Feeling “epic”: From Hess office space to luxurious living room | Business News

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The renovation of a large office building in downtown Allentown into luxury living space is nearly complete.

DLP Capital construction project manager Zachary Liptak said the renovation of The Hamilton at Grand Plaza will be “99%” complete by the end of this month.

DLP purchased the eight-story, 254,782-square-foot building at 835 Hamilton Street in December 2021 for $15.3 million. The process to convert floors two through six into residential buildings began in March 2023.

The upper two floors will remain as office space. There are four commercial spaces on the ground floor.

The past that is passed down from generation to generation

The building was once used as office space for PPL Corporation, but the 24-story tower next door has also been converted to housing. The company moved its headquarters to Two City Center in Allentown in 2023.

Twenty years ago, in 2003, a news release from PPL heralded the grand opening of the building known as The Plaza at PPL Center. It boasted an open center atrium and a “winter garden” with lush plants within the glass façade.

Approximately 600 PPL employees from the company’s non-regulated subsidiaries will be based there, according to the announcement.

But before PPL, there was Hess’s. Founded in 1897, the iconic department store expanded to 9th Avenue and Hamilton Street over the decades. The store closed in the mid-1990s and was demolished in 2000.

new beginning

Converting such a large piece of real estate into living space for office workers is a big undertaking. “It’s very different than building from scratch. There are a lot more unknowns involved,” Liptak said. “Fundamentally, you know exactly what you’re building. “One thing that worked in our favor was that a lot of the floors were already fully open. . There weren’t many wall demonstrations.

The second floor of Grand Plaza will consist of 30 apartments available for rent. Primarily studios, with some one-bedroom floor plans available as well. Liptak said rental prices have not yet been set.

Floors 3 through 6 have been converted into 88 condominiums available for purchase, with a mix of studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and two-bedroom plus den floor plans. Liptak said it’s the first residential condo building in downtown Allentown in decades. Prices start in the $300,000 range and go above $500,000.

Some of the condominiums are two-story high, reminiscent of the Winter Gardens of the PPL era. The south-facing glass front garden facing the plaza was filled with plants and greenery that could be enjoyed all year round. Liptak said the garden’s two-story design translated well into a two-story condominium layout.

luxury living

Amenities include pet grooming facilities, a multi-level fitness center, a large laundry center, a business center for telecommuters, and a shared lounge area with a pool table, shuffleboard table, ping pong table, and television.

Liptak said he is trying to attract residents looking for a “feel of city living.” “They want to live in downtown Allentown, where everything is happening, and they don’t want to go out into the suburbs.”

DLP will host an event for interested buyers and renters on November 16th.

As for the rest…

The top floor of the building will serve as DLP’s Allentown headquarters. The company was founded in 2006 by Don Wenner, a Nazareth Regional High School graduate.

The seventh floor currently serves as a construction preparation area, but is expected to return to its original function as office space and be leased in the future.

Of the four commercial spaces on the ground floor, only one currently has a tenant. United Federal Union is sandwiched between two shuttered eateries: Johnny Manana’s, a long-vacant Mexican restaurant, and The Noshely.

All three stores face the plaza area on Hamilton Street. A fourth commercial space is located around the corner on Eighth Avenue.