Friday, November 22, 2013

Apartments, offices and stores slated for Bethlehem parking lots



After almost 10 years of ownership, a developer is poised to turn three parking lots along Bethlehem’s East Third Street into three new buildings with 114 apartments and 100,000 square feet of retail and office space.

BethWorks Renovations partner Michael Perrucci said the timing is finally right to build upon the lots, which are across from Northampton Community College’s South Side campus.

Part of the timing is Bethlehem’s quest to obtain a state City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, of which the three parking lots would be part, Perrucci said. The zone, if granted, would allow new construction within the zone to use its new state and local nonproperty taxes toward its financing.

The other reason is the upswing in economic growth in the Lehigh Valley, Perrucci said.

“I think the Valley has been very robust and will continue to be robust. There are exciting things happening in Allentown,” he said. “There’s a need for development in the South Side, not only for young professionals but empty-nesters that would like to be near SteelStacks and ArtsQuest.”

The 114 apartments would be geared toward those looking for a walkable, urban lifestyle, said Rob de Beer, the development director for Peron Development, Perrucci’s Bethlehem-based development group. Residential development doesn’t qualify for as many revitalization zone incentives but the company sees a market for apartments in the neighborhood with or without it, de Beer said.

“We believe in the South Side market for residential,” he said. “The cool, urban-type apartments on the north side are moving so quickly.”
bethworks renovations overviewView full sizeBethWorks Renovations' three buildings would be across East Third Street from Northampton Community College's South Side campus, between Polk and Buchanan streets.Rendering courtesy of Peron Development

Bethlehem for several years has wanted new housing near the SteelStacks entertainment complex and to find a way to better connect it to the South Side business district, Mayor John Callahan said. The BethWorks Renovations complex will achieve both those goals, he said.

“There’s kind of a moat around the Steel site and this bridges that gap,” Callahan said.

Residential has long been envisioned for the former Steel General Office building, which is across the street from the BethWorks Renovations lots. While the SGO building and much of the remaining 126 acres around the former blast furnaces also are included in the proposed revitalization zone, owner Sands BethWorks doesn’t have immediate plans beyond the hotel, convention center and Bass Pro Shops planned inside the former No. 2 Machine Shop, Callahan said.

Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem President Robert DeSalvio through a spokeswoman declined comment this week on the company’s plans for the site. Perrucci’s BethWorks group also is minority owner of the 126 acres.

BethWorks Renovations will likely seek professional offices for its office space and neighborhood retail for its retail space but both will be dependent upon who the company can attract through the revitalization zone incentives, de Beer said. The company is proposing both 50,000 square feet of retail space and 50,000 square feet of office space across the three buildings.

All three buildings would be four stories and would be mostly brick to match the existing Bethlehem Steel Corp. buildings in the neighborhood, de Beer said. The company also owns an empty lot east of Buchanan Street that’s also proposed to be included in the revitalization zone but doesn’t have any immediate plans for, de Beer said. The three proposed buildings would be between Polk and Buchanan streets.

Another developer is working on plans for new retail, offices and student housing nearby on West Third and West Fourth streets. Both Perrucci and de Beer said they see that development — which also is part of the proposed revitalization zone — as complementary, not competition.

“What Dennis (Benner) is doing down the street is exciting,” Perrucci said. “I think there’s just a lot coming together. If the CRIZ happens, I think you’ll see a lot of development throughout the city of Bethlehem.”



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