Site Clearing Begins for 1M-SF Allentown MXD

ALLENTOWN, PA—Demolition began Thursday to clear the way for a one-million-square-foot redevelopment of the former Lehigh Structural Steel complex on the Lehigh River, known as the Waterfront. A partnership of Jaindl Properties, Dunn Twiggar and Michael Dunn Co. will develop a mix of office, retail and residential over the next eight to 10 years on the brownfield site.

The Easton, PA Express-Times reported Thursday that Mark Jaindl, a principal of the development team, unveiled renderings of the first structure to go up. The eight-story building will include 150,000 square feet of office space and 20,000 square feet of street-level stores and restaurants. It will be the first of six office buildings to go on line as part of the Waterfront mixed-use project, which will also include more than 170 market-rate apartments.

Also slated for the project's initial phase is the River Walk, a half-mile running and walking path that will be parallel to the river. The path is designed to connect with amphitheaters and two floating docks.

At Thursday's news conference, Jaindl announced that his firm had acquired the adjacent Lehigh Valley Dairy Building on Furnace Street in Allentown. According to Lehigh Valley Business, the addition is not part of Allentown's Neighborhood Improvement District, but will grow the Waterfront's total land by about 7%. It may be used for parking or market-driven future growth.