BETHLEHEM, Pa. — In the next step toward building housing on First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem’s campus, church leaders said this week they will solicit offers from potential developers.
It will be the next step toward selecting a partner and eventually breaking ground.
“We are going into this call for offers process sort of casting a wide net. And we're intentionally trying to be open to a number of different types of offers.”The Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton, First Presbyterian’s Associate Pastor for Justice and Community Impact
To ensure the congregation’s financial survival, defray costs of its massive church building and better its community, First Presbyterian has spent more than a year and a half working toward building affordable housing on its 32-acre lot.
The project has been on pause since last year as the church found a new pastor. With the post now filled, the church is moving ahead with the next step in the project: finding a developer interested in building on the site.
“We are going into this call for offers process sort of casting a wide net," said the Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton, First Presbyterian’s Associate Pastor for Justice and Community Impact.
"And we're intentionally trying to be open to a number of different types of offers.”
'Other housing possibilities'
To help evaluate proposals, the church partnered with Foundry Commercial, a national real estate firm that frequently works with Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the denomination of which First Presbyterian of Bethlehem is a member.
“We definitely hope that we get some offers that are reflective of the housing vision plan that we completed last spring."The Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton
“They fundamentally get that this is about mission and ministry and community impact, and that it's not just some sort of set of real estate transactions,” Clifton said of the company.
What ultimately takes shape on the First Presbyterian campus will largely depend upon with whom exactly the congregation chooses to work.
While a plan for the site developed based on input from community members will help inform what is built there, the finished project may or may not resemble the 200-unit concept church leaders shared in July 2024.
“We definitely hope that we get some offers that are reflective of the housing vision plan that we completed last spring," Clifton said.
"But we're also trying to be open to other just housing possibilities."
'A little bit more flexible'
That could take many forms, she said, such as senior residences, properties for first-time homebuyers or housing for young adults aging out of foster care.
“Feeling like it's not just doable, but it is, you know, concretely on the horizon is just very, very cool."The Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton
“We really want to find a set of partnerships and projects that we can successfully bring to fruition," Clifton said.
"And it's possible something like our final housing vision plan is still viable, but we're sort of trying to be a little bit more flexible.”
Once the church officially puts out a call for offers this week, interested developers will have a couple of months to respond.
Clifton said she hopes to have a recommendation ready to take back to the congregation and its leaders by the end of this year.
Though there's still a long way to go before construction can begin, Clifton said she is excited for First Presbyterian to move toward building housing on the church’s property.
“Feeling like it's not just doable, but it is, you know, concretely on the horizon is just very, very cool,” she said.
