerned that without the existing of any left turns, protected lefts there, I I am wondering how this is gonna impact those lights up ahead.

And this is definitely more of a uh a Dave and and Joe question, Jamie, but I I think that needs to be evaluated, especially in the context of the TIS that was submitted, which didn't really recommend any improvements to to anything north of the site.

Um I think that's one thing that I'd like to have a little bit more feedback on for the next resubmission of of these projects just to see you know that impact there.

Um because you're gonna have a lot of people want to turn left there in that left turn lane that does not have a protected left turn arrow.

Um that's gonna be a big issue.

And I know that there's you know realignment of you know uh Riverside Drive, but the light from the the plan shown isn't protected to change from those those drawings.

Um again, I I completely agree with Chris.

I think however this needs to be looked at as that master plan vision.

Um they're great buildings on their own, but I don't know how appropriate they are in the context of of what's happening on the waterfront.

Um I I would like to see these tabled and and take a look again for the future.

That's my my two cents.

Nothing personal, it's just it's this is a big project, and we won't want to have a missed opportunity here.

Um I do have to head out.

Um so I thank you all for your time and can't wait to see you again.

Thanks, Greg.

Questions for Clark for future.

Is is PPL uh exhibited any interest in redeveloping substance.

I don't think we have any update from PPL on you guys had any contact with BPL.

I don't have any conversation about that.

Yeah, just coordination when then when the utilities and that's uh listen, I I get your point, but that's one of the challenges that we have.

Yeah, that point having piping it on the back of files.

Uh but yeah, I I understand what you're saying.

I mean, I think that's more important to pay attention to the front of the building, though.

I mean, I I do agree with Christian that it's getting a bit homogenous now as far as the designs going, and I feel we're going down a path that you know may not be the best for the waterfront itself.

I mean, there's there's so many options of waterfront designs throughout the world, quite frankly, you could you could use as as inspiration.

Um, you know, the design seems very flat.

Um there's no undulations, there's no stepbacks, there's not a lot going on as far as you know, just basic cube.

And it's as I said, it's getting a bit homogenous.

I mean, I I do agree that there's horizontality to this one and then some verticality to the to the one to the north.

So I I I see what there's a play going on there, but but I do agree that there's there's some homogeny going on with materiality, of course.

I mean, there's dozens of materials to be used, and and a lot of them are are economical.

And um, you know, just I just feel that we're getting into a realm of the same repeated, and this is a gateway from south to north, so I I just feel a bit more evolution in design is is needed here, in my opinion.

I'll follow that up with a question about um your vision a little bit on Border Street.

Um interested in your area in terms of accessing the model.

I mean the the potential there, the the the issue that we have there, look Luca Luca the connection.

So we have uh this is right now is being used just for you know access to the electrical electrical company go there but back on the house.

That's really you know, that's really what's happening back then.

So I don't have any anything on it, honestly.

Like me connecting through that.

Yeah, right.

So the boat club also I think uses it as access to the lease from PPL, I'm pretty sure.

They lease it.

I believe so.

Okay.

You know, I mean, uh I remember during the Shade Tree Commission review on this.

We were we were having a hard time understanding whether or not Wharf Street was a city right of way.

You know, it's it's it's depicted on the Bark Loves drawing is depicted as owned by PBL.

Um, but then there's a 20-foot public easement that's owned by the city of Allentown.

So is it a public street or is it an easement or what what it's not very long as far as the depth from Riverside Drive with that part of that is a public street.

Um but there is portions that are a public road.

I would say like the majority of it beyond what's been paved and striped is is easement, not necessarily public right away.

And if it is, it's probably only 20 feet wide.

Okay.

Yeah, there's there's I don't know, there's a couple different lines that that I just I'm not sure that I'm following what's what's what, but um two dimensions here the east north-south, which is goes between the two buildings, and then the the east-west.

Right.

Eventually the east-west, when it gets to the east, becomes PPL property.

Yeah, I think that the applicant certainly has the latitude to expand it uh north to south within that footprint.

Yeah, I I don't know.

Like I said, it there's there's a couple different labels on the plan.

One suggests it's BBL's property, the other suggests the city has an easement.

I'm not I'm not sure which is which to be honest.

And neither of them align with what is paved today.

Correct.

Everything's sort of offset and and you know, not particularly clear.

This is riverfront or riverside or whatever, just by virtue that it's within 400 feet of the river.

One of the things that this parcel pretty much lacks is ground access to the river because of PPL.

Um clearly, if you get up high enough, you have a lovely view because the the substation is is really pretty hues pretty close to the ground.

Um that being said, I I find that your comments um pretty much on the mark.

You could build this building any place.

I don't know what makes it a riverfront or a riverside or you know any of that.

I think part of of what the planning commission wants to do in the city wants to do is really create an identity in a neighborhood here, and why you're having more success doing that north of here.

I'm I'm not impressed.

These these buildings are placeholders.

We can we can do better.

Since the man without an architecture degree, I apologize.

I heard you.

Yeah, I want to just encourage you about the the placemaking piece of it.

Um this road obviously isn't a huge like public street area, but with adding all these apartments and people kind of going back and forth in this area.

Um we've brought up the boats a little bit.

We've talked about the biking in the area as well.

So um what could this street look like?

And also how can we make it a place?

Um was was really the thrust of a lot of my qu my questions and um contributions here to the discussion.

I mean, there's gonna be a lot of traffic traffic, excuse me, on Wharf Street, right?

In and out for both buildings, so highly traveled.

I mean, do we know how many you know traffic study in a sense?

I don't know if it warrants it for this one small street, but I mean the entrance, you know, it has exit and entrance for both buildings, so it seems pretty heavily traveled.

We are working on the we we actually engage somebody.

Okay.

So we are looking all the properties.

Yeah.

So that's happening right now.

Definitely would seem that it would need to be widened at some point, yeah.

Because I was interested in the pedestrian markings or sidewalks or just like ways to again navigate that street if there was gonna be a sidewalk, something similar like that.

Excellent.

Thank you.

Uh on that topic, one one thing that I wanted to talk about, Carlos was so in the on the riverside drive side of the building with the retail.

So in front of that building, you've got a ten foot sidewalk, and then we've got sort of that no man's land, that triangle uh elongated triangle of grass where all the utilities are, that's city property, I take it.

Um, and then you have the McAdam path of the multi-use pathway.

I feel like, and then and then you guys are showing a five foot walkway going from the crosswalk straight to the retail.

I feel like that there may be an opportunity.

I'm not sure how how we how we do it um jointly with the city's blessing or whatever, but that whole space should be the front door, you know, to your building and to your project to the retail space.

