By Veronica Grecu, Associate Editor
One of the largest open-air shopping centers in the U.S. in recent years is under construction in Lower Macungie Township, north of Philadelphia.
Hamilton Crossings – Lower Macungie
Developed by a joint venture between the Goldenberg Group of Blue Bell, PA, and New York City-based TCH Development, the $140 million Hamilton Crossings will sit on 70 acres of land located between Hamilton Blvd. and the Route 222 Bypass at Krocks Road. As mentioned in a news report by Lehigh Valley Business, the construction site was formerly occupied by two abandoned iron mines. The site is currently being cleaned of mine wash, a highly saturated material with no structural strength that has to be removed and replaced with clean fill, the news report said.
Hamilton Crossings will encompass 565,000 square feet of upscale retail space which, according to the news source, has already been leased to several big-box tenants such as Whole Foods and Costco—marking the retailers’ first supermarkets in Lehigh Valley—, Target and Dick’s Sporting. Other tenants include Five Belowm Designed Shoe Warehouse, ULTA Cosmetics, Nordstrom Rack, Old Navy, Rally House and Pier 1 Imports, and several others which haven’t been disclosed by the developers. In Total, Hamilton Crossings will house 33 businesses, including up to eight restaurants, and will feature shopper-friendly amenities such as 22 miles of walking and bike paths, a rain garden with 160,000 plants and outdoor gathering places.
The massive shopping center is scheduled for opening in July 2016. The retail project will have a positive impact on Lehigh Valley’s employment market, generating 495 construction jobs. Additionally, almost 620 full-time jobs and 300 part-time jobs will be created after the shopping center opens. The development project will also bring the first adaptive traffic control system in the region: seven high-tech traffic signals placed at intersection around the shopping center that will communicate with each other and make real-time adjustments to the duration of light based on the flow of traffic. These signals will be equipped with video cameras and will be connected to a computer that will help alleviate traffic, according to lehighvalleylive.com.
Courtesy rendering