(16th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

Writing in haste in case the recordings and my rushed thoughts
can be of any use tonight.

Nobody has asked me who my Gadfly heroes are. I give a nod to Socrates in the very first words of the Gadfly “About” page. Obvious choice. He’s a given.

But Thoreau too — Henry David Thoreau. The guy who lived by himself in a cabin for a year or two and wrote the classic Walden; or Life in the Woods.

He was a fierce social critic. Read “Civil Disobedience.” Or “Slavery in Massachusetts.”

Quite a guy.

Thoreau talks of the necessary friction that makes the machine (of government) run smooth.

I like that idea. It’s a Gadflying idea.

The 11 people who spoke to the Planning Commission might be seen by some as friction-filled.

In fact, the ugly term CAVE people rattled around in my mind. Remember that unhappy episode from last year? The unfortunate notion from a source or two on Council that “Citizens against virtually everything” show up to sour City projects.

But I saw these people as the necessary friction that makes the machinery of government run smooth.

Or try to.

Gadfly was very proud of what he saw and heard on last Thursday and which he archives here below — hoping that you’ll listen.

In a comment to a previous post, follower Al Bernotas thanked Gadfly for relaying “public sentient.” I thought at first that was a misprint. But I liked the unusual phrase.

Then the sound of it led me to “public sapience.”

Kind of nerdy, I know — sorry — but what Gadfly sees here is “public sapience.”

They who have ears to hear, let them hear.

—————

Here are the full recordings of the presentations I clipped in my previous post Martin Tower: “Please, City of Bethlehem, make this a jewel” (15). The presentations are all short. If you are being selective, take a look at the clips in the previous post for speakers you might be especially interested in.

Brian Hillard

Diane Backus

Ed Deluva

Steve Melnick

Paige Van Wirt

Mike Topping

Stephen Antalics

Dana Grubb

Steve Glickman

Bruce Haines’s proxy

Charlene Donchez Mowers

REMEMBER!

City Council tonight 7pm, Town Hall

A new follower asked Gadfly a simple question: “Should I attend the meeting tonight?”

It made me think of something I should have thought of before.

Gadfly plans to post the impressive public comment recordings from Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting on Martin Tower.

As well as some personal commentary.

But he is in a bit of a time-bind right now.

Though the Mayor and most of City Council might follow the blog, might have followed the last several posts on Martin Tower, and might have the opportunity to hear the recordings when I post them in the near future —

it would have more impact for them to hear such views as were presented last week in the immediacy of the Council meeting tonight.

As is, only one Councilperson attended the meeting and heard the excellent public response.

For maximum impact — for maximum pressure — the Mayor and all City Council must be confronted with those views and ideas — in person.

So Gadfly is suggesting that Thursday presenters present again tonight.

So Gadfly is suggesting that people not at the Planning Commission who were able to follow it through the recent Gadfly posts also come tonight and contribute their views.

Use the time at the beginning of the meeting for “comments on matters not being voted on tonight.”

If, for instance, a member of the EAC will be present tonight, he or she could synopsize their excellent letter to the Planning Commission.

Sorry for the late notice in suggesting this, but this would be a ripe time to be heard on matters Martin Tower.

(15th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

We come now to Gadfly’s favorite part of the Martin Tower marathon postings.

Public comment.

Followers might remember that one motivation for the Gadfly project is to more widely distribute and archive public commentary.

When he began attending City meetings in January 2018, one of the first things that struck him was the high quality of public comments.

And how much of a shame it was that such good commentary simply disappeared into the Town Hall ceiling.

Gadfly loves to hear “the people” talk, and he hopes that the Gadfly blog will even encourage more such commentary.

The hour and more of public commentary at the Planning Commission last week more than met Gadfly’s high expectations.

And the nature of the commentary was different than it was four years ago in 2015 (as examined a few posts back) – even the Planning Commission chair made a big point of that. Only one comment referenced the dreaded creation of a “3^rd downtown” that was so much on people’s minds – especially the merchants – at that time.

Not at all surprising, the public commentary this time criticized details of the Master Plan: the size-location-nature of the park, the shamelessly low percentage of open space, the lack of diverse housing, subdividing the property, lack of solar, light pollution, potential gridlock, location of the hotel, parking, the destination of our tax dollars, the mysterious owner, and so forth.

But surprising, pleasantly surprising, was the concerted attack on the quality of the Master Plan. Our commentators to a person wanted the absolute best design and didn’t find it here.

The Master Plan was dull, unimaginative, routine, lacking creativity – the work of an engineer not a planner, much less an artist.

Speakers found the plan underwhelming, something only someone with a Franklinian penchant for right angles could love.

The plan was rather vanilla, with a Levittown look, and better could be found in introductory College design courses.

The Martin Tower site is a gem, a jewel, an icon – it is unique – nothing these people saw in the design rose to the transcendent level it deserves – and which the City must have.

Why not a public market? Why not a big park? Why not a central park/fountain with the iconic I-beam?