I think um obviously, you know, we're we're gonna be doing just you know, walkways or some kind of pedestrian access.

We're not actually gonna build in that space.

Um, and I don't think we could anyway with all the utilities that are in it, but I think there's a a way to make that feel instead of no man's land, make it feel like it's part of the project.

Yeah, but we can we can work in that.

We did it on the on the next floor on the next project.

We we developed some type of plaza, so we can we can develop that.

Yeah and this is why we had the retail on the center thinking that maybe overflowed the retail could be used there.

But yes, that's something they will will look at it.

And I think that that's where you know, sort of this gateway concept could really, you know, evolve uh to to make that like a little it's like almost like a pocket park that is the front door to your building that also is the gateway from the south side into the into the waterfront.

Um I I I know you had some general notes on the plans that talk about coordination with the PPL stuff, but I will point out there there is a uh three-phase wire that's within two feet of the corner of the building.

You know, that's obviously gotta get reconsidered.

Um but that makes me think of the whole coordination with Wharf Street and all this overhead wire business.

You know, it's it's it's scattered and it zigzags all over the place.

In some cases, it looks as though you're trying to work around in other in other ways it looks like it you're maybe assuming that it's going away, but I think um I think we need to get to the bottom of that as part of this project so that we can do deliberate and meaningful tree plantings and landscape and streetscapes and stuff, and not have to guess, you know, or worry about where the overhead electric is gonna be.

That's something that we can resolve very quickly because we already had the conversations when that okay.

And we already went there and mark out the but the utilities or what we need to do.

Okay.

And what we need to relocate.

Um as far as your roof plan, um just wondering because in this one you have a courtyard for the roof.

I'm assuming that's for public act or not public, but your uh you know, the the use of your tenants, right?

Right.

Um, just curious if it's if it's advantageous to move that closer to the river where you get most of your views.

I understand you'd have to re-coordinate the green roof a bit more, but that way people can be up up front and actually have that great view over the over the river.

Just wondering if maybe the courtyard could move towards the east more.

Um just how that how you would regulate visitors to the apartments and and to the retail and stuff.

I know you have a a bit of you know, excess by calculation um parking that's proposed, but similar to our discussion before.

This one you don't have dual entrances, you know, so I'm not sure how you isolate and enforce.

I guess you just have to label or sign or stripe certain spaces, you know, short-term visitor or something, but um is that something that we can that we can do on this project as well?

Yeah, I I don't see any problem because uh yeah.

What is the intent with with the parking?

Is it something that that tenants automatically get a spot or do they have to they have to put pay for a spot?

They need to pay.

Um and typically some of the tenants you will need to pay, and typically some of the tenants depends in my previous experience, depends what you do with the developer.

Um you can include one parking or two parking spots for anybody that will visit you.

So depends what is the contract that they do, the lease, but sometimes they they say I'm gonna lease the space and I want two parking spots, or one parking spot for the smaller spaces.

And and since you budgeted one basically one person per unit, you know, if you run out, then you run out, like say everybody wants two spaces and you run out of spaces, then just not that it's gonna happen, but what if it did?

Yeah, I mean uh when you do the calculations of the parking basis on on your stories, you know, the the business is less parking, uh resonance will be more parking, so that so depending what we you know depend what type of business it is, yeah.

But something you know, I mean I I think you know any any merchant will tell you that you know that probably the success of this retail is not gonna come from just the residents above.

So um I know you've got more retail next door.

Um, but if there's not convenient and and obvious access to parking, I think that retail stuff is gonna struggle.

Look how much we struggle downtown, and we've got thousands and thousands of parking spaces, you know, uh at every corner.

Um so I'm a little concerned about how we set the retail up for success down here.

Um and again, we have like 128 additional parking spaces, so the retail should be okay.

We have a smaller risk retail on these buildings.

Um, I think that may go to what you know how how and where you designate and and sign those internally so that people can come right in, grab some of the first immediate spots that are close to the retail.

Um, and then and then hopefully repeat customers will appreciate that convenience and you know, and the businesses will do well.

Um I guess they have to go through that corridor and then out the front lobby to get them to the front door of the retail.

I mean, I don't know that's something to think about too as to how that is made convenient for the retail operation.

Um you know, there's been a couple comments even on the prior application, and and I think it's on every application moving forward about you know, I know these interior parking garages are are tricky, you know, and you you grab a spot everywhere you can.

Um what do you say to the comments that you've heard about you know the dead end parking and and like if these aren't assigned spaces, you have the potential to go down a corridor only to find that there's not a space, and then you're either doing a K-turn or you're backing out.

Yeah, that's one or we can look at uh how many parkings we can get and probably like a bar on connection, so you can get a loop.

So that's something that I I take that comment, a positive comment too.

Yeah, you know, so that was a good a good one.

Maybe there is a way to lay it out differently, you know, more on the other way, yeah.

I mean it I think you know, and again, I think you know these interior garages are are the most difficult to lay out in terms of parking.

And um, and I think as long as it's a short visual, you know, and a visual is easy to confirm whether there's a spot down that you know, short distance or not, you know.

I think those are okay, but it's when you get into these long stretches of 10 cars or more, you got a couple SUVs in the way, and you don't know if that's a spot down there or not, you know, and that's where it gets to be a problem.

So I think there's a little bit of latitude, but in general, I would look at these and say if we wouldn't build it out on a surface parking lot, we shouldn't be building it in an interior parking lot, you know, in terms of convenient flow and stuff like that.

Um question as far as the planting.

So on the north side, you have uh they have great planting going on with the entrances for the uh um parking deck.

This curvilinear area on the west that borders riverside.

That that definitely, yeah.

Okay.

We have enough.

Okay.

Um also excuse me, uh uh deliveries.

Where do you expect the delivery Amazon, I guess.

Inside the parking on the alleyway on uh work on war?

Yeah, on warp.

We have a little drop-off area.

Oh there, okay, I see it.

Okay, the little so that's more of a okay, I see.

And the other thing, I'm assuming you've went through all your floodplain studies, but um because you're you're pretty far back, so that's there's no issue there, right?

Yeah, and uh so how does it how does it work with our floodplain ordinance with putting parking below with that parking below the 100 year or is it just below the 500 year the basement parking?

Have you looked at I know I know what I know?

That's it.

Have you looked at the 500 year 500, right?

Right, is the is the basement parking below the five.

It'll be below, but it's allowed based on our floodplain.

But yes.

Okay, so as long as there's no habitat spaces, I mean there would be some electrical under there for lighting and stuff, I presume.

