aia sdat allentown preliminary report

Allentown, PA SDAT:Creating a Sustainable City Center

A Sustainable Design Assessment Team ProjectSeptember 27-29, 2010

The SDAT Team Mission

• The SDAT team was charged “to strengthen the functionality and sense of place while increasing the sustainability of our center city”:– Improve transportation options– Create a more visually appealing

streetscape– Improve use of downtown

buildings– Increase market rate housing

Hamilton Street• There are not one, not

two, but four Hamilton Streets– Government Center– Arts Center – Restaurant/business

center– Neighborhood mixed

use center• Each has its assets

and its problems

9th

Stre

et

5th

Stre

et

12th

Stre

etOld Allentown

Neighborhood Mixed Use

Regional Destination

Government Center

Assets

• Strong, largely intact texture of historic buildings

• Compact, walkableenvironment

• Key activity clusters –restaurants, arts institutions

• Committed public and private sector leadership

Problems• Weak retail environment• Low building utilization –

vacant storefronts and empty upper floors

• Poor visibility, unclear entries and lack of connectivity to other community assets

• Negative perceptions – real problems?

• The present and future of Hamilton Street and of Old Allentown are closely related – what happens in one, strongly affects the other.

• Strategies for the two areas should be coordinated

• Linkages between the two areas should be enhanced.

Guiding Principles• Allentown is a diverse

community – racially, ethnically and economically. The city must recognize its diversity, and build on it for the future.

• Neither the city of Allentown nor Hamilton Street can be all things to all people – resources need to be focused strategically on key issues.

A Regional Destination

Range of Cultural Arts Attractionsand

Entertainment

A Regional Destination• Enhance Hamilton Street as a restaurant

destination

A Regional Destination

• Expand and raise the profile of the Allentown arts community

• Hamilton Street is the hub• Building Arts Identity

A Neighborhood Asset Hamilton Avenue: 10th to 12th Street Neighborhood-oriented service retail:

Old Allentown and West Walnut Celebrate the community diversity Encourage housing over commercial

A Neighborhood AssetHamilton Avenue: 10th to 12th StreetPrecedent: “StoreWorks” NYCHomeownership and neighborhood retail

program in 1-8 unit buildings

Increase Housing Choices

• WHY?– Build stronger housing

market– Create more economic

diversity in and around Hamilton Street

– Get more activity and purchasing power onto Hamilton Street

– Build 24/7 downtown

Increase Housing Choices• HOW?

– Build the middle market – not ‘means-tested’housing

– Create more downtown living options

– Incentivize more home ownership and rehabilitation in Old Allentown

– Market center city as a good place to live

Building From Strength

• A district approach: More feet on the street• Add restaurants that offer quality and

diversity– and BUZZ!• New uses to extend length of stay

Restaurant Recruitment: Winston Salem

• Emphasis on existing owners/operators

• Local expansion• Up to 37.5% of

project cost• Up to $150K• Avg. loan of $75K• Downtown rehab

grant program

Capture Business Opportunities• Restore historic Americus Hotel as a

Downtown destination• Capture hospitality / conferencing / special

events business• Extend hours of activity and economic

growth Downtown

Building the Base• Increase coordinated marketing efforts

among ALL Allentown cultural arts groups• Increase coordination between arts

programming and restaurant / hospitality businesses

• Coordinated retail corridor merchandising

Arts & Entertainment Districts

Anti-establishment(guerilla)

Establishment

Transitional

Transitional

MAKING THE ARTS VISIBLE:EPHEMERA

Arts & Entertainment Incentives

• Align incentives• Customize façade

grants– E.g. promote

animated, sculptural, neon

• Artist housing• Restaurant

development• Window display

assistance

Managing the District

• City (DCED)• Redevelopment Auth• Chamber (Main St)• AEDC• LVEDC• County

City planning agency

Chamber of commerceBusinesses

Property owners

Arts organizations

SBDCsCivic

associations

Industrial development

agency

Banks

Public works agency

Preservation groups

Transit agency

Tourism agency

Neighborhood residents

Schools

Historic Preservation

Historic Preservation Hamilton Street’s historic buildings form a remarkable (and enviable) collection of historic resources.

