Month: February 2021

Another developer thinking big . . . er, tall

The latest in a series of posts on the Southside

Historic Conservation Commission meeting January 25, 2020

Ok, now this one caught Gadfly by surprise.

His own fault.

Since the pandemic, he has had to give up his rounds of attending the City ABC’s, like the historic commissions, in person.

And, old technology-challenged dawg that he is, he hasn’t come up to speed on attending these meetings via Zoom.

So Gadfly was surprised at City Council Tuesday night to hear Councilman Callahan-Planning Director Heller exchange a few words about a 12-story building at New St. and the Greenway.

Sure ’nuff.

See the part of the January 25 HCC agenda on 317-327 S. New.

Picture it: that’s from the Subway down to the jewelry store at the Greenway.

If you good followers will click on the link above and choose the 317-327 S. New supporting documents and then choose file “06 . . . New St. Renderings,” you will find several more delightful pictures like the one above.

And if you browse files “01” and “03,” you will find info about a 12-story building, with 82 apartments, first-floor commercial, Palomino Food Court, and parking at the New St. garage.

The building will interact with the existing surrounding buildings and Greenway. The new building will be designed to compliment the historical charm of the area as well as nearby new developments. The building will be situated as such that it appears to be multiple buildings from the facade as to not create an overstatement within the neighborhood.

Clark+Quinn Development completed a comprehensive marketing/Demographics study of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton Housing Market Area (Allentown HMA) and specifically, the downtown Bethlehem area. We believe there is a strong need for market rate apartment housing for workforce individuals, healthcare providers, young professionals, life science and university communities, and graduate students. Amenities such as a gymnasium, a food court, and a roof top patio are being proposed to accommodate the inhabitants of the project. We believe our development will encourage other area residents to visit new and existing downtown retail venues, growing the downtown and growing the tax base.

As the population of the Bethlehem area continues to grow and evolve, so must the structures that house its community and residents. The proposed development will do just that. Our hope is that by providing a housing development to serve the growing population, it will further activate the existing retail and restaurants in the Southside as well as engage the existing Greenway to further stimulate community life.

Wow!

The Southside has been receiving much attention.

The plan to perk up the New St. corridor from the bridge to Lehigh goes back several years.

There was a lively Zoom meeting November 19.

Right now there’s a Historic Southside Bethlehem Citizen Survey.

Etcetera.

At Council on Tuesday Planner Heller said that the developers got some ideas to think about from HCC and will return to HCC at a later date. No action taken. The video of that January 25 meeting is not available yet. Gadfly will be on the lookout for it and report on the meeting. He is very curious what the conversation was like.

A 12-story building?

The survey mentioned above had a specific question about the issue of height in the Southside historical district.

We know height has been a hot button.

Gadfly wonders if it was an issue for the HCC at the meeting.

More later.

Any thoughts at this time?

Local entrepreneur to bring 14 stories of luxury to the Boyd Theatre site

Latest in a series of posts about Northside

Selections from Jon Harris, “Bethlehem’s Boyd Theatre is sold, and new owners plan 14-story apartment building in its place.” Morning Call, February 3, 2020.

Nearly a decade ago, the single screen at Bethlehem’s Boyd Theatre faded to black. Ever since, several ideas have been pitched for the property, aimed at injecting life into a sleepy block around the corner from busy Main Street.

Now, the property’s new owner wants the city to picture this: a luxury apartment building that stretches 14 stories into the air, with a restaurant atop what would be one of downtown Bethlehem’s tallest structures. Inside, the building would have a pool, fitness center and a private movie theater for residents, who would park in an underground garage. Those walking past on West Broad Street would see ground-floor retail shops.

[The last we heard Charles Jefferson was developing the Boyd site: Nicole Radzievich, “Bethlehem’s Boyd Theatre may face its final curtain call.” Morning Call, February 12, 2019.]

That’s the vision of DLP Real Estate Capital and developer Monocacy General Contracting, a partnership that acquired the long-shuttered Boyd Theatre property late last week, the companies announced Wednesday.

“The Boyd Theatre had been a staple to the city of Bethlehem for so many years, but unfortunately sat vacant and unlivable for a long time,” DLP founder and CEO Don Wenner said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming individuals and families to their new apartment homes in addition to an increase in businesses and commerce downtown.”

Monocacy CEO Rocco Ayvazov said the company plans to incorporate elements of the old theater into the development, including the original Boyd sign.

“Imagine modern luxury with a dash of nostalgia,” he said.

Bethlehem Mayor Robert Donchez said he has a meeting scheduled with the new owners Monday and looks forward to learning more.