But um this is located in the 500-year floodplain, not the 100-year floodplain, so it would be compliant with the city's floodplain requirements.

If there's any shifts in the future, that's to be determined, but at this point in time it meets the city's um standards.

Fair enough.

Any other comments from the commission?

Um just back to riverfront access.

My ability to replense is limited, but it looks like the only way to get from there from here is to walk around the basketball court and then around Bucky Boyle and around the um substation.

Which shouldn't be seen as an impediment.

I think that if if we're selling this as riverfront, then there's an opportunity to figure out how to make that that warm inviting and attractive to the folks that are gonna live there.

Right.

I I guess the argument there is you know, how do we funnel them out to the multi-use trail and stuff?

I mean, there's there's some academ there, I guess it's PPLs, the city basketball court is there that might be some other land available or an opportunity to work with the city to do something.

You're on the next the next one over, yeah.

Yeah, I guess I'm sorry.

I agree at the out the north side of that building, there should be some celebratory.

I agree.

Yeah.

Did you guys consider?

I'm just curious.

You know, I know Wharf Street's in the middle, but have you have you thought about like what if, you know, your your first couple floors are just parking anyway.

You know, is there any sort of like thoughts about connecting these projects somehow?

Um and and how the economies of scale could perhaps benefit.

It's a lot units, it's 200 and 200.

So when you do a 200 unit project, you don't need to connect will have its own pro forma, you will have now I'm putting my developer head and an architect.

But that's what I learned.

But that is something that you know you got 200 units, solid performance, so you don't need to connect to one depending the other, so you keep different entities and um you start in one and then you move to to the other one.

That's that's why you know we keep it as independent.

I think to celebrate and come into uh to the water from I never I never thought about it because uh I always went on in the area, I always go from the museum, go for the uh Riverside Drive, then I go through the park.

I always the way that I design those buildings and see people get on the bypack and DNL trail and then go back.

But I never considering to go through through the boats, you know.

So I think if if a simple thing, and I'm not saying that I'm trying to make simple things, but when you just put pavers and you do some landscape in the area, now you feel that you are welcome to go somewhere, even if you don't go anywhere.

You know what I mean?

But I think we can we can start with there.

You know what I mean?

I think we we can we we can start on that.

And then in this building, um again, listen, I I um I love the feedback from everybody, and this is what makes things better, right?

So, you know, it's never a one solution.

But I think in that building, the only thing that I did water from things there, it was the terraces, you know, because in those buildings, you know, sometimes you don't want terraces because you know, they cosmos you lose square footage.

So in that one we did the terraces, you know, to connect with the outdoors.

And then if you look at the floor plans, allow for nicer units and look into the water, and you you know, those couple things, but but again, I'm not gonna debate whether the materials and you know, celebrate the water from something that you can do in the metal panels, you know, something different.

They say this is the water, welcome, you know, maybe you know, again, even like you're saying, put some red on it, or put some warmer material, you know, some prep brick and all black brick, you know, they are a couple of things that we can do to improve it.

You know, I'm moving them well too, yeah.

Yeah, I know you can I know you can pull it to it.

Right.

So you know, it's it's one of those things that I feel like I wanna people will love it, and then sometimes I don't like it.

Okay.

So it's well, I think you heard us all say that we we don't dislike the building.

You know what I mean?

Yeah, it's it's I mean, I I wish this was downtown, you know, or or somewhere else.

You know, we're out of here.

I also I hear you, I hear you.

The previous two, you know, the um New Weiler and the last one, you know, they're they're all these building undulations, they're on angles and they have this very dynamic sort of building footprint and and aesthetic, and this is just very block square, it's rectangular, it's cubish, and I and I think that's I think is is you know, I mean, and there's pretty easy architectural ways to work around that.

So it's just maybe just push the limit a bit more would be very helpful, I think.

And um, listening to your point about like coming down the street and then not considering quite as much like the riverfront access itself.

I'm curious if there's opportunities for like a dog walking area or something like that that the residents would be able to see that while we're welcoming people down and around in that area, if it's not quite as busy as the other side, um is there opportunity for um those kinds of placemaking.

We haven't added, but I'm a dog person, I have two dogs myself.

We do the you know, they care and the whole thing, and then we know how important it is to walk them a few times a day.

So, yes, we definitely we spoke about the on the back of the building right by near that wall, put something there, you know, especially in in bad weather, you need something very close by.

So, yeah.

No, I mean this again, these projects um listen, you I I I know some somebody make a comment about Bogiball Park if it's ugly and all that and all the things.

I don't think so.

I think you had the beautiful I think when you look at it, you look at the big uh outdoor space and what it is, and and even in 207 in that small building, when people are in those and they look at just the park, they're like, wow, this area is beautiful.

Yeah, you know.

So again, we uh part of the building, I never thought about that alleyway going to the river because I want everybody to go through that big, you know, the vision here is they're gonna see people like in the picture, everybody sitting on that sidewalk, and people is gonna go to the next building and then go to the bookyball park and and you meet when 249 and then you activate the river, the riverside drive.

Actually, in 207 in that little building, there is a basement there.

There is a walkout.

So I feel in the future that could be excavated and have a nice retail on that side.

That little building has that.

So uh, you know, that's uh yeah.

So is that building fully occupied?

207.

Yeah.

I I gotta say I tend to agree with Carlos.

I know we keep saying we could do better on the riverfront.

I don't see it as a riverfront parcel.

I mean, I that's why the adjacent parcel was called park loss.

The idea wasn't to follow people through an old GPL fish, and the idea was to activate people through the park and enter the river.

That's that's my that's all that's to be honest, my honest opinion.

I don't see as a river from parcel.

A little surprised, but you see what I'm saying now.

I don't really see the rubber from parcel.

Well, but I think I think that's sort of part of the problem though, too, is that this is the gateway into the river front, the waterfront that we're going, you know, the area between the river and and Riverside Drive.

Whether PPL ever moves or changes, I don't know.

You know, maybe they can be compelled to clean up their space uh if nothing else.

Um but I think it's it's more of the way all these projects contribute to the whole.

And I think that's what, you know, that's what the master plan laid the groundwork for, and that even contemplated PPL stain.

I think if you know it it talks about how, you know, it is what it is, sort of, you know, in the arrangement around, but everything was on a sm on a smaller scale where I think um every little piece of it contributed to a waterfront aesthetic and a uniform, not a uniform, but actually the opposite of a uniform.

It was really sort of more of this organic, you know, extension of the grid work, you know, almost all the way to the waterfront.

Um, and it just provided a lot of variety and building types and uses and and you know, completely different, you know, obviously.

