BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Two new medical office buildings totaling 100,000 square feet are under construction at the former Martin Tower site and are expected to be ready for occupancy Q3 of this year.
Amid rapid progress by construction crews, the developer of the Lehigh Valley Health Network buildings and surrounding land, totaling 53 acres at Eighth and Eaton avenues, has access to $9.075 million from the Commonwealth’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program for the project.
City Council on Wednesday — nearly six years to the day the 21-story, former Bethlehem Steel corporate headquarters was taken down — voted 6-0 on an official resolution inscribing the funding into the record.
Councilwoman Grace Crampsie Smith abstained.
'A long, prolonged process'
Developers Lewis Ronca, Norton Herrick and Lou Pektor bought the land in question in 2006.
The 332-foot Martin Tower said goodbye to its last tenants in 2007.
Sean Ziller, city deputy director of economic development, said officials in 2009 had approved a resolution for previous RCAP funding for the site, and additional money received in 2011 resulted in the $9.075 million described.
Securing RCAP money can come with “a long, prolonged process,” and Tuesday was a procedural step in approving a resolution through City Council, Ziller said.
The city acts as a pass-through entity in this case.
“Part of the process is that once it gets to the step of construction, and once it gets to this stage, really it’s dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s."Bethlehem Deputy Director of Economic Development Sean Ziller
“Part of the process is that once it gets to the step of construction, and once it gets to this stage, really it’s dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s,” Ziller said.
The city’s approved resolution says the developer “will assume the full local share of the project costs, which will be in excess of the $9,075,000 grant, and also assume responsibility for the project’s ongoing operating and maintenance costs.”
Active city projects that have gotten RACP grants include the Goodman Building on Third Street, the second-floor expansion at the National Museum of Industrial History and the expanded intensive care unit at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg, Ziller wrote in a memo to City Council.
According to Lehigh County property records, the northwesternmost plots housing the two medical office buildings are owned by MT-LVHN60 LLC and MT-LVHN40 LLC of Cedar Knolls, New Jersey — the two share the address of The Herrick Co. investment firm.
The same goes for the larger 45-acre part of the land nearby, which sits west of Burnside Plantation.
The property also lies within the 130-acre City Revitalization and Improvement Zone — which offers a tax incentive for developers to build on “vacant, desolate, underutilized and abandoned properties that are ready for redevelopment,” according to bethlehemcriz.com.
“These developments will help to create jobs, increase personal income, grow local and state tax revenues, and improve the overall quality of living for residents,” the site reads.
No updates beyond medical buildings
The city Planning Commission in February 2023 approved plans for 1,085 apartments on the surrounding land, as well as a 200-room hotel and the medical office buildings.
A previous plan, advanced in 2019, included half the amount of apartments and more than 45,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.
Officials said there have been no recent talks with the developer, especially regarding plans for any further building on site.
"If we added 1,080 units into the city of Bethlehem, I think it would do a lot to help alleviate some of the high-priced rentals right now.”Bethlehem City Councilman Bryan Callahan
"I can tell you that we’re excited about the finishing of the medical office buildings, and they are currently allowed to build [1,085] units — that’s the zoning that we had changed back when we were in 2015," Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said.
“They have the $9 million in RCAP; they have the CRIZ benefit. And we’re hopeful that they start to come up with some unit plans.”
Councilman Bryan Callahan said, “I would just hope that project gets moving forward someday.
"Because I think if we added 1,080 units into the city of Bethlehem, I think it would do a lot to help alleviate some of the high-priced rentals right now.”
Reynolds agreed.
“Adding units there of any price point is helpful as far as housing supply is concerned,” he said.
