Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Lehigh Valley
 [Register]
Lehigh Valley Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-13-2015, 02:56 PM
 
113 posts, read 131,684 times
Reputation: 31

Advertisements

After talking with a friend who lives in center city Allentown recently and reading some older posts here, I've learned about the hockey arena. I'm wondering: Have there been any changes in center city (e.g., real estate improvement, reduced crime) as a result of the arena, or is it too soon to tell?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-13-2015, 04:00 PM
 
13,248 posts, read 33,367,912 times
Reputation: 8098
I think it's a little soon for there to be changes in crime, at least any that can be attributed to the hockey arena, but it sure seems that Restaurants are flocking to the area: Upscale restaurant The Dime debuts above PPL Center - The Morning Call

Quote:
The deluge of new downtown Allentown restaurants continues with the Jan. 15 opening of The Dime at 12 N. Seventh St., above the main entrance to PPL Center.
This optimistic article is from 2013: 'Allentown is transforming,' Mayor Ed Pawlowski says in State of City addresss | lehighvalleylive.com
__________________
Please follow THESE rules.

Any Questions on how to use this site? See this.

Realtors, See This.

Moderator - Lehigh Valley, NEPA, Harrisburg, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Education and Colleges and Universities.

When I post in bold red, that is Moderator action and per the TOS can be discussed only via Direct Message.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-13-2015, 05:22 PM
 
Location: Silver Spring, MD/Washington DC
3,520 posts, read 9,204,653 times
Reputation: 2469
There's been a decent amount of redevelopment right near the arena; I think some new apartments or condos are being built on 7th Street almost directly across the street from the arena.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-13-2015, 09:42 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,308,247 times
Reputation: 7781
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrKite View Post
After talking with a friend who lives in center city Allentown recently and reading some older posts here, I've learned about the hockey arena. I'm wondering: Have there been any changes in center city (e.g., real estate improvement, reduced crime) as a result of the arena, or is it too soon to tell?
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue reported Monday that the arena-financing zone swept up $48.2 million in 2013 state taxes generated by business activity within its 127-acre footprint. That's money that can be used this year to pay construction loans on PPL Center arena and a host of other private downtown construction projects. The windfall is a 56 percent increase over last year's Neighborhood Improvement Zone state tax haul of $30.9 million, and more than enough to cover this year's $15.9 million debt and reserve fund payments on the arena complex itself.

This project is very high profile, and with that kind of revenue the ANIZDA had better show results. The primary website highighting improvements is:
City Center Lehigh Valley -

With Allentown’s new PPL Center arena, at its core, City Center is developing three Class A office buildings, a full-service Renaissance Hotel, luxury apartments, upscale retail space and loft-style office space – an investment of more than $300 million – by early 2015. Over the next five years, City Center will invest a total of $500 million in downtown Allentown.

The venue is very pretty, and I have seen three games there. IMHO it is ridiculously overpriced and not going to be of much interest to upscale urban homeowners. Minor League Hockey is a family friendly low key sport. The Venue location was much better suited to next door to the Coca Cola stadium in East Allentown.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-13-2015, 11:19 PM
 
Location: Philly
10,220 posts, read 16,734,236 times
Reputation: 2971
Crime peaked in 2006, how would one attribute a decrease in crime to a hockey arena?
//www.city-data.com/crime/crime...nsylvania.html
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-14-2015, 08:06 AM
 
113 posts, read 131,684 times
Reputation: 31
Thanks for the replies. I'm planning to move to Quakertown at the end of June and look for work in the Philly area, but I am interested in the Allentown area, since I lived in center city back in the 80s (had a studio apt. around 7th and Turner Sts.). It was really dicey even back then, but not as bad as today, from what I've heard. I don't have any intention of moving back into that area, but I'm curious about its development.

At least the city is trying to do something to revitalize the area. Hopefully the City Center will succeed in doing that.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-14-2015, 02:39 PM
 
Location: Philly
10,220 posts, read 16,734,236 times
Reputation: 2971
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrKite View Post
Thanks for the replies. I'm planning to move to Quakertown at the end of June and look for work in the Philly area, but I am interested in the Allentown area, since I lived in center city back in the 80s (had a studio apt. around 7th and Turner Sts.). It was really dicey even back then, but not as bad as today, from what I've heard. I don't have any intention of moving back into that area, but I'm curious about its development.

At least the city is trying to do something to revitalize the area. Hopefully the City Center will succeed in doing that.
this article asserts that both allentown and scranton are in the top ten cities where people feel there is a risk to their safety versus actual risk...in other words, the perceived danger is much greater than actual danger.
Where People Feel Safe, And Where They Are Safe | FiveThirtyEight
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-14-2015, 10:48 PM
 
14,612 posts, read 17,308,247 times
Reputation: 7781
Quote:
Originally Posted by pman View Post
... in other words, the perceived danger is much greater than actual danger.
People's perceptions are often not aligned with true statistics. People who feel frightened of minority groups will often radically overstate the percentage of people in a minority group. For example, the census bureau says there are two people classified as "White alone, not Hispanic" for every 1 person in some minority group. But if you ask some people they are convinced that white people are in the minority.

I noticed a long time ago that Allentown and Scranton do not have nearly as bad of statistics as many other cities in Pennsylvania or NJ. But they seem to have terrible reputations. Possibly it is because there is a significant population that remembers when crime stats were much lower 30 years ago.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-16-2015, 06:53 AM
 
113 posts, read 131,684 times
Reputation: 31
Quote:
Originally Posted by PacoMartin View Post
People's perceptions are often not aligned with true statistics. People who feel frightened of minority groups will often radically overstate the percentage of people in a minority group. For example, the census bureau says there are two people classified as "White alone, not Hispanic" for every 1 person in some minority group. But if you ask some people they are convinced that white people are in the minority.

I noticed a long time ago that Allentown and Scranton do not have nearly as bad of statistics as many other cities in Pennsylvania or NJ. But they seem to have terrible reputations. Possibly it is because there is a significant population that remembers when crime stats were much lower 30 years ago.
Wouldn't that justify their perceptions?
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-16-2015, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Philly
10,220 posts, read 16,734,236 times
Reputation: 2971
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrKite View Post
Wouldn't that justify their perceptions?
Their perception is that it's more dangerous today than it actually is...which is different than saying it's more dangerous than 30 years ago. Allentown isn't that dangerous so the best way to turn it around is to go there
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > Pennsylvania > Lehigh Valley

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top