Allentown,PA Needs SKYSCRAPERS to improve

[blazerj]

Originally Posted by Truth777

Well, I appreciate everyone for their comments.... I agree that rail transit should reach to the Lehigh Valley. But there is a problem! NOT MUCH FUNDING TO SUPPORT IT!.... With the economy the way it is I think we have a long way for this to actually happen. Yet what I stated was to see peoples reactions to what Ed Pawlosky did.... He destroyed bussinesses to make more bussinesses....If that makes any sence to anyone. The hochey arena was created to be built to not only revitallze the downtown district of Allentown but to create a good strategy for more bussinesses and jobs to help the economy in Allentown. It would be nice to have tall nice looking structures and I agree with you all... that that isn't the answer for a better Allentown. But Allentown needs new ideas,strategies and economic growth within the city not the outskirts of it. We need jobs closer to us not far away from us. Allentown needs to find a way to attract bussinesses in the city not outside of its borders. This would help the economy of the City of Allentown. It would probably lower taxes,better our school system, and make a better and safer Allentown to live in..... What do you say? Agree or Disagree?

Disagree.

Allentown is what it is. They should do what they proposed with Detroit. Return the vacant and crummy lands to farm lands and open space to make Allentown more desirable.

It doesn't make sense for say Allentown, Upper Saucon, and Easton to fight for the same businesses to come into their city/ township. The net result is that everybody loses, the corporations win.

Also, if the hockey stadium were cheaper to build, people would actually go see minor league hockey (average 70%+ capacity), and people would spend time/ money around the stadium after games (not just park, watch, and run home) it would be a good idea. Unfortunately, none of those assumptions are true.

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by blazerj

Allentown is what it is. They should do what they proposed with Detroit. Return the vacant and crummy lands to farm lands and open space to make Allentown more desirable.

Detroit has a population of 706,585 on 138.75 sq mi of land with a plunging population.
Allentown has a population of 118,032 on 17.8 sq mi of land with an increasing population.

Detroit is 7.96 residents per acre and had a population of 1,849,568 in 1950 at it's peak.
Allentown is 10.36 residents per acre and had a population of 109,871 in 1970 (at it's peak prior to today).

Detroit is not abandoning it's center city, which is reasonably healthy. It is trying to abandon it's nearly deserted outlying districts which are costing a disproportionate amount of money to maintain.

I don't mean this comment as necessarily in support of the hockey venue, but Allentown is not Detroit.

[blazerj]

Detroit was the example of a city converting abandoned parts to farm or open land. The plan focuses on vacant/ abandoned portions of the city, not just the outskirts.

Since Allentown is a much smaller city, it would obviously be a smaller scale effort. However, the principles are the same, as opposed to building sky scrapers and hockey arenas (why not a Ritz-Carlton as well?).

[PacoMartin]

Originally Posted by blazerj

Detroit was the example of a city converting abandoned parts to farm or open land. The plan focuses on vacant/ abandoned portions of the city, not just the outskirts.

Since Allentown is a much smaller city, it would obviously be a smaller scale effort. However, the principles are the same, as opposed to building sky scrapers and hockey arenas (why not a Ritz-Carlton as well?).

You seem to be missing my point. I am not defending building the world's most expensive 8000 seat venue in downtown Allentown. Neither am I defending the skyscraper. The hockey arena clearly should have been built to share parking with Coca Cola Stadium.

But Allentown is not a depopulated city. It is at peak population and is one of the densest cities of it's size anywhere in the USA. But it has no viable supermarkets in center city, and people from the townships are afraid to go there so you can barely support restaurants or bars and clubs.

By the most conservative estimates Detroit has 12000 acres of vacant land, and some people estimate twice as much.

Ratio of occupied homes to vacant homes
6.5 Detroit
8.9 Easton
10.4 Allentown
11.0 Bangor
12.5 Nazareth
14.4 Pen Argyl
14.5 North Catasaqua
15.7 Freemansburg
15.8 Bethlehem
18.2 Fountain Hill
18.7 Lower Saucon
18.9 Emmaus
23.6 Upper Saucon
27.6 Lower Macungie Township

Not every house can be saved, so clearly some demolition is required where the ratio is very low,but that doesn't mean completely abandoning whole districts.

[Pennsylvania2cali]

Originally Posted by PacoMartin

Huh?

I apologize for not being more specific.

In the area there are a lot of limestone deposits in the soil which leads to sinkholes. Case in point, there was a 7-8 story office building built I believe in 1991 and ended up having to be demolished due to a sinkhole forming under the structure. I think it may have been on linden street although not positive.

There are a moderate amount of mid-rise structures but are unusually dispersed throughout the valley. A few apartment buildings and senior citizen homes, if built in the same general area would make Allentown's skyline a bit more noticeable and impressive.

[Mr. Stokes]

Originally Posted by Pennsylvania2cali

I apologize for not being more specific.

In the area there are a lot of limestone deposits in the soil which leads to sinkholes. Case in point, there was a 7-8 story office building built I believe in 1991 and ended up having to be demolished due to a sinkhole forming under the structure. I think it may have been on linden street although not positive.

There are a moderate amount of mid-rise structures but are unusually dispersed throughout the valley. A few apartment buildings and senior citizen homes, if built in the same general area would make Allentown's skyline a bit more noticeable and impressive.

The building in question was a new office building on 7th Street north of the monument. A second situation that comes to mind is: A section of East Hall at Muhlenberg College had to be vacated for around a year until the basement/foundation could be stabilized by pumping/pouring in enough concrete into the limestone cavern. The first time I saw Center City Allentown was in 1983, and the site where the office building stood was a pile of rubble from an older building the city must have demolished. I can't say how long that lot looked like that, but it wasn't long before the new building was erected...sometime in 1985 or 86.