Business News

City planners meet at 5 p.m. Thursday at Bethlehem Town Hall, 10 E. Church St. The proposal for the former Wells Fargo is listed fourth on an agenda of five items.

Lehigh Valley residents attended a state Public Utility Commission hearing on Tuesday to oppose a proposed rate increase by PPL Electric Utilities. It would be the first rate increase in almost a decade.

Testimony began Monday in hearings that could decide what sort of businesses are allowed at homes throughout North Whitehall Township — and whether one resident’s long-running car repair business can keep operating.

The developer behind a proposed 37-story skyscraper in Allentown asked planning officials for another delay.

Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners approved a $36.7 million budget for 2026 Monday. Several residents attended the meeting to oppose the real estate tax increase, the first in the township since 2019.

The Allentown Parking Authority, state Sen. Nick Miller, D-Lehigh/Northampton, and the City of Allentown have opened a request for proposals for the redevelopment of the 100 block of North Seventh Street.

Northampton County Council passed its $503 million budget for 2026 Thursday night, keeping taxes stable for the eighth year in a row.

General real estate taxes will stay flat in South Whitehall Township next year, its fire tax will rise 0.28 of a mill and residents will see a new 0.1% income tax to fund open space preservation.

The Lehigh Valley is projected to have significant increases in employment and population up to 2050.

After more than a year of meetings, plan review and expert testimony, Easton Planning Commission on Wednesday denied an application for a million-square-foot warehouse at 1525 Wood Ave.

DOE has selected PPL's application for consideration in the Grid Resilience and Innovation Partnerships program.

Dorney Park officials said the first piece of Iron Menace arrived Thursday, and represents the first truckload of what will be about 68 total.

The $20 million mixed-use development is offering 75 apartments with one- and two-bedroom varieties among other things.

$2.5 million of renovations are completed for the Victory Firehouse in Southside Bethlehem as BSI Corporate Benefits' new headquarters. The renovations include modern office spaces, technology improvements, a new kitchen and re-adding firehouse-like garage doors.

Allentown officials and City Center representatives have said the new zoning regulations will lay the "framework" for the developer's ambitious plans.

Blackstone Structures’ Gary Newman said he considered refurbishing or moving the buildings in lieu of knocking them down, but those projects were too expensive and infeasible.

Another pediatric emergency room now is open in the Lehigh Valley. St. Luke’s University Health Network on Monday opened the Isaacman Family Children’s Emergency Room, after establishing a children’s hospital this past June.

The monthly report from the Greater Lehigh Valley Realtors shows home sales down 32 percent in September from September 2022. Low inventory and higher mortgage rates are to blame, officials say.

Pharmacy chain Rite Aid said late Sunday that it has filed for bankruptcy and now is focused on a restructuring plan that will close underperforming stores — including several in the Lehigh Valley.

Take a look at stories that ran throughout the week of which we are most proud, had a profound impact on readers or that you might want to look at again.

City planners voted 3-0 to approve land development plans for the hotel. The developer has a number of tasks to complete before receiving building permits.

Though Ideal Tower will have three fewer floors than the PPL Tower, it's set to stand 326 feet high — four feet taller than the iconic Allentown structure.