“I’m very excited about meeting the new owners,” he said. “I’m excited about the things I’ve been hearing. I think it’s great that a developer wants to invest in downtown.”

The project could help meet apartment demand and infuse excitement into an underutilized block, Donchez said. It also would, he noted, boost foot traffic for the downtown’s assortment of restaurants and retailers, still facing challenges amid a nearly year-long pandemic.

If the name DLP sounds familiar, it’s likely because you’ve heard the company’s radio ads echoing through your car.

Founded in 2009 by Wenner, a 2003 Nazareth Area High School graduate, DLP Real Estate Capital has more than 400 employees and is now a multifaceted real estate empire, . . . For the eighth consecutive year, DLP in August made the Inc. 5000, the annual list of the fastest-growing privately held U.S. companies. Days later, DLP announced that it surpassed $1 billion in assets under management after it acquired a 400-unit apartment community in South Carolina for $54 million. It now owns dozens of apartment communities across at least 19 U.S. states.

Last step before the voting on the ordinance to regulate student housing

The latest in a series of posts on the Southside

An important ordinance aimed at regulating student housing especially around Lehigh University is working its way through the City bureaucracy.

The genesis of this ordinance probably goes back twenty, maybe even thirty years and is associated with Gadfly #1 Stephen Antalic’s grim depictions of the manifestly deleterious effect that the uncontrolled growth of student housing is having on traditional neighborhoods on the Southside around Lehigh University.

In recent years the chant for taking action to protect those neighborhoods and the quality of resident life therein is associated with Councilwoman Negron.

And see powerful recent statements supporting this ordinance by Anna Smith here and here.

In recent years DCED director Alicia Karner and Planning Director Darlene Heller have worked with all parties involved to bring the “Student Housing Overlay District” ordinance to the brink of a Council vote.

This student overlay ordinance proscribes a regulated geographical district of student housing. Current student housing outside that district is “grandfathered” as long as it continues to be licensed and inspected. New student housing outside the district is permissible but with fewer students allowed than housing inside the district.

Here from the ordinance itself is the statement of purpose:

The proposed ordinance has received substantial recent attention: at a Community Development Committee meeting October 22 (many resident voices for the ordinance, a few opposed), at a Planning Commission Meeting, at City Council December 15.

And now substantial attention at a Public Hearing before the City Council meeting February 2, where landlord voices opposed to the ordinance predominated (Council video mins 28:00-1:01:50), questioning such things as the inadequately narrow size of the overlay, parking, and the nature of grandfathering. Here is an example of a landlord comment.

The familiar voices of Southside long-time residents Anne Evans and Seth Moglen were heard after the landlord calls. Gadfly always like to point you to models of effective resident commentary, and he suggests that you listen to these calls by Evans and Moglen countering the landlords by honing in on the important intention of the ordinance. Evans speaks of the need to protect the availability of affordable housing on the Southside, and Moglen urges Council to see that the landlord arguments to expand the overlay boundaries are precisely the reason the ordinance is needed.

As far as Gadfly can tell, Council sentiment has unanimously favored this ordinance at every step. Landlord questions were explored with the City representatives Tuesday night, especially by Councilman Callahan, and all seemed to be resolved.

The ordinance will now appear on the City Council agenda for first reading and vote February 16.

Frankly, this feels like one of the most important actions by Council in the time that Gadfly has been Council-watching, and he hopes the ordinance succeeds as it seems destined to.

Bethlehem has a bird!

Latest in a series of posts on the Swifts

Save Our Swifts

From Illick’s Mill to Saucon Park the City is moving toward a more
environmentally rich future.
Doug Roysdon

Gadfly is envious.

Last night the Swift was recognized as the official bird of Bethlehem.

No talk yet of an official insect.

Maybe next year.

This gadfly might even stay around for that and put the family name in the running.

But, yes, City Council approved Olga Negron’s resolution to name the Swift the official bird of the city of Bethlehem by a 7-0 tally.

(You’ll love Bernie O’Hare’s delightful squinty-eyed take on our choice of the Swift as our City bird. Take a look.)

Four of those wonderful Freemansburg 4th graders called in with remarkable aplomb to make the case: Yasiel, Emma, Ryan, and Cole. Be sure to listen.

Later City Council members took turns praising the project and the kids:

Gadfly will probably have some more to say about points Council members made, but he was especially struck with Councilwoman Van Wirt’s exhortation to the kids to “Please don’t ever stop calling your government and telling us what you think.”

A tip o’ the hat to Swift advocate Jennie Gilrain and Masonic Temple developer John Noble and the community that has formed around this project.