Where is the root in the Bethlehem Comprehensive Plan? Have they not heard of the Bethlehem Climate Action Plan? No evidence of either.

So the developer’s Master Plan meets the technical requirements – ok, but ho-hum — can’t we expect more than that!

What here is to be really proud of?

People were asking for more than just technical competence and increased tax dollars.

They yearned for a design that matched their exalted sense of their hometown.

They wanted excitement. They wanted to be enthused — “turned on”!

They wanted something to love.

There was not enough “spark.”

Simply good enough is not good enough.

Strong stuff!

Our people were demanding imagination, creativity, specialness, excellence. They worried that the City would just “settle” with what was presented.

This could be an icon to the future.

There’s more than a hint of desperation in this haunting plea:

“Please, City of Bethlehem, make this a jewel, not another missed opportunity.”

——————

Looking at that pocket park, it’s like in the pocket, it’s like something you might forget . . . having something centralized, having something with more of a focus on it would be a better served opportunity for this site. (Brian Hillard)

Disappointed that there is no opportunity for owner-occupied housing.  (Dana Grubb)

We are concerned about the effect of so many people in such close proximity to the Burnside Plantation. (Charlene Donchez Mowers)

I’m certainly underwhelmed currently by what’s proposed here. (Diane Backus)

Don’t rush to say let’s just get this thing over with. (Edward Deluva)

CRIZ is 53 acres, now imploding the 5-acre asset the CRIZ was designed to preserve. 48 acres should be returned to the state. (Bruce Haines proxy)

I’ve seen plans like this submitted by Lehigh students in my office when they were just starting out in some kind of urban design program at Lehigh, their plans were better than this. (Mike Topping)

Missing individuality and some of the precepts of modern planning. (Steve Melnick)

You never mentioned the Bethlehem Comprehensive Plan. (Steven Glickman)

The plan is a design only Ben Franklin would love . . . straight lines are not friendly. (Diane Backus)

Mr. Herrick is a multi-billionaire, owning over 5 billion dollars of real estate, thoroughbred horses, he owns companies doing movies and Broadway shows, he owns athletic groups and a massive art collection. Now with a background like that . . . crying poverty in terms of getting rid of asbestos. (Stephen Antalics)

I would encourage us to seek out development of that property in a remarkable way to really make something the City will be proud of just as what Bethlehem Steel had done for this City and this Valley and the world.  (Edward Deluva)

Who’s going to enjoy the space [of the park] – facing the thruway? (Diane Backus)

What we’ve heard so far is this plan meets the ordinance, this plan is good enough, but good enough is not good enough for this piece of land, and good enough is not good enough for Bethlehem. (Paige Van Wirt)

The idea of subdividing this land is a mistake. (Mike Topping)

Why is there no low-income housing? (Diane Backus)

On social media the gas station has been panned big time. (Dana Grubb)

Mixed use does not mean housing over here, and office over there. That is not how cities grow. That is how developers generally think.  (Steven Glickman)

The lack of a major corporate tenant is a huge disappointment. (Bruce Haines proxy)

The man said it meets requirements – is that the best we get? (Diane Backus)

I think it’s incumbent upon the City to follow these policies [e.g., the Climate Action Plan]. (Edward Deluva)

This site was an icon to our city and our region, and we would be well served to continue with that thought. This could be an icon to the future as we remove the icon from the past. (Brian Hillard)

A park there only to meet the requirements of the ordinance not to become useful not necessarily to become useful to the people who are living there. (Steve Melnick)

This was drawn by an engineer who had a straight edge and a scale, and that’s about it. (Mike Topping)

The open space percentage is a shame, an absolute shame. (Diane Backus)

Where is the park? I don’t see the park. (Anon.)

This is a rather vanilla development plan. (Charlene Donchez Mowers)

Why the deception? Why the misrepresentation? . . . So in essence Mr. Herrick owns 62.5% of Martin Towers. Has anyone here ever heard or seen of Mr. Herrick? So where will the profits be going? . . . That site is in a CRIZ zone that will get developmental help by tax dollars, tax dollars generated by citizens of Bethlehem and the state of Pennsylvania. (Stephen Antalics)

Why is the hotel not on the street where there is the most traffic and visibility? (Steve Melnick)

I think it would speak very well for these developers if they understood how valuable that remaining land is for the City and to give it back to the City to determine where is the best place for it to be used not by a private entity. I’m speaking to you guys, and I’m hoping you will take that into consideration as a good faith gesture to the City. (Paige Van Wirt)

A pocket park – why not a big park? (Diane Backus)

There’s something here that is truly unique . . . and to just settle for something good is not good enough. (Edward Deluva)

Disappointed that we’re not providing housing for all social and economic strata . . . almost every development that comes in nowadays is upscale rental, and gentrification is a real issue. (Dana Grubb)

Why not a public market like Easton has? (Diane Backus)

