11-story office structure to replace Allentown bank building

Bolstered by an Allentown arena project that appears to be full-steam ahead, City Center Investment Corp. has decided to boost the height of its proposed downtown office complex to 11 stories.

At five floors taller than its original proposal, Two City Center will be the second tallest building in downtown Allentown, surpassed only by the PPL tower.

Major demolition started Thursday on the former First National Bank building at Seventh and Hamilton streets to make room for what will be a 181-foot tall brick, glass and limestone structure for up to 900 workers.

"When people look out across the horizon and see this building a few blocks from PPL Plaza, they're going to notice that Allentown is beginning to build a bit of a skyline," said Jim Harbaugh, chief operating officer for City Center as he watched demolition begin. "But first they have to take this building down. They've got a big ol' crane and the big boys are going to be swinging today. This is going to be fun."

With its location at one of Allentown's busiest intersections, what figures to be a delicate demolition of the six-story First National Bank building drew an audience Thursday. Swinging a wrecking ball from a more than 100-foot-tall crane, North Star Construction Management, of Allentown, has to remove the building without disturbing passing traffic or the Pennrose senior citizens high rise just a few feet away.

Employees from the nearby Lehigh County Domestic Relations office said all their scheduled breaks would be spent outside.

"It's kind of cool when they give it a good whack," said Domestic Relations employee Tami Wilson as the ball made impact. "Oh, come on, you can do better than that."

The new building will sit across Seventh Street from the city's new $272 million complex. That project is to include an 8,500-seat hockey arena where the Philadelphia Flyers' top minor league affiliate is scheduled to begin playing in October 2014, an eight-story Hamilton Street office building called One City Center and a 180-room hotel.

Two City Center was originally scheduled to be six stories and 200,000 square feet, but Harbaugh said high interest in downtown office space prompted the company to add five floors and 100,000 square feet.

"When the arena project was held up by lawsuits, everyone was sort of sitting on the sidelines," Harbaugh said. "Well, now they're in the game, and we're confident we can lease all 11 floors."

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11-story office structure to replace Allentown bank building