Historic Preservation -Why it is Important

For commercial districts: •Sense of Place •Provides connections to a communities’past.•Welcoming environment; attractive to visitors.•Combination of ‘historic’ and ‘new’ provides dynamic places.

Old and New: PPL Plaza

Historic Preservation -Why it is Important

For adjacent residential neighborhoods:• Enhances neighborhood livability• Walkable communities – pedestrian

connection to adjacent Old Allentown and other historic neighborhoods.

• Provides restaurant and retail for nearby residents.


Miami Beach

A vehicle for economic development


Farr’s Department Store


Tools for Rehabilitation:• Design Guidelines – provide direction for

property owners and the City.• Façade Improvement Programs• Federal Investment Tax Credits • Other City & County programs to support

rehabilitation of historic properties

Historic PreservationTools for Rehabilitation – by City• Create a ‘Downtown Allentown’ National

Register District for Hamilton Street – to lay the framework for property owners to more easily use Federal ITC’s.

• Educate property owners on federal ITC’s and other incentives for rehabilitation.

• In addition to Façade Program, City to consider other programs to assist small building owners.


Preservation & rehabilitation of historic buildings should occur both at the large and small scale.

.

Historic PreservationPreservation & rehabilitation of historic buildings should occur both at the large and small scale.

The DowntownCenter Square

Public Realm


Public Realm

TENTH 2 TWELTH THE CIVIC ZONE

7TH

T H E D O W N T O W N D I S T R I C T

HAMILTON STREET


Public Realm

T h e h e a r t o f d o w n t o w n


Public Realm Short Term

Repair and replace pavement

Replace street furniture

Address sign impact to monument

Provide interpretative materials for Center Square

Light the top of the monument


Public Realm

Long Term

Stage a design competition

Investigate alternative traffic movements through square including two-way on west site of Hamilton

Establish visitor kiosk

Incorporate appropriate interpretation of historic site and monument

Change uses around perimeter to allow cafes, market spaces, performance venues, etc.


Public Realm

Long Term


I n t e r n a t i o n a l D e s i g n C o m p e t i t i o n for P i o n e e r C o u r t h o u s e S q u a r e P o r t l a n d , O r e g o n

Out of 162 submissions, five finalists emerged, from firms based in New York City, Philadelphia, San Francisco/Los Angeles, Boston, and Portland. The Portland team, "a group of rabble-raising architects, writers, and an artist" led by chief designer Willard Martin]. Their design received an "Architectural Design Citation" from Progressive Architecture magazine in 1981


Public Realm

Long Term: Create a transformative project


Investigate alternative traffic movements through square including two-way on west site of Hamilton

Establish visitor kiosks

Incorporate appropriate interpretation to give some sense of Allentown’s rich place history

Change uses around perimeter to allow cafes, market spaces, performance venues, etc.

The DowntownThe Hamilton Street Experience

Public Realm

The DowntownPublic Realm

The Hamilton Street Experience: 5th to 9th

Creating a signature gateway experience to the Downtown

Integrate signature art element

Incorporate lighting as a key design feature of the art

Develop a downtown building lighting program to enlarge the experience of the your historic and contemporary architecture


Historic Lancaster District Fort Worth, Texas Avenue of Lights



The Hamilton Street Experience TENTH 2 TWELTH

Linking Destinations

• Traffic / Parking– One-way operations– Update coordinated

traffic signals

– Ample parking supply

• Wayfinding / Parking Linkages


• Transit / Bikes / Peds


Change the Housing Market• Market rate housing will

bring $$$ to Hamilton Avenue.

• Reuse of historic buildings will provide better housing mix and lead to a greater diversity of residents.