And I know we're not going back, well, I shouldn't say that because you know, I thought we weren't going back on the north side, and here we are 10 years later on their wall on their master plan, and they and they are you know retooling, you know.

I I kind of feel like I mean these are big projects.

I mean, I don't know if you're gonna do them all in five years or not, but I mean this this to me, this presentation is is the only thing we can do with it is almost treat it like a master plan.

You know, you you've you've laid all these projects out on us.

I mean, whether a master plan is required or not, we have a duty to look at this all together and think about it as as a whole, um regardless of you know of maybe what rights you guys have under the ordinances.

I get that.

It's and and I think we're talking about a potential compromise here.

I don't think we're blowing these things up necessarily.

Um there is definitely um and probably that's what is missing too, because when you look at this building, you just see the building.

But there is opportunity to develop on front of those buildings, the landscape.

Um, you know, the that you feel the it could be related to the master plan they have been because we have the trail.

Like right now, the way how the buildings are set back, they're like really far back, like 15, 20 feet back.

And that's the part of the front door renders is not showing, you know, how you connect.

But at the end of the day, I can I can agree to it.

The we need to measure the our landscape connect to the unless I know that it's a sketch that was showing some of you know more of the trees along the trail.

And as soon as you get to that point, it just started disappearing.

Um, you know, I think that's one right there.

That at least if you walk in and you see that three connection, well, if you develop that three connection, yet now you're feeling that you are welcome to somewhere.

You know, if I don't have that now, my building is there, you know, the the the work on you, or the or the know, you know, uh or the gateway the building becomes right.

Right.

So it could be part of that, the the landscape, what is part of the master plan and the landscape when when the building, but I think probably that's that you feel the you know that the whole master plan we're not connected to a master plan is because we don't have to the landscape plan on the front of the building.

Um and I can say that's a big point.

I mean, I gotta be honest with you, I think to some degree my comments come from also a position of I mean if if trying to make the best of the situation too, because honestly, I I don't even think that the mix of housing and retail is right.

You know, like I don't I I don't think this is this generates the the vibrant waterfront renaissance, you know, that sort of romantic stroll and and unique little shops and restaurants and and a variety of housing options above a store and stuff.

I mean it so instead I'm thinking, okay, how can we at least capture some of those aesthetics in and make a and make a a waterfront community that that looks like it has some connection to the industrial past to the materials and fabric of the adjacent community.

Um what you did on Front Street was awesome the way you broke that down in terms of scale with those homes across the street, you know.

I know we don't have the that necessarily happening here, but we have it, you know, on the on the last project um that we're gonna or the the next one that we're gonna talk about.

But um honestly if if I if I could wave a one I we'd go back more towards a a strict interpretation of the master plan, which I really think was very well conceived in terms of how organic those folks envisioned this waterfront.

So is what it is.

We're here, we got this is what we're we're presented with.

You're allowed to do it, you know, in terms of the uses and density and stuff, but just kind of trying to you know to tweak it a little bit and see if there's a way that we can you know make the best version of this, you know, that that picks up on some of the I think some of the qualities of the original vision.

I mean, and that was a that that again was a a lengthy a lengthy exercise with experts from all around and a lot of buy-in, you know.

I I I cannot believe how badly that thing has been has been ignored, you know, for the last 15 years, um when it comes to waterfront designs and master plans and and considerations.

It's it's really a shame.

If you haven't read it, you really should because it's it's uh it's an incredible document that really went into a lot, a lot of detail.

Um but that's really and just to let you know, I uh I take a many times.

Um I look at it and I came one time with my own bookyball but master plan.

So I have to like, you know, what what are the the two things?

So I'm I'm very very aware.

Um as always I really appreciate everything that you do.

Um every all the feedback, you know.

I always keep saying the Urbision is the power of design.

So I really I take all your comment very serious.

Um, you know, um I want to make sure that we all are happy when when the product is not you about me or what the the zoning say um you know is on this what we're here and this is why we when the community and we continue what can we do making show today the world or good that that never happened my issue all my all my working with you guys um on don't take everything positive um I'm able to incorporate everything that you tell me well we appreciate that um are we um are we okay to move on to the next one?

Do we wanna oh I'm sorry there's some folks folks in the back yeah we're yeah we're not trying to skip over you guys come on up hello again um so my wife and I live in this neighborhood with our kids and um uh first of all I wanted to mention that little triangle piece by the PPL um substation.

Um they usually use that for dumpsters when they do a lot of uh renovations to the substation.

So I don't know um how much um you're gonna be able to pull their leg to uh to change that um but uh you might um secondly um I lived in the neighborhood um well we purchased our building in 2011 and uh we've lived there since uh 2018 and um whenever I go for a walk I really don't feel the waterfront until I go past Bucky Boyle um park honestly um because of the fact that um the substation and all that stuff is in the way uh for many many years um I know everybody wants to call it the waterfront and it's Riverside Drive and everything but it was never a river it was front street to me for like the longest time and then they added you know Riverside Drive so that's only been like three years so honestly it's not really the waterfront um I like coming over um the Hanover Street Bridge and looking down the river and um at one point in time American wheels um uh the there was a fence that put up maybe two or three years ago um that blocked off people actually getting to see the river because you used to be able to walk right up to the edge and look over the edge and see the the the dam yeah there's uh right there's like a little path that goes to the back and they they put a fence right there so you can't get back there anymore I mean that was the closest uh thing to uh the waterfront um that I witnessed while living there and now you can't get back there anymore so at the end of the parking lot of the Americana wheels um right there yeah there's a fence there now so you can't walk down that path and look over and and see the view um um maybe the building looks a little dark you know um uh maybe a little square

I mean, that was the closest uh thing to uh the waterfront um that I witnessed while living there, and now you can't get back there anymore.

So at the end of the parking lot of the Americana Wheels um right there.

Yeah, there's a fence there now.

So you can't walk down that path and look over and and see the view.

Um maybe the building looks a little dark, you know.

Um maybe a little square.

But um, you know, uh I see things exactly like this when I drive down to Philadelphia and go through Manneunk.

Um, you know, and they're even like ten times bigger than this thing, and you can't see the river at all if you're on the road, you know, cruising down, you know, through Manneunk or any of those river actually they're like right against the river.

Um I see the point of you know, you saying it doesn't i mean to me um that's more welcoming than an empty parking lot, which what is what it is right now.

And um I don't know, it would make and honestly um so we don't have any parking.

I mean we have on street parking, um, but when we have um uh an art event or an opening or a music event, we get about a hundred people and they walk two, three, four blocks because they value it.