Competitive disadvantage over the existing hotels and draws customers away from downtown shops and restaurants. (Bruce Haines proxy)

Sort of the look of Levittown coming to Bethlehem, and that is not what Bethlehem planning has been about. (Mike Topping)

Hire a planner not an engineer and develop your plan using the goals and guidelines outlined in the Comprehensive Plan. (Steven Glickman)

Where are the solar roofs?  Where are the grass roofs? (Diane Backus)

If this is only using 5 acres of the CRIZ, my overriding question is what is going to happen to that very valuable remaining CRIZ land?  (Paige Van Wirt)

This is truly a gem project. . . . It’s incumbent upon the City to take a really hard look at this.  (Edward Deluva)

Light pollution is [will be] real [for people in the townhouses]. (Steve Melnick)

Is it fair for a multi-billionaire to take Pennsylvania tax dollars with no interest and redeveloping down in Florida? (Stephen Antalics)

Going to be a fair amount of gridlock. (Steve Melnick)

Please, City of Bethlehem, make this a jewel, not another missed opportunity. (Diane Backus)

 

Eaton Ave. north

1 – medical 2 – medical 3 – retail 4 – gas/convenience

8 – Offices 7 – Hotel (132 rooms) 6 – Restaurant 5 – Retail

9 –528 apartments, 3 stories 1-2 bedroom pocket park at bottom

Rt. 378 south

 

Ok, so you have taken the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, but have you forced others?

(15th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

Eaton Ave. north

1 – medical 2 – medical 3 – retail 4 – gas/convenience

8 – Offices 7 – Hotel (132 rooms) 6 – Restaurant 5 – Retail

9 – 528 apartments, 3 stories 1-2 bedroom pocket park at bottom

Rt. 378 south

Gadfly is taking the April 11 Planning Commission meeting on the Martin Tower Master Plan one step at a time.

After Mr. Wagner presented the Master Plan for the developer, the City hit the high points of its detailed April 5 review of the plan, the “Martin Tower Complex Master Plan Review. “

Now’s the time we should spend some time reviewing the review.

Audio of this section of the meeting is here:

The highlights the City highlighted (Gadfly needs a rest!) “in a big picture kind of way” include:

• minimizing parking
• minimizing impervious coverage
• allowing shared parking
• increasing green space
• moving buildings up to the street
• mixed-use
• residential uses on upper floors
• greater variety of housing types
• mixed use = more sustainable
• active or passive outdoor recreational use
• flat areas are developed for parking, beyond parking ground slopes off
• pond and park on sloped area and wooded area, not good
• trees removed must be replaced
• need to retain as many trees as possible
• thus more recreational space on interior of the lot
• phasing of development
• public roads? public utilities?
• trail system is beautiful asset, has some funding, looking for other funding
• connector to network of trails, very important
• Burnside
• sightlines
• pedestrian and bicycle safety
• connectivity to exterior sites as well as interior
• need tree inventory
• traffic numbers compared to Martin Tower unsure
• but traffic patterns now will be much different for sure
• variety of parking
• matching street lighting

The City concluded highlighting (yuck) as important points: variety of uses (?), variety of housing types, cutting back on impervious uses.

Subsequent short discussion with Commissioners focused on parking, with the developer indicating that shared parking is not desired by tenants and thus is not acceptable, realistic, practical.

This is the first time Gadfly has had any concrete sense of the preliminary interaction between the City and a developer.

Interesting.

My sense is that the City is on to several concerns voiced by Gadfly followers.

Agree?

Want to add anything else before we actually look at what people like “us” said during public comment?

Ok, so you have taken the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, but have you forced others?

Ok, so you have taken the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, but have you forced others?

(14th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

Eaton Ave. north

1 – medical 2 – medical 3 – retail 4 – gas/convenience

8 – Offices 7 – Hotel (132 rooms) 6 – Restaurant 5 – Retail

9 – 528 apartments, 3 stories 1-2 bedroom pocket park at bottom

Rt. 378 south

Gadfly’s going to work through the Martin Tower meeting at the Planning Commission April 11 in several posts

Beginning at the beginning.

Duane Wagner presented the developer Master Plan, taking about 1/2hr. We have the full audio of his presentation below.

Gadfly thought his presentation was clear and thorough.

But Gadfly particularly noted how in his prefatory remarks Wagner was careful to frame the presentation of the Master Plan squarely in the 2015 debates.

Listen to the deference to concerns about a “3rd downtown” and specific injunctions from 2015 City Council in this pertinent interchange between Wagner and PC Commissioner Malozi:

Mr. Malozi: “What was driving how you came up with those mixes, what’s shown on the plan, the different uses there?”

Mr. Wagner: “The biggest thing that drove us was the direction from the zoning ordinance, the City Council, what we heard from them. It was important to create some residences that support the downtown and create a base, find office type uses that create employees, and also to provide some retail on site to support both the employees and the residents. . . . We tried to be cognizant of all the comments and all the direction we got. . . . not to put too much there to drain the downtown or put forth fuel to the concern that that could happen. . . . We feel it’s a good mix that accomplishes what the ordinance wanted as well as what we heard from City Council.”

