Isett team members recently attended a hard hat tour & development update for The Waterfront, a vibrant new destination coming to life in downtown Allentown. Isett provided multiple services for the initial phases of the project: survey; civil land development; landscape architecture; transportation engineering; and grantsmanship.
Isett served as lead civil engineer and landscape architect of record for the 29-acre land development, working alongside numerous architects and Whiting-Turner for Jaindl Enterprises, the site owner. The first of 12 proposed buildings to occupy The Waterfront – 615 Waterfront, named the Mohrbank building (pictured) – is a six-story, 131,000 SF building that includes five floors of commercial office space and first-floor retail/restaurant space. Occupancy is scheduled for Q4 of 2022, with the entire 12-building development estimated to be completed over the next 8 years.
With the new development, a previously inaccessible area of the riverfront will be available to nearby residents and visitors. Beyond the buildings slated for the site, the project also includes the River Walk, a paved trail surrounded by public gathering spaces and highlighted by the River Theatre outdoor amphitheater. Bryan Smith, head of Isett’s Landscape Architecture department, led the design of the River Walk and outdoor gathering spaces.
In addition, Isett’s Grantsmanship department secured two grants for the project, including a DCED Multimodal Transportation Fund grant and a PennDOT Multimodal Transportation Fund grant for a combined $3.28 million. These grants funded the first phase of Riverside Drive, a new 3 ½ mile multimodal project that opened in May of this year. Ryan Kern, head of Isett’s Transportation department, led the preliminary design for the new corridor, which will span from the City of Allentown through Whitehall Township when complete and create a critical extension of the D&L Trail.
Occupancy for 615 Waterfront is scheduled for Q4 of 2022, with the remaining buildings scheduled to be completed over the next 8 years. To learn more, visit thewaterfront.com.