So and our neighbors really want these things to happen.

Um, you know, hopefully to increase their property value or to sad life because we feel so disconnected from the city from downtown um for I mean the whole time that I've been there.

Um even trying to connect to people downtown, they they really don't make the connection.

So um it might not be as appealing as everybody wants it to be.

And maybe a little bit more color, you know, to make it like river front ish, um, maybe a curve, I don't know, something.

Um staggering, you know, layers.

But honestly, um it's not really the waterfront until you get past like the baseball field, perhaps when you can walk down to the river um down a little, I think there's like some time a jerk drainage thing going on back there um immediately behind um the baseball park.

Yeah, the way right there.

My kids go sliding down that hill.

Um but yeah, that's that's all I got.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hi, my name is Cassania Perez.

I live at 512 North Bridge Street.

Um I'm dead center, right?

In front of well, we've known it as a junkyard.

I've been there um since 1984.

Um I remember in 96 we met at the Polish American Club, and um they talked about all this wonderful stuff that they were gonna do.

Um so I'm excited to see things happening.

Um the only comment or request that I have um living on an alley, uh, that's not even a one-way.

Um if you can expand that any way possible, I'm okay with whatever it is that you're gonna bring.

Um, because like he said, it's better than seeing what we're looking at right now.

Um and for many years it's it was a junkyard.

It literally had scraps of everything and anything in there.

Um so whatever you plan on doing in that area.

This is item number seven.

Sorry, I'm jumping the gun.

I have to go to work.

Um, but uh yeah, so uh if you can expand that alley, I don't even care if there's parking on both sides, just expand it a little bit because with all these apartments and all these people that are gonna be coming in there.

I mean, you already made Liberty that used to be a dead end street for forever.

You made that a two-way street, and the amount of traffic that comes through there is ridiculous.

Um considering that we all have kids there, children, um that they enjoy walking to the park.

Uh so making that more safety-wise for them.

Uh and um when this last snowstorm that just passed by, we had our trash there for maybe three weeks because it's so small their truck the truck couldn't come through.

So um it's another thing, you know, it's a little safety as um safety issue.

Um and in the summer, that because it's it's it's an open space, uh, the weeds and everything like that that that attracts in the mosquitoes, it's just it's bad.

I've called City of Allentown, I've complained and they've come by, they've they've done the sweet team has come by and and done as much as they can.

Very much appreciated.

Um just with this past snowstorm, we didn't have anybody come down on alleys.

I know we were in the phase four of the cleanup crew.

Um, but I just would have thought, considering that French Street is a snow emergency route, um, that they would kind of come down there a little sooner than never.

But um, yeah.

Uh we have I have neighbors that have been there before I even got there.

We have neighbors that just family.

So um yeah, it's I'm excited to see what's coming up.

Um I do agree with you that uh make it more meaningful and as far as to the you know to the history of Allentown, you know, what my home is one of the homes that the New Weiler brewery people that um help build it or were working there, that's one of my houses.

It's my house that I live in a house that they used to live in.

Um and when they would come home from work, they'd go right there.

So um I feel I do feel that it should incorporate a little bit more of the history of Allentown and the river.

Um but yeah, that was my comment.

Let me ask you a question.

Do how many of your neighbors own their homes as opposed to rent rent those homes?

Um percentage-wise.

What do you think?

Just roughly.

Um I think it's maybe about 2% that actually rent.

Um, yeah, I'm I own my home.

My aunt at 506 owns her home.

Um the 508 rents uh 508 and a half rents, and then my neighbor Danny Eunice, he owns, I own, and then from the block, um after the empty, there's like a small parking lot thing there from there to the end of um Allen, so it's yeah, that's all owned.

Okay.

Yeah, those families have been there years.

Good for you.

Yeah, that's great.

I'm glad to hear that.

Yes, and and we love uh I mean Allentown School District Bred owned.

I went to all I walked to school, walked to Sheridan, walked to Harris Morton, walked to Dereff.

So, you know, the the traffic and stuff like that, that's a very big concern for me.

Um, so like I said, if we can expand that alleyway in any way, pay mean in any way possible.

Um yeah, um I'm all for it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Anybody else?

Why not?

Real quick, real quick.

Um there used to be nobody walking around.

And now there's uh a lot of people walking around.

Um I don't think that the retail would really suffer if it's within reason, you know, nobody's buying Rolexes or anything like that.

So coffee shops and such, I think would make a good fit for the neighborhood.

Um and um, you know, maybe if you know they go and send out notice, you know, some send out some type of you know, questionnaire of like what do you want in the neighborhood?

That would probably be a good idea too.

Um but um as for people like having to drive there to use it for to be successful, um, I really don't think that's a a thing because like I said, people in our neighborhood uh are starving for those things.

We wish we had downtown, even if it was like empty the way it is.

out some type of you know questionnaire of like what do you want in the neighborhood that would probably be a good idea too um but um as for people like having to drive there to use it for to be successful um I really don't think that's a a thing because like I said people in our neighborhood uh are starving for those things we wish we had downtown even if it was like empty the way it is I mean um you never know um you had some sorry can I ask a question you had said um earlier that you feel really disconnected from downtown up here versus um where you're down at the waterfront is there anything you think that would like bridge that gap at all um maybe make it more bike friendly I know for instance um I complained to the mayor and I you know go to the traffic people and all that stuff but for some reason there's a lot of light outtages on Linden Street and especially going over um the Jordan I guess um that bridge is always dark and just um I know I saw something in the news about um converting a lot of these streets or not a lot of you know maybe uh converting uh Lyndon to two ways um that would be beneficial I think because people come down my road I live on ridge in Linden but you know Linden is very highly trafficked especially um you know between four and seven o'clock I would say and people come around that turn and they're doing 50 miles an hour before they hit the front of my house which is you know 200 feet from the corner and uh it's um it's pretty wild how how fast they do come through um and aggressively but um uh you know yeah um I don't know just maybe a bike lane would be nice of some sort I know it's um it's a little tight but um or just signs of some sort you know like I'm not quite sure but definitely definitely a lot of people in my neighborhood feel disconnected from downtown even though it's only I mean I walk downtown all the time too I like I said I'm a walker so I walk downtown quite often um and uh it's like 15 minutes I could be at PPL in our arena to see a show or to the new um the new archer or whatever or just grab a bite to eat but um if those things or similar things could come to my neighborhood um I know besides myself there's a lot of people who are of interest of that and it would probably increase you know um I don't know what the word is for it but yeah uh I think it would be a good thing.

Thank you.