• Reuse of vacant structures will reduce vacancy on the street.

How?• Reusing historic structures

can be complicated and expensive.

• Market currently cannot generate enough cash flow to cover the costs of development.

• An environment needs to be created that encourages and supports developers.

Where To Start?

The market has made a start between 8th and 9th Streets.

Focus around Center Square -- the most difficult projects that could have the greatest impact

The Low Hanging Fruit ..Focus on

1. Buildings already owned by the city

2. Buildings that can make the biggest impact

3. Buildings clustered together to create a critical mass

4. Buildings that will be of the highest quality

First Tier of Development• 9 buildings in varying

sizes

• 3 project clusters

• huddled together to create critical mass

• 116 new residences

• in the next 4 years

Residential Project Clusters

historic new total S.f. cost

Schoen Building 22 0 22 45,000 $6,800,000.00

Hamilton Row 28 18 46 55,000 $8,250,000.00

12 N. 7th Street 8 0 8 10,000 $1,500,000.00

First National site 0 40 40 55,000 $8,100,000.00

Totals 58 58 116 165,000 $24,650,000.00

The Schoens BuildingTurn this into … this

703 - 717 Hamilton AveTurn this …

703 - 717 Hamilton AveInto this …

12 N. 7th StreetThis … into this.

First National BankTurn this … into this

The Proforma

What’s needed to build these projects? $24,650,000Developer equity at 5% $1,232,500What can the income stream support in loan payments?

$9,500,000

What dollars do we need to find? $13,917,500

… and where do we find them?

Finding the Dollars1. Give the buildings away

With a financing gap of around 55% for these projects, the building do not currently have any “value” to existing owners.

2. List the historic structures on the National Register

$2,120,000 could be raised through historic tax credit parterships

Finding the Dollars3. Provide matching

façade grants

Our 3 project clusters include 11 facades. Matching façade grants of $30,000 would total $330,000. Increase the current $200,000 pool of funds available for these projects and others.

Finding the Dollars4. Vacant upper floors

Fund a $3 million loan program, covering 50% of project costs or $50,000 per residential unit.

Our project clusters would use $1.4 million of these funds for the Schoen’s building, the Hamilton Street Row and 12 N. 7th

Street.

Finding the Dollars

5. Explore New Market Tax Credits

These can raise as much as 39% of the project cost for housing projects in low income communities, such as the Hamilton Street corridor.

Finding the Dollars6. Create a housing trust fund

Raise dollars that can be loaned to developers of housing at discounted rates by

- giving ground leases, and reaping some rewards once projects cash flow

- state dollars- federal dollars- foundation dollars

Finding the Dollars7. Parking

Developers of historic buildings must have ample parking nearby. Work with them to provide

- free vacant lots- free parking in under-utilized parking structures- a discounted residential parking program- free parking for residents at parking meters

… And Why Should You Do This?• Downtown residential can

leverage much more than just housing units

• There will be $$ to spend living right in downtown

• The tax base will be increased for the city

• You can all reap the benefits of these developments – every store owner will have more customers; every restaurant will have more patrons

Increase Home Ownership in Old Allentown

• Encourage qualified neighborhood renters to become home owners– Provide homebuyer education

and counseling– Ensure homes are in decent

condition• Encourage middle income

households to buy and rehab houses. – Facilitate process– Provide financial incentives to

cover ‘market gap’

Housing Timeline

Immediate 1-3 years 3-5 years 5+ yearsAdd 40 downtown units

Add 80-100 downtown units

Continue

Initiate downtown/Old Allentown marketing campaign

Continue Continue

Initiate incentives for homebuyers and rehabbers in Old Allentown

Continue Continue

Organize For Success

• Choose, prioritize, focus, execute.

• Concentrate resources around strategies

• Build ongoing partnerships

• Become a community for everyone.

aia sdat allentown preliminary report

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future of hamilton street

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