Gadfly has written about the many values of the Swift project for our town, and he will take this opportunity to provide one more example of such in a letter from Doug Roysdon to Council:

I would like to take this chance to endorse the adoption of the chimney swift as our city bird.  Beyond the many strong environmental reasons for embracing the swift, it occurs to me that these birds, with their acrobatic flight patterns,  offer great promise for graphic imagery for future city publications, initiatives, and signage.  I think this is particularly true as we move forward with our Climate Action Plan and increasingly promote the use of native plants in our parks and on the Greenway. From Illick’s Mill to Saucon Park the City is moving toward a more environmentally rich future.  We will want just the kind of imagery the chimney swift provides to support this greener future.  

But last night’s decision was not an end.

Stay tuned for news about a 3-part series of public forums hosted by the Bethlehem Area Public Library and supported by the Lehigh Valley Engaged Humanities Consortium.

And we still have some money to raise to insure our Swifts are chimneyfied.

Swift Project headquarters is pursuing grants, but we have our part to play in raising money.

Frankly, the fundraising has stalled.

So let Gadfly remind you to contribute and to pass the word through your personal, familial, and social network.

And contributions from environmentally conscious folk from outside Bethlehem are gratefully accepted.

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Save Our Swifts

Bethlehem City Council meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday, February 2, 7PM

Latest in a series of posts on City Government

Click for agenda and documents

See below for comment instructions

City Council — the “face” of Bethlehem City government — meets tomorrow night, Tuesday, February 2 at 7PM.

You can watch the City Council meetings on the following YouTube channel: City of Bethlehem Council
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRLFG5Y9Ui0jADKaRE1W3xw

————

7PM: The regularly scheduled Council meeting

Of interest:

  • Important public hearing at the beginning of the meeting on an ordinance to create a Student Overlay District and Provisions to Address Student Housing on Southside around Lehigh.
  • The Resolution in support of naming the Chimney Swift the official Bird of Bethlehem — followers can’t help but be aware of Gadfly’s interest in this one!!!!

But there’s always the unexpected.

As long as he has flutter in his wings, Gadfly urges attending City Council.

Be informed. Be involved.

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DUE TO THE COVID-19 EMERGENCY, TOWN HALL ACCESS IS CURRENTLY RESTRICTED. IF YOU WANT TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT, PLEASE FOLLOW THE PHONE COMMENT INSTRUCTIONS BELOW.

 PUBLIC COMMENT PHONE INSTRUCTIONS

REMOTE PUBLIC COMMENT PHONE INSTRUCTIONS. If you would like to speak during the City Council meeting, please sign up per the instructions below or call into the meeting when the Council President announces he will take public comment calls.

If you would like to sign up to speak, email the following information to the Bethlehem City Clerk’s office (cityclerk@bethlehem-pa.gov) no later than 2:00 PM on the day of the meeting: (a) name; (b) address; (c) phone number; and (d) topic of comments. If you are signed up to speak, the City Council President will call you from (610) 997-7963.

After all signed-up speakers talk, the Council President will ask whether anyone else would like to make public comments. If you want to speak at that time, call the Bethlehem City Council public comment phone line at (610) 997-7963.

NOTES:

Calls to the public comment phone number will only be accepted during the designated public comment period with a 5 minute time limit.

If you call and the line is busy, please call back when the current speaker is finished.

As soon as your call begins, please turn off all speakers, computer speakers, televisions, or radios.

At the start of your call, please state your name and address.

A five minute time limit will apply to any public comments.

Public hearing on regulating student housing coming up Tuesday

The latest in a series of posts on the Southside

Gadfly has slightly edited this letter from Anna Smith.

Gadfly suggests you refresh yourself on this issue by looking at the letter petitioning Council to regulate student housing that many residents signed.

————

Gadfly:

I’m writing to provide a brief update on the Student Housing Overlay and accompanying regulations that are under consideration by Bethlehem City Council. The approval process has entered the final stages, and with [continued] support, we can ensure that Student Housing is appropriately regulated throughout the City, preserving and protecting affordable housing for families outside of the overlay zone. A Public Hearing on the zoning changes will be held on Tuesday, February 2 at 7 pm, prior to the regular City Council meeting. Following the hearing, Council will vote on the proposed changes at their February 16 and March 2 meetings.

If you would like to share your support for the zoning changes, we encourage you to speak at the February 2nd Hearing.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to send me an email.

Thanks for your ongoing support for Southside neighborhoods! Please feel free to forward this email to anyone who might be interested.

Anna

See powerful past statements supporting this ordinance by Anna here and here.

Find the official Overlay documents here