Wagner clearly lists and discusses the take-aways from the 2015 debates that were considered in the formulation of the Master Plan:

And he also clearly addresses where the Master Plan stands in relation to the operative zoning ordinance:

In short, Gadfly felt that Wagner was “politic” in the way he approached his presentation. Gadfly felt a direct connection between his review of 2-3 dozen documents from the hot mess in 2015 in Wagner’s opening words.

The developers were roundly criticized in 2015 for their silence. Wagner here tries to show that they were “listening.”

So let’s get into the details of Wagner’s presentation, though, except for this example of what the apartments might look like, my pictures of his additional slides of the site are not useful.

Ok, now here’s the full audio of Wagner’s presentation with some pertinent time marks.

14:10: parking
19:30: access
21:41: walkability
23:10: sidewalks
24:28: the pocket park
25:23: sightlines
27:10: employment
28:06: tax revenue

Lots to chew on here. Comments welcome. But Gadfly will continue on especially to public commentary.

Ok, so you have taken the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, but have you forced others?

Just take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, wouldya?

 (13th in a series on Martin Tower)

Martin Tower demolition May 19
www.martintowerbethlehem.com

As one of the participants at the Planning Commission meeting said today, “Ok, now we have something to talk about.”

The developers presented their “Master Plan.”

Gadfly may want to spend 3-4 posts on this PC meeting, but first let’s just report the news.

Here’s the Master plan from Herrick and Ronca or HRP Management – Gadfly is not sure by what name to call the developers.

Orient yourself to the geography of the image:

• that’s Schoenersville/Eaton Ave. running across the top of the property
• that’s 8^th Avenue running down the left side
• across the bottom you can see the exit from Rt. 378 curling into 8^th
• Eaton Ave. is on the north side (top), 8^th on the west (left), Rt, 378 on the south (bottom)

Now let’s look inside the site at what the developers propose:

Eaton Ave. north

1 – medical   2- medical   3- retail   4- gas/convenience

8 – Offices   7 – Hotel (132 rooms)   6 – Restaurant   5- Retail

9 – 528 apartments, 3 stories 1-2 bedroom pocket park at bottom

Rt. 378 south

The Master Plan was submitted March 12. The City responded with a 4-page detailed letter titled the “Martin Tower Complex Master Plan Review” dated April 5.

Duane Wagner, representing the developer walked through the Master Plan in about a 1/2hr presentation. The PC members engaged in discussion, followed by comments from a dozen members of the attending public, before the PC engaged in discussion again and proceeded to a vote.

The PC chair framed the vote in terms of 4 options: 1) approve the Master Plan as is, 2) totally disapprove it, 3) approve it with suggestions and recommendations in the April 5 City letter, 4) ask for a total re-submission.

The choice narrowed to either #3 or #4.

The PC chair moved “to approve the Martin Tower Master Plan with the points highlighted in the April 5, 2019, letter [from the City], particularly under the ‘General’ comments #1, #5, #10, and in ‘Forestry,’ #2.” The motion passed 3-2.

This Master Plan was described as a “sketch plan,” and the PC chair said, “all will eventually come back” to the Planning Commission.

So, we should look in detail at the April 5 City letter titled the “Martin Tower Complex Master Plan Review.”

Here are the 4 parts of that letter especially cited in the motion for developer attention:

General

1. Impervious coverage shall be minimized wherever possible. For example, opportunities for shared parking are encouraged in the Zoning Ordinance and should be explored. Opportunities for increased greening of the site should be maximized.
2. Each of the uses provides a significantly greater number of parking spaces than what are required by the Zoning Ordinance. Parking should be minimized provide a reduction of impervious coverage, allow for greater opportunity for greenspace and landscaping and to provide for greater opportunity for additional uses.
3. The plan shows the detention pond as a stormwater facility on a sloped and heavily wooded area of the site. We recommend that the site include infiltration and other alternative measures for stormwater management other than a detention pond if at all possible. If a pond is necessary, it should not be located on sloped or wooded areas; it could be incorporated as an amenity at the interior of the site and could possibly be a focal point for passive recreation.

Forestry

2. Driving lanes, buildings, trees, and parking areas are all in repetitive, monotonous straight lines. Provide some relief from this dull predictability by creating more interest and variety with angled building/parking areas, curved or meandering driving lanes and accesses, and more natural and uncontrived landscaped areas.

Ok, “now we have something to talk about.” Gadfly wants to come back and spend 3-4 posts more on this topic. But the floor is open for your comments.

Just take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, wouldya?

Just take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, wouldya?

(12th in a series on Martin Tower)

Initial sketch plans for Martin Tower site at Planning Commission
4PM today Thursday April 11 Town Hall

Martin Tower demolition May 19

How hot was it? Pretty damn hot. This ought to give you an idea. Think another heat wave is coming?