Anyone else in the audience okay um well um I I do you want to go back and take uh take any of the comments and review letters and stuff into consideration and come back to us would you be open to that I think you know we would have a choice well you could force us to take some action I suppose and you may not like the action that we take I don't know um I think there's enough out there that um that you know with the traffic uh the traffic report I think you know this this idea the on-street parking is probably gonna be a major saving grace to to a lot of the concerns regarding parking for all the projects um and I think that's a you know potentially an easy fix um obviously there's some layout and some striping and some other things that would need to to take place um but I think that could be that could be a huge benefit to all these projects um but um yeah I mean I I think you know we we're not I don't think you're in any jeopardy of uh you know losing your standing on the project and I think that was your your intent I assume by submitting by the end of the year last year so um so I think you're in good shape there um I'd like to go through the next projects if we can um and if you're amenable to it I think we go ahead and table as well okay all right well I appreciate that um in that case uh I'll make a motion to table 51 North Front Street all those in favor say aye aye any opposed one abstention okay and and just for the record um can you please confirm that you agree to the extension of the time frames in the MPC we need to review and decide on all plans within 90 days if that doesn't happen we need to have a mutually agreeable agreed upon extension of time so I'm assuming by um agreeing to the tabling you agree to that as well okay perfect we'll follow up after this meeting that

Any opposed?

One abstention.

Okay.

And just for the record, um, can you please confirm that you agree to the extension of the time frames in the MPC?

We need to review and decide on all plans within 90 days.

If that doesn't happen, we need to have a mutually agreed upon agreed upon extension of time.

So I'm assuming by agreeing to the tabling, you agree to that as well.

Yes.

Okay, perfect.

We'll follow up after this meeting then with the form to document it.

I'd say thank you.

Yeah, we're agree to extension.

Um I'm I'm wondering, since we're in this neighborhood, should we just jump right next door and come back to the Allen Street one last room?

It makes sense if if that's okay with everybody.

I was gonna say that as well.

All right, so this is um 115 Riverside Drive.

Um, so again, staff incorporates the overall review and recommendations that were presented at the beginning.

Um this is a major land development in which applicant proposes to construct a seven-story mixed-use building with 242 dwelling units.

The property is located in the B5 and the TNDO, um, previous zoning code.

Um the zoning classification allows the proposed development of a mixed-use retail and residential building.

The first level, the building is proposed to include uh 13,195 square feet of retail space, the lobby, leasing office, trash and mechanical areas, um, interior parking is proposed on the lower first and second levels, third level include um various indoor and outdoor amenities spaces for the tenants.

Um the 242 dwelling units are proposed for uh 41 studios, 141 one bedrooms, 62 bedrooms, um, 312 interior parking spaces.

Again, it meets the requirements and exceeds that.

Uh floor plans show several areas where drive aisle is dead end uh without space to turn around, and staff suggests to revise the layout to improve traffic flow.

Um additional plans are needed, including a light plan, details of off-street loading and unloading.

Um LBPC recommends constructing uh the ground floor, the building above the uh elevation of identified 500 year floodplain.

Um the AEAC suggests can't be taken to ensure no negative impact on hydrology and hydraulic of the Lehigh River during flood events and the outdoor containers and the men needs to be properly anchored and enclosed.

Uh project is in the TNDO, um which provides for design guidelines, and staff finds the new construction complies with some of those guidelines and offers comments.

Um again, the renderings show a flat roof without a well-defined cornice, and staff finds that to be inappropriate, and then a cornice in a style that complements the building should be added.

Uh, this area riverside drive consists of larger, mostly older industrial buildings.

Um there are no seven-story buildings in the media area.

And again, here there are also no smaller residential buildings in the immediate area.

Um staff finds an orientation to be appropriate.

Uh, levels of parking visible from the street are proposed to be screened with metal paneling to allow ventilation and add to the aesthetic.

Staff should suggest applicant provide confirmation that's materially suitable to prevent headlight glare.

Um, there are some blank wall areas on the first floor behind the storefront and lobby windows on the north and side south sides of the building.

Staff suggests adding windows or other treatments in those in these areas.

So in conclusion, staff recommends that the interior parking lot layout be revised to add connecting drive aisles or designated turnaround areas, a cornice in a style that complements the building should be added.

Um additional windows be added to the first floor of the north and south elevations that windows be recessed to avoid flat facades, a lighting plan be submitted, details for the off-street loading on loading spaces be provided, additional landscape be added.

Additionally, staff recommends applicant work with PPL for any and all proposed improvements to PPL property and required easements.

Staff generally supports the proposed development, but um staff is interested in understanding which elements of the overall recommendations, traffic study recommendations, and project specific recommendations can be incorporated into the project prior to approval.

Um any recommendation of approval must be conditioned on the applicant appropriately addressing comments in the city count letter.

Thank you.

Thank you, Melissa.

Hey Carlos, one thing before you get started.

I forgot to ask on the last project, but it applies to this one as well.

Has any has this been reviewed by the fire chief or whoever evaluates rescue and stuff?

Just on the uh they were at the meetings.

When we present them to the meeting, like the city meetings between us on the design.

They are included as a reviewer on the projects, and they were approved through fire at this level of development.

They'll need to be reviewed more in greater detail when the building permits come in, but at this point they haven't presented any major issues.

I'm curious with the no rear access in the seven stories, you know, whether they were comfortable fighting fire or performing rescue back there.

Um Ryan Carlos Tovar, the architect the project representation of John Palombo developer.

Um this is again, this is uh uh 242 units, uh development two plus seven to uh three stories, including a garage on the basement level, and then we have five story residencia next.

Um this is the basement, similar to the other project.

We have a basement parking next.

And this one we have more of the retail spaces, we have more retail spaces on the riverside drive.

The retail on the corner is very important because this is you know the one they have the connections to to the park.

This is what we put it on that side.

Then on the other corner of the building, we have on the main corner of the building, we do have the residential lobby.

Um we have the small triangle outdoor plaza, and you can see the building really set back like 20 feet away from the from the road, more like even about 30 feet.

So there is uh definitely we have a potential to create that connection to for future correction to the river, but at least you know, it tells you welcome to to the river and the area.

Again, the building the way uh we do have some comments about storage, and this sketch we show these drawings that we can accomplish the storage on the corner of the building.

Next.

And then this and this one we have actually what you were saying, Eric, and this one we have the open, the open on the back, we had that leg where the pool is connected to the water from.

So in that one, we had the connection, then we had the the central courtyard on the building.

And allow the units, the the uh upgrade design units, they had the corner and the living room in the corner, so all the all the amenities is like the corners get glass towards the river.

Um, and then again, you see the layout, the units and please.

