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Commission advances one waterfront project, tables two after sustained debate over parking, design and preservation
Summary
Commissioners granted conditional approval to a 301 North Front Street mixed‑use project while tabling 51 North Front and 2 Allen Street; neighbors pushed for more parking, wider sidewalks and façade/park investments, and staff tied approvals to detailed design, parking and utility coordination.
The Allentown Planning Commission spent the bulk of its meeting on a cluster of large waterfront proposals, approving a revised plan for one project with conditions, tabling another and sending a third back for more work after hours of testimony from residents and focused discussion among commissioners.
Staff framed the package as a set of related proposals that together could add more than 1,000 housing units along the riverfront corridor and identified a series of policy issues — including parking and curb‑lane capacity, the need for on‑street parking on Riverside Drive, coordinated streetscape and park improvements to Bucky Boyle Park, and pedestrian and bicycle connections to the multi‑use trail.
Developer John Palombo and architect Carlos Tovar presented changes to multiple projects. For 301 North Front Street the applicant corrected a square‑footage error and raised the unit count to 360, shifting office space to additional residential units and committing to work with city staff on…
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