Just take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey, wouldya?

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

(10th in a series on Martin Tower)

Initial sketch plans for Martin Tower site at Planning Commission
4PM Thursday April 11 Town Hall

Martin Tower demolition May 19

The owners have submitted a plan for medical offices, retail stores, a gas station, a restaurant, and garden apartments for the 53-acre site.

It’s Martin Tower Monday.

In what would seem to be another step to foster a climate of approval before the Planning Commission meets, Councilman Callahan took a few minutes at the Council meeting last week to reflect on seeing the Martin Tower site plans at the private tour provided by the developer.

The audio of Council’s video capture of the meeting went dead, but, fortunately, Gadfly audio’d this portion of the meeting in which CM Callahan reflected on the wisdom of Council’s 2015 decision, calmed fears from competing interests, and praised the developers.

“Council wanted a limited amount of retail, and that’s exactly what we got, so I think the fear of having a third downtown is not going to be seen by Main St. businesses.”

“I think it’s a good plan. I know there’s a lot more residential living back there than the school district wanted. And I think that’s really the key of why we made the decision.”

“The school district obviously wanted more business less students. And the Main St. businesses didn’t want a lot of businesses. So there was a lot of competing interests there.”

“And I think the residents that were in that area . . . wanted more retail and places to go shopping, and I think it was a good compromise by Council at that time, and I think it’s going to be a good plan.”

“I’m very proud of the developers for doing what they did, and we’re doing the right thing.”

“A lot of the fear we had at that time, did not come to fruition.”

Gadfly will attend the Planning Commission meeting Thursday and will make the site plans available as soon as he can find them. In the meantime, he’s going to see what he can find in the old files to help him understand the issues that were “hot” in 2015.

Gadfly invites those with information to share!

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

(9th in a series on Martin Tower)

Initial sketch plans for Martin Tower site at Planning Commission
4PM Thursday April 11 Town Hall

Martin Tower demolition May 19

The owners have submitted a plan for medical offices, retail stores, a gas station, a restaurant, and garden apartments for the 53-acre site.

Field trip! Field trip!

City Council members were given a private tour of the view from the top of the soon-to-be-demolished Martin Tower prior to the Planning Commission meeting this week.

One sniff’s additional strategy from the Handbook for Developers.

Gadfly said the Don Cunningham article a few weeks back had the feel of a strategic attempt by the business/developer community to get out in front of possibly resurgent public controversy over demolition.

Gadfly was not Gadfly in 2015, but the conflict over rezoning the Martin Tower tract was no boudoir argument.

So, hence the field trip and full-court press (you gonna watch the NCAA finals tonight?) to create a climate of supportive public-official opinion.

Looks like the strategy worked. Look below at the appreciative comments by the good Councilpeople when absorbing the amazing view.

Nicole Radzievich, “A last look at a great view: Bethlehem City Council visits the doomed Martin Tower.” Morning Call, March 27, 2019.

Lewis Ronca, who owns the building with developer Norton Herrick, gave City Council members the rooftop tour of the 21-story building after his representative walked them through a master plan for the redevelopment of the 53-acre site once the dust settles.

The tour was not a public meeting because council was not there to deliberate on any issue, council solicitor John Spirk Jr. said. The media was granted access to the gathering upon request.

“I think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to understand the topography of Bethlehem that I’m not likely to see again,” [Councilwoman] Van Wirt said. “I want to understand this parcel and its relationship to Bethlehem.”

“This is a nice treat,” [said Councilwoman Negron].

“I learned the view is as great as everyone says it is,” [Council president] Waldron said. “No,” [Councilman] Callahan cut in, “it’s even better.”

The tower is coming down to make room for a $200 million development of 528 garden apartments, a 132-room hotel, a restaurant, retail shops, three medical office buildings and a gas station. . . . There would be 8 acres of open space along a tree-lined hillside on the eastern edge of the property and sidewalks that connect to the adjacent streets, trails and parks, according to a sketch plan submitted by Ronca and Herrick.

Several council members said after the tour that the trip to the top provided a perspective of how important it was for the owners to get the redevelopment right.

Sara K. Satullo, “We went to the top of Martin Tower with Bethlehem City Council. Here’s what we saw.” lehighvalleylive.com, March 28, 2019. Lots of great photos.

On Wednesday evening, Bethlehem City Council members were treated to a private tour of the 21-story Martin Tower ahead of its implosion. . . . Owners Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick allowed council members to visit the roughly 53-acre property at the corner of Eighth and Eaton avenues to review a new master plan for the site’s redevelopment.

The developers plan to invest $200 million in reimagining the property into a work-live redevelopment, featuring 528 upscale garden-style apartments along the eastern edge of the property, a 132-room hotel and a gas station and convenience store. It also includes two retail buildings totaling 33,100 square feet, a 5,080-square-foot restaurant and three medical office buildings totaling 124,854 square feet. A trail surrounding the site is designed to promote walkability and links to city and county parks, plus walking trails along the nearby Monocacy Creek.