Um large units is similar from project to project.

We're using similar prototypes that you change on the angles.

Um we do have a live studios in this project.

We have one bedrooms, we got two bedrooms, and we have uh three bedrooms as well.

This is the main facade from Riverside Drive.

And again, we're using in this one, we're using more of the darker thin break on the upper levels on the ground level.

We're still using uh thin break, and also we're using the mesh for the garage on the on the second floor.

Um next, please.

Um, one thing they incorporate.

We receive uh one of the comments that we received on Friday.

We were able to put a little bit of the corners on this on the black volumes, and then we have other corners on the horizontal volumes, lighter colors.

Again, similar situation on both sides.

I think when we get to the renders, we see more of the intention.

Again, similar to the other project, the four feet is gonna be more solid, and then the upper area of the mesh is gonna be more open.

Um the feedback that you say, I think is it's a good idea.

Maybe we can do something with those screens.

Um let's see.

So uh again, this is the main the main entrance.

This is adjacent to on the right side will be the museum, and this is the connection to the river again, the building setback.

Um one of the things the the that we will improve is working when um our landscape and civil engineer working and measure how we connect those, you know, those those treescape.

And the lobby here is two stories.

This is a nice view of of the you know during the evening.

The story here we make a little bit more special because we had the flow plaza when the bike bike when the bikes that all we have in day one.

We always had that day one, the plaza because sinking the this is what the fair building that we started.

So this is why we still that plaza on the corner of the building would be a nice feature to have the bike racks and and and everything.

Um and again this is the the facade coming from the angle north from this is coming again from the riverside drive up.

Um again, adding the corners on top, we give a little bit more of the movement when the darker in the darker elements.

Um that's the retail, we have a lot of retails on the ground floor.

Um we have a lot of walls, so you can you know you can cut it and you can buy this you need it.

This is back of house, the entrance to the parking, um, entrance to the mechanical.

And then that's the plaza, the uh oh, there we go.

We had there the the unless that's that's the biking pad, which is the system, actually that's there.

But again, for your comments and your feedback, that's something that we should make sure that we push for that vision.

Um here you can actually see what's uh with a bell more of the landscape for that project.

Um just typical units, you know, a lot glazing, a lot glazing on it throughout.

So you know, Carlos, one of the things that I think is gonna be a little bit challenging on on this project is actually that interface with the McAdam path.

You know, um I know in you know, in some cases your buildings about eight feet to the from the face to the McAdam path, and other areas it's deeper, maybe another 18 or 20 feet.

Um but you know, the interface of concrete to asphalt like that is never a clean detail, especially when you're gonna have floor plates at different you know, potentially different elevations.

Um and you know, if you imagine people zipping up and down on there, I think you know, there's gonna there needs to be some careful, you know, harmonious sort of treatment between the two.

And I think in some cases it may be separated by some planting, in some cases it may be too narrow for that.

So maybe you need some sort of decorative rail or something.

But I I think I think one there should almost be a separation of materials because you know two horizontal materials like that side by side, it it's it's gonna be tricky.

You have one, you know, half a mile long tripping hazard, but you know, just waiting to happen when things frost heave and settle and da-da-da.

Yeah, so I think there needs to be a careful consideration there.

Um, I think there's an opportunity for it to be a neat interface.

Um, but it is gonna be challenged because it's very linear, it's very long.

Um, but I think it might make your life a lot easier if you program in some sort of healthy separation, whatever it might be.

Think about that.

But this is a perfect area for the on-street parking and hopefully support, you know, help support the the retail.

Um you know, this is one again where if you know, if we're gonna provide some indoor parking for the retail, is there a way to create some access, maybe between the left to the left to most uh retail spaces.

Is there access from the parking garage out to the to the sidewalk or something?

Just thinking about how folks inside get out and around to the retail, um, whether they live there and are and want to go or or they're or if they're using you know visitor parking that's designated inside.

Like a breathway, and actually if you rotate the retail, it's not gonna be bad because you you still see them because the breathway in the you know, you sometimes get you don't like them, they get smelly.

But uh, but anyway, as long as you have retails and people are dead and looking at what's happening, that could be uh yeah, good suggestion.

Um I think you know, we kind of already talked about you got the stair tower there, you got the dog washing thing, you know.

Is there some way that that you know becomes a connection out to the north, you know, to to Bucky Boyle Park?

Um I've got notes about the utility poles.

There's one in the middle of the driveway.

Obviously, that's gonna get changed.

Um but like to see that get get coordinated.

I don't know if we spend enough time talking about Wharf Street, but I think because this is you know, your predominant entrance, you've got 200 and some units on both sides coming in and out.

We would make that feel like you know, feel like a street.

I think there was also comments about creating pedestrian almost like sidewalks along there as well.

Um that you know, that lead to some of the mandors and things that are back there.

Um I would even suggest that we have a concrete crossover at the driveway entrances if we're gonna be providing pedestrian access back there, um give the pedestrians the priority to those driveway aprons, but um I guess that um is is maybe up for grabs.

I I thought I saw a comment about removing the crop the crossover detail from the plans, but I think it could be applicable there.

So like the sidewalk continues across the driveway, you know, visually.

Um, in in general, I I think um some of my comments relative to materials and aesthetics, you know, carry over um from 51 uh next door, but um you know, I think the angled facade in the back to me speaks more, I mean it speaks more to me towards you know, directing positive views towards towards the river and away from you know some of the um but I still think this feels kind of like a you know semi-suburban resort style apartment building, you know, which again is not criticism of the building design itself.

I just it it it doesn't to me it doesn't just like the other one, it doesn't feel like it.

It feels a little bit too modern, a little bit too unlike a a riverfront development.

I think in that building, I think I have more an issue when the second floor the screen and the garage because I I'm of course looking at chang of materials because on the upper levels already using brick, you see.

You know, I think that's less of the other building of changing on design.

But here in that screen, I can redesign that, you know, die screen when I can redesign the second floor, like you know, like the screen does something with that screen.

They become more like a traditional.

Yeah, it definitely has a lot more traditional flavor to it, the building itself.

Like, you know, and I think that those little cornices do a lot, you know, do a lot to sort of, you know, and I think it's tastefully done.

You know, I've seen I've seen cornices get too exaggerated.

Um so you know, I think uh I think subtle is good when it comes to that.

Yeah, that's uh I definitely see that I can go to that second floor with the screen.

You know, and and and this I I say this all the time, and this I say it to all of our downtown projects as well.

You know, I know this the retail awnings and signage is really sexy on renderings and stuff, but I feel like that there's just no opportunity for individuality and expression, and I feel like businesses really suffer.

