The PPL tower at Ninth and Hamilton streets, which has been Allentown’s tallest building since 1927, may be overshadowed in a couple of years by a much taller building that will rise only one block away.
Plans are moving forward for a 33-story building appropriately named The Landmark, which would be constructed on the northwest corner of Ninth and Walnut streets.
At 420 feet, the Landmark will be the tallest building in Pennsylvania outside of Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, said chief architect Glenn Lichtenwalner of W2A Design Group.
He said it also will return to Allentown the honor of having the Lehigh Valley’s tallest building.
He noted the PPL building, which is 322 feet tall, was the Valley’s tallest building for decades —until the 332-foot-tall Martin Tower was completed in Bethlehem in 1972.
The Landmark will be a multi-purpose building with retail on the first two floors, 24 floors of office space, four floors of condominiums and three floors of penthouses.
The building will have many glass walls to take advantage of views in all directions.
The project was before the Allentown Planning Commission for final approval Tuesday afternoon, but didn’t get it.
Planning commission chairman Oldrich Foucek indicated he kept hearing “we’ll study that” or “we’ll talk about it later” from the developers, yet they were seeking final approval.
For example, when asked if they had discussed the project’s impact with property owners to the north, one of the developer’s representatives said: “We will be reviewing that with those property owners at the appropriate time.”
And when planning commission member Anthony Toth asked whether it will be possible to open any windows in the building, he was told: “That can be studied. We’ve not completed the design yet.”
Foucek appreciated the thoroughness of the presentation, but said the planning commission was not ready to give final approval because open issues remain— including a traffic study, a structural obstruction to drivers’ visibility and how trash will be collected.
The developers then said they were not asking for final approval Tuesday.
At Foucek’s suggestion, the planning commission tabled taking any action on the plan.
The chairman hopes issues are addressed so planning commission members will have few questions the next time the plan comes before them.
The building has been proposed at that location since early 2013 by developer Bruce Loch of Ascot Circle Realty, LLC.
Loch did not appear before planners Monday.
The building has an estimated cost of around $60 million.
It probably will take a year and a half to complete, said Lichtenwalner. The developers would like to begin construction in July.
“The site obviously is very small — it’s only 5,200 square feet,” acknowledged Andy Woods of Art Swallow Associates, the project’s civil engineer.
What’s unusual about the design is the building’s four lowest levels are narrower than the upper levels above them.
Those upper levels will be cantilevered out over both Ninth and Walnut streets, said city planning director Michael Hefele.
The building will extend three feet over Ninth Street and five feet over Walnut Street.
“Tall, skinny building”
Planning commission member Richard Button admitted he’s not an engineer, but told the developers some people in town are “nervous” about what looks like “a tall, skinny building.”
“Tell me about how solid this is going to be,” said Button. “People think you can’t do it.”
Responding, Lichtenwalner said: “There are many buildings in New York City that have the same size footprint, or smaller, but are much taller.
“This is becoming the norm in many cities.”
“But it’s the norm where the cost of land is a thousand times more than what you have here,” countered Foucek.
The chairman acknowledged the planning commission has no authority to comment on design or appearance.
And Foucek noted the science of construction has advanced since PPL was built “and that’s still standing.”
Lichtenwalner later predicted that, in time, the Landmark building will be joined by other taller buildings in Allentown.
Not much smaller “footprint” than PPL
He and Woods made a case that the “footprint” of their proposed building is not much smaller than PPL’s tower, although the PPL building is more rectangular.
Lichtenwalner said the tower of the PPL building, which begins at that building’s third floor, is only 76 feet wide along Hamilton Street, adding: “Our building is 79 feet.”
At street level, the proposed Landmark building will be 84.5-by-60 feet, said Woods.
Lichtenwalner said the upper levels of the proposed Landmark building will be 78-by-89 feet.
They said the dimensions of the PPL tower — above the base of the building — are 76-by-120 feet.
Parking
People living, working and shopping in The Landmark will use a parking garage, owned by Allentown Parking Authority, that is along Walnut Street next to the building site.
The developers told the planning commission they have developed a 20-year-lease with the parking authority so 250 spaces in that garage strictly will be available for the proposed building.
The parking garage will be connected to the building via a third floor entrance.
They said that garage has about 500 spaces.
Lichtenwalner said W2A has determined two and a half more levels could be added to enlarge that parking garage, adding that expansion could be done as part of the Landmark building project.
He said no more than 20 residential units will be in the proposed building, adding only15 parking spaces are required for 20 units.
The developers had to get an aerial easement with the parking authority because the upper floors on the west side of the building will extend 15 feet over the parking garage.
Woods said the north side of the building will not extend over adjoining properties.
The proposed building’s main entrance will be at 90 S. Ninth St.
A layby, an area large enough for three to five vehicles to pull off Ninth Street to drop off and pick up people, is proposed in front of the main entrance.
When asked what accommodations are being made for deliveries to the building, as well as trash collection, Woods replied: “That’s something we’re working on right now.”
They are considering designating a parking space for deliveries, but acknowledged that would not be large enough to accommodate a trash truck.
They said they can make accommodations inside the building for a trash dumpster to be pulled out for emptying.
Traffic
A study has not yet been done to determine the building’s impact on traffic.
Woods said traffic signals at Ninth and Walnut probably will be updated, including with pedestrian crossing signals.
While both streets now have one-way traffic — south on Ninth, east on Walnut — planning commission member Jeff Glazier said in the future both Walnut and Ninth could become two-way streets.
Because the building will stand just off the sidewalks, another issue is that vehicles driving on one street will have limited visibility of those driving on the other.
Lichtenwalner said they may need to request a site distance variance from the Allentown zoning hearing board.
If they can’t get a variance, they will have to take another look at the design of the building.
Floor space
The interior of the building will have four elevator shafts and two stairwells that will take up about 1,000 square feet of space.
Each of the larger upper floors will have 6,000 square feet of useable space, while each of the lower floors will have 4,000 square feet.
Lichtenwalner said three “prominent corporations” already are negotiating to lease office space in the building.
Hefele said city fire officials have reviewed the plan for the building and had no comments.
Loch has not yet sought low-interest construction financing from the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority.
One resident speaks
The only resident to address the planning commission about the proposed project was David Goodman.
He explained he was there on behalf of Jane Goodman, his elderly mother, who owns several nearby buildings on Ninth Street.
Goodman indicated he attended the meeting to better understand the project. “As a neighbor, we are concerned and interested.”
He said he did not go to the meeting to comment negatively or positively, but did express concern about the construction of the building, with equipment and cranes, because of the size of the site.
Goodman said he appreciated questions put to developers by the planning commission and hopes it will continue to be scrutinized “so it works properly within the neighborhood.”
from 69News:Home http://ift.tt/1AenUH6
0 commentaires:
Enregistrer un commentaire