Bethlehem City Council won’t take any votes on the property’s redevelopment. It rests solely in the hand of the Bethlehem Planning Commission, which will be tasked with approving all land development plans for the property. The commission is set to review the master plan on April 11.

The property is in Bethlehem’s City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, which directs certain future state and local taxes created by CRIZ development to cover construction costs.

And there was yet another interesting step in massaging the public before the Planning Commission meets. Coming up next!

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

(8th in a series on Martin Tower)

Initial sketch plans for Martin Tower site at Planning Commission
4PM Thursday April 11 Town Hall

Martin Tower demolition May 19

Important week. The owners have submitted a plan for medical offices, retail stores, a gas station, a restaurant, and garden apartments for the 53-acre site. Time to spend several posts coming up to speed.

Let’s start with the City:

April 2, 201912:03 PM

UPDATE on Martin Tower Demolition (Bethlehem, PA—April 2, 2019), On May 19, 2019, Martin Tower will be taken down through a controlled demolition. Many steps have been taken by the contractor to get to this point. Asbestos remediation has been completed. The DEP will be involved in the controlled demolition of the building. While still a towering structure, the building is a shell of what it once was, comprised of concrete and steel. On the day of demolition, the DEP will be on site. The demolition time has yet to be determined, but will most likely take place during early morning day light hours. The property owners, City of Bethlehem and demolition experts, are working together on defining safe areas for viewing as well as restricted areas where no one shall be permitted. An area map will be provide at a later date and will include all street closures and restricted areas. Additional information will be released in mid-April. All necessary provisions to ensure the safety, health and welfare, of the public are being taken for this large undertaking. Check back with the City’s website or www.martintowerbethlehem.com for updates.

Unfortunately, Gadfly will be away for the demolition. Granddaughter graduating from Notre Dame. Gadfly happy for her. And happy not to be downwind of demo-dust. But I  guess if there’s bad stuff, it will still be there to greet me on return.

Now let’s catch up on the news:

Nicole Radzievich, “Bethlehem sets date for Martin Tower implosion.” Morning Call, March 28, 2019.

As a lifetime resident of Bethlehem, I understand the sentimental desire to preserve and save Martin Tower. What I don’t understand is why more residents and businesses have not been up in arms over the potential environmental damage to the surrounding medical facilities, hospital, Moravian College, brand new middle school, B. Braun, etc. and people. . . . I would appreciate an article from The Morning Call stating the effects of post demolition on the community because I am more concerned with the environmental and health risks rather than the absence of a building. (Heather Brennan)

A golden opportunity is emerging to make Bethlehem an even better city. My wife and I have lived many years in the Carolinas and Florida, where attractive, affordable, mixed-use communities are commonly seen. These planned communities look and feel good, serve a variety of residents, and enhance their cities. They attract working singles, families, and retirees. So naturally we were surprised and disappointed to read what seems to be an uninspiring plan for this important land. . . . Hundreds and hundreds of apartments as the project’s dominant feature? The best we can do is more apartments? How about well-designed, architecturally appealing coach homes, condominiums, detached or paired villas? . . . Approving any plan for this special land whose central feature is hundreds of apartments would suggest the Planning Commission is losing faith in Bethlehem’s future. (Dave Zakeski)

Martin Tower took away the beauty of the city’s landscape. It did not represent the history of those workers who labored many hard years in a noisy, dangerous, and dirty steel plant or those workers who incurred chronic medical conditions. It did not represent the common working citizen. It only stood for the wealthy executives. (Sharon Johnson)

However, the majority of blue collar steel workers in the structural shipping yards of the now-deceased Bethlehem plant felt the money should have been spent on a continuous steel casting process and technology. They would have lowered cost, man-hours per ton and made the Bethlehem Steel plant a more competitive steel producer in a competitive marketplace. Instead we must look at a cold-looking tower of scrap waiting to be imploded. In fact, all Martin Tower means to me and many more plant workers is a lack of foresight, planning and poor judgement while fully lacking the right leadership. My reason for feeling this way is because I and many co-workers had a stake in the plant and expected to retire with dignity. We took great pride in producing quality structural beams. (Tim McNally)

Perhaps tricky stuff ahead — see next posts!

Take the “Connecting Bethlehem” survey and encourage someone else also

(7th in a series on Martin Tower)

Ever closer to implosion. Will Gadfly have to wear dark glasses? Mask, for sure — he’s downwind.

Nicole Radzievich, “Developers reveal what’s in store for the Martin Tower site.” Morning Call, March 13, 2019.

After Martin Tower vanishes from Bethlehem’s skyline this spring, developers plan to replace it with a $200 million development that includes 528 apartments, a 132-room hotel, a restaurant, three medical office buildings and a gas station.