I think I think rents and tenancy really suffers.

You know, you see the the places that seem to to get the to get the the tenants are the ones that got character, you know, and I think if there's any way to de-sterilize this, you know, in terms of the retail, that's I I feel like it's gonna do you a lot of good, you know.

Is there a way that it can feel just a little bit more you know, I don't know, or organic or homey or something.

I think businesses want a little bit of an expression.

They want the ability to have some unique signage.

Um you know, want those retail areas to really project.

I mean, this is like a this is like high-end strip mall kind of look in terms of the retail corridor there, and they just all blend together.

We see it downtown, and I think those are the areas that that that appear to me, and I live downtown and go downtown frequently, but they appear to struggle the most with tenancy, you know.

But then you go to Hamilton Street where it's all sorts of different facades, and they don't seem to have any trouble keeping their their places full, or at least it appears that way.

I don't have data on that, but I I I can only attribute that to you know, maybe it's rent, maybe it's the cost, maybe whatever, but I also feel like there's a little bit of desire for you know something a little bit more unique and um and an ability to sort of stand out amongst several storefronts.

Just throwing it out there.

I don't know, I how you do that and not break up your design too much, but um I mean I I feel that can be achieved by you know extruding some pie lasters, you know, bringing these darker sections out a foot or two perhaps on the ends and stuff.

I mean, it definitely is is is a huge change with your cornices.

Um that definitely did a lot, but but playing with extrusions and protrusions and and because of that one view, a few back that is just looking straight down this this flat wall.

That's that one.

That's relatively unappealing, at least on on riverside.

You know, if it had some extrusions or or as I said, the pie lasters were to stick out or something, it would definitely make it more dynamic, I feel, and I think that would address some of Christian's uh concerns in my opinion at least.

I only say I care, it's not I'm not criticizing it, you know, honestly.

I I at least I I feel like the the bearer band is today, but I'm not I I just want it to be as successful as well.

I'm just giving you my experience and my observations.

Um I I didn't really have much else on on this particular project.

Uh same, you know, same concepts of identifying visitor parking, making it convenient for the visitors, um, to find and access the parking spaces and then get to either the retail or who they're visiting, or you know, I mean, if these are paid spaces, they're maybe they're going to the to the river front.

I don't know, but um I think that's a common and recurring comment for me.

Um else.

Anyone have particular comments from the audience on this one?

One one design element I'll bring up because it comes up a lot.

Um and I see it a lot on this building is the windows.

There's always concerns regarding the flat facades, and um one of the design recommendations could be to give a at least a four inch depth on those windows, so they're set back and there's additional dimension added to the elevations.

This is one of the many comments included with the staff report, but I feel the need to emphasize it considering the flat look of these elevations.

We we talked about that Carlos on the 9th Street and 8th Street projects.

Is this project fall into that category where you said the insulation kind of right?

We have to put the stereo insulation, so you're gonna it's not gonna be sitting the window's not gonna sit on the material, they're gonna set back.

At what depth?

Um I will say uh the insulation is four inches at least, four or five inches.

Perfect.

Yeah, because you got the two inches insulation at least, and then you have the material.

Right.

So you pull out, and then we can put the window in a little even a flashing.

Yeah, so yeah.

It it makes a huge difference, really given uh the building texture, and I think it'll resonate like an industrial building, you know, where those windows are punched in, you know.

I think if there's any we've given this advice before on on different projects, and I think it's been embraced pretty well.

But I mean, if there's during during your any sort of tweaking of these, but you know, any any way making these a little more industrial, even in terms of their color material, these these recessed windows, you know, feel more punched, you know, and less you know Latin modern.

I think I don't need to change the color of the break.

That would be more than those.

Yeah, for me it's gonna be that's no, you would say uh in the next project when we go there.

I I I know I got some comments about the residential, and you will see the difference that what it does to you.

Yeah, yeah.

So so you will say so I I know exactly what to.

Um in this one, I don't, you know, personally I don't see the tweak is less than the first one.

Okay because the fair way more horizontal I have the big, it's more massive.

But he had already have a lot different materials already put the brick on top, it's just I need to water when the screen on the bottom.

Okay.

And look at what I can do when the retails.

So yeah, so here is less of the and these are metal screens over top of the main door, right?

Yeah, so so yes, it's it's metal screen, so that's very economical to do in the way the then, you know, now you're your parking garage ventilate, you don't have to build walls inside, and then you can do, you know, you can do different things.

So curious too, with some of these industrial comments and other buildings that I've seen.

If we could um like I know in the draft here, it's kind of just uh holes in it, like could it be something a little bit more sculptural, a little bit more referencing of like organic flowing riverfront ideas or um habitat or something like that.

Um, or maybe like a mural, perhaps they could be painted or something similar again with that placemaking um and like community feel to it as well, as you're looking at some of these streetscapes and how to make it uh a space and how how do we occupy it as people as well.

Um I think there's an opportunity there for it.

Um yeah.

I I've I think you have a great point.

I would love to do that, especially in the first building, you know, because I think it's the first building that you see the water from.

Here I feel the it's something, you know, in this building.

I can do the screen.

I just think it's gonna be longer.

I think let me start with the other, you know, where I can put the screen here.

I feel it's just more about the punching windows and changing of the materials on this building.

I just don't wanna change it too much.

You know, that's all I think that we can work on what we got on this one.

But yeah, I definitely take you um, and after this, we can you know work it out together by definitely taking definitely for the other building.

I will definitely um I know that it's Aries on the audience, so I think it's is there we have some opportunity, and you make a vocal about the waterfront, and honestly, I talk it the same way the the water from is down there, and but I think there is opportunity to Alice and maybe another.

Let's just make the waterfront from here, you know.

Let's let's start the graffiti, let's start this, let's do the the wardrobe, you know, make landscape, you know, so it feels the waterfront start here, you know.

And maybe the mural, as Kate said, along this this screen, maybe is you know, is the entrance to the waterfront.

It may seem a bit literal.

Yeah, true too, could be a name.

Yeah, yeah.

Let me I I think listen, I think that really um I I listen, I I agree.

I I I think maybe bringing a little bit of the red of the industrial, you know, Brooklyn, New York, and you know, and all these things on Allen Town.

I think that's really take place.

You know, I I I really I really see that they can work, but I I agree with you.

I think when we're developing the waterfront of Allentown, and we're we had the opportunity, you know, we create the Riverside Drive.

When you drive in Riverside Drive and Drive State to go back to American Parkway, and then you become airport row and you go to the airport and you go anywhere, you you are in totally different cities.