Because we need more people in town

 

Hey there is wall on MLK by the park I want to talk about.  Just kidding.

How about the proposed 1000 apartments down by the waterfront? This would be a combined effort by the Lehigh County and Allentown Planning commission.  Could you imagine what high rise apartments would look like?  

Then the amount of services they would require especially once they turn into low income apartments.  Fire calls, loud music, prostitution. 

Is this a good idea? Will these apartments attract the right clientele that will actually take care of their places?  Is this the idea of affordable housing in Allentown.

The city needs if anything, if possible single dwelling homes. Maybe 1500sqft or so, with a little yard and driveway priced around $300k (which probably is a low price) That is about as affordable of low income housing as it will get.  They need to development more of a tax base.  

Jamming 1000 apartment units into the city will not help generate taxes as much.  Also how many of these apartments will have children.  What if these apartments house 400 more students, which is certainly a low number.  Can the district all of sudden support an influx of that many kids?  No it cannot.  

Luxury apartments won't work either because Allentown isnt attractive enough for people to want to spend $2500-$3000 a month for an a apartment. If of course the waterfront were developed with nice restaurants, running trails along the river, some reputable businesses etc.  Then maybe I could see more wealthier people wanting to live there.  

I like the idea of building living spaces, but lets not just throw up high rise apartments because their is a housing shortage.  I think in the long run the idea could turn out to go not as planned.