The residential part of the project would be arranged in three-story garden apartments along the eastern side of the 53-acre property with the three-story medical offices and other commercial development closer to Eighth and Eaton avenues, which is near other medical office buildings.

The gas station/convenience store would be near the corner of Route 378. A tennis court and pool complementing the apartment complex are also planned.

There would be eight acres of open space along a tree-lined hillside on the eastern edge of the property and sidewalks that connect to the adjacent streets, trails and parks, according to a sketch plan submitted by owners Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick.

The Planning Commission is expected to review it as a sketch plan at its April 11 meeting. Sketch plans are discussed but not voted on by the Planning Commission. The Planning Commission votes on land development plans. . . . The concept calls for 74 percent residential, 14 percent office and 12 percent commercial/etail. The property would be subdivided into nine lots.

Alicia Miller Karner, director of the city’s community and economic development department, also raised questions about the lack of density and hoped to work with the developer to make sure it includes features that emphasize walkability and bicycle safety.

“Sounding Board: What would be best use of Martin Tower property?” Morning Call, March 14, 2019.

See above. This might be too late. But Call readers answer the question: what would be the best use of the property?

• senior living apartments with coffee shop and bus service
• let market forces decide
• Amazon headquarters site
• high-end apartments
• a Movie Tavern

(5th in a series on Martin Tower)

Nicole Radzievich, “Martin Tower will be imploded; mayor says could happen by end of April.” Morning Call, March 7, 2019.

Nicole Radzievich, “Why Martin Tower’s historic designation doesn’t preclude its demolition.” Morning Call, March 8, 2019.

The denouement inches forward.

Gadfly lives in the debris path. Sigh.

The resistance:

Change.org: Refuse To Patronize Anything On the Martin Tower Land Without The Tower Remaining

People who have any connection with the city of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, or Bethlehem Steel, are very unhappy with the news that Martin Tower is said to be taken down in 2019. As a result of this news, we, the signatories, do not wish to support or patronize any businesses that will build on the Martin Tower property after it has been taken down. We want to see this building renovated, and turned into something beneficial to the community.

Martin Tower is an important part of the city’s history. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is a landmark that can be seen for miles. It is an important part of Bethlehem Steel’s history, just as much as are the Blast Furnaces. This building could be an attraction, such as a Visitor’s Center, offices, and provide living space. Martin Tower is a local treasure and should be treated as such.

Facebook: “Save Martin Tower”

Martin Tower is a skyscraper in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that was built as the world headquarters for Bethlehem Steel. Since Bethlehem Steel closed and left the Tower, other companies occupied the Tower until the last tenant left in 2007. The Tower has now been vacant for several years and was taken off of a protection list. This page is for anyone who feels this building is worth saving and reusing. I believe that it is a historical symbol of the Lehigh Valley and the Steel company. You may voice your opinion here, and please like and share the page with as many people as you can! You are free to share stories, memories and photos. I believe that together, the citizens of the Lehigh Valley and beyond can help to save this beautiful building! Thank you for your time and your appreciation!

(4th in a series on Martin Tower)

Gadfly has felt ripples and rumblings about the fate of Martin Tower.

An old controversy whose closure has not been fully digested in some quarters.

No surer sign of the recognition of that reality in the minds of some (probably inclined to be vocal) residents than this Morning Call article by our past Mayor.

The Cunningham piece has the feel of a strategic attempt by the business/developer community to get out in front of resurgent public controversy over demolition.

The article has the feel of an attempt to preempt a resurgence of controversy, at least over the fact of demolition.

This Cunningham essay is, frankly, a rhetorically effective and powerful piece of writing.

It would have received an “A” in Gadfly’s writing class.

If there is to be a fight over Martin Tower, as Gadfly strongly suspects there will be, its focus must squarely be on the nature of future development.

Which Cunningham does not raise here.

Not at this point wasting grief or grumble, however justified, over the fate of the building itself or the process by which that fate was determined.

Or do you disagree?

What do you think?

Don Cunningham, “Business Sectors: Not all icons were built to last.” Morning Call, February 7, 2019.

Selections, but you need to read the full article:

“There’s a historic gem hidden on a wooded hillside of South Mountain in the tiny borough of Fountain Hill. It’s just beyond the southern end of Lechauweki Avenue where the road dead ends at Moravia Street and the mountainside. The casual visitor won’t notice much. There’s a small pond with a gazebo, a nature trail and lots of trees just beyond a borough sign that reads ‘Lechauweki Springs: a public recreation area’.”

“The hillside looked much different 140 years ago, in the late 1870s. It was home to the Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort. There were three buildings on the site that could house up to 120 guests. Wealthy travelers from New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia came by horse-drawn carriage to rest and relax on this hillside and to drink and bathe in the mineralized natural springs of Lechauweki.”

“Lechauweki Springs was known for its exquisite cuisine. Gourmet meals were prepared by a French chef who served all that was fresh and in season from the area countryside.”

“Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort lasted about 20 years from 1872 to 1891. The end came when a fire destroyed the main building. . . . Today all that remains other than the springs and the rebuilt pond and gazebo are some fascinating stone cisterns dug into the ground around the hill and three former resort cottages on the west side of Lechauweki Avenue that are now six twin homes. Lechauweki Springs Hotel resort disappeared almost as quickly as it surfaced.”

“About two miles across the river as the crow flies in west Bethlehem another economic icon of its day is about to meet a similar fate. . . . Martin Tower, the last corporate office home of the Bethlehem Steel Corp., on Eighth Avenue in the Lehigh County section of the city will be taken down this year. It’s been vacant for 12 years.”

“The construction of Martin Tower for $35 million was just one example of a corporate leadership often more focused on building monuments, golf courses, country clubs and leasing suites at the Waldorf-Astoria than modernizing steelmaking operations and remaining cost competitive with international steelmakers and American mini-mills.”

“There are some who don’t want to see the tower go. I understand what underlies that sentiment. I was not alive to see the grand hotel of Lechauweki Springs but whenever I hike the site I wish it were still there. Of course, it can’t be there because its time came and went. Today, it would be antiquated, unsafe, wouldn’t meet modern building codes and couldn’t be cost competitive enough to stay in business. Just like Martin Tower.”

“All can’t be preserved just to make us feel better.”

“If something can be saved and repurposed it should be. The first inclination should not be to tear down and start anew.”

“But, there’s also a difference between something old and something historic.”

“The history of Bethlehem Steel happened on the South Side. . . . It was in those blast furnaces that raw materials were cooked into molten iron. And, it was in those mills where tens of thousands toiled to produce those iconic I-beams. We are fortunate the blast furnaces, former corporate offices and many of the mills remain there to remind us of our past.”

“Martin Tower is the youngest of all the steel buildings in Bethlehem. The company occupied it for just 30 years. Some things disappear nearly as quickly as they come. That often happens.”

(1^st in a series on Martin Tower)

Nicole Radzievich, “Martin Tower, landmark of the Bethlehem Steel era, to be demolished. Morning Call, January 28, 2019.

The headline in the print edition is:

LEHIGH VALLEY’S TALLEST BUILDING TO BE RAZED

“Martin Tower, once Bethlehem Steel’s world headquarters, will vanish from Bethlehem’s skyline this year after a 47-year reign as the Lehigh Valley’s tallest building, a representative of its owners confirmed Monday.”

“The developers have not yet determined whether the 332-foot building will be imploded or dismantled, Duane Wagner, director of development for HRP Management, said Monday on behalf of the owners. Wagner’s comments mark the first time the owners, a partnership of investors Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick, have revealed their intentions for the skyscraper since the 53-acre property, at 1170 Eighth Ave., was rezoned a little more than three years ago.”

“In a 2017 interview, Ronca said he wasn’t sure of the tower’s fate even as he began a more than $4 million project to remove the asbestos from it and demolish surrounding ancillary buildings. ‘Over the past several years, even prior to the abatement process, we explored reuse internally and with several third-party groups, and were not able to create an economically viable plan for [its] reuse,’ Wagner said. Removing the tower opens for development the valuable property just off a Route 378 interchange. Wagner said the developers will submit a master plan for the site during the first quarter of this year.”

“Mayor Robert Donchez said the building proved over the years to be too inefficient to market. It’s better for the city as a whole, he said, to start fresh with tax-generating projects, rather than let the property continue to languish. While some may mourn the tower’s loss, Donchez said, the city can take solace in saving older symbols of Bethlehem Steel: the Steel General Offices, where famed executives Eugene Grace and Charles Schwab ruled, and the blast furnaces. ‘A certain number of people feel strongly about Martin Tower, but I think there is a stronger attachment to the blast furnaces, which really has become the skyline of Bethlehem,’ Donchez said.”

“The Martin Tower site, in the Lehigh County portion of Bethlehem, has been eyed for redevelopment since the final tenants moved out in 2007. The property was included in the 5-year-old City Revitalization and Improvement Zone, a tax incentive that allows developers to pay off construction loans with certain state and local taxes. Demolition will prevent the use of federal tax credits developers once eyed when they successfully petitioned to get Martin Tower on the National Register of Historic Places. It was a noteworthy application because the building was younger than 50, yet preservationists agreed its ties to mighty Bethlehem Steel made it noteworthy.”

“In 2006, Martin Tower landed in the hands of the company that now includes Ronca and Herrick. There was little demand for the tower’s 600,000 square feet of office space. Its size and shape were unattractive to investors and its mechanical system was outdated. It was difficult to find a single occupant to fill the building, and its layout was inefficient. Developers had first envisioned a $200 million residential community, but that faded when the residential market took a downturn. Those plans were shelved after the housing crash. The property lingered until 2015, when city zoning was changed to make it easier for Martin Tower to be demolished and allowed a mix of office, commercial and residential development.”