BETHLEHEM, Pa. — The city is again calling on the Philadelphia firm that developed what’s now the Northside Alive neighborhood revitalization plan to help with the initiative's five-year strategic update.
Bethlehem City Council earlier this month approved a $39,960 contract with WRT, LLC, an urban planning firm, to steer the Northside Alive revamp discussion alongside neighborhood residents, public committees and city staff.
The work will focus on a mixed-income area with Maple Street to the east, Monocacy Creek and Mauch Chunk Road to the west, as well as Laurel Street to the north and Broad Street to the south.
“[WRT’s] familiarity with the neighborhood and access to historical data from the initial plan position them well to deliver cost-effective and insightful work, particularly in demonstrating changes over time,” city development officials wrote to City Council in a Sept. 25 request for approval.
As the original plan was put together before the affordable housing crisis — a time where, instead, blight was among the major concerns citywide, officials said — an up-to-date half-decade outlook will "create new community-driven goals and better reflect the City's current economic reality."
“[WRT’s] familiarity with the neighborhood and access to historical data from the initial plan position them well to deliver cost-effective and insightful work, particularly in demonstrating changes over time."Bethlehem development officials to City Council in a Sept. 25 request for approval
The agreement also comes as community development officials recently told City Council it’s time to renew the Northside’s designation as a Neighborhood Revitalization Strategy Area.
That’s the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-approved title allowing for “greater flexibility in the use of federal Community Development Block Grant funding, allowing the City to target resources to support community revitalization,” according to the city document.
Officials said the plan could bolster the city's application for a variety of improvement programs, such as the state's Elm Street designation, which nurtures neighborhoods located just beyond community main streets.
The Northside Alive initiative, originally known as Northside 2027 until a name change to its current one in 2021, among many proposed area improvements, calls for a total overhaul of Friendship Park on East North Street and a major two-way conversion for a stretch of Linden Street.
Residents also have benefitted from community programming such as Music in the Park and yoga classes in the meantime, officials said.
The broad neighborhood improvements initiative was launched in 2018 in a collaboration between the city and Community Action Development Corp. of Bethlehem.
All in the neighborhood welcome
Hotel Bethlehem managing partner Bruce Haines said it was his understanding that the Northside Alive boundary had been changed at one point to extend further both down Broad Street and into Main Street.
“Are they going to creep into the historic district? Where is this and what’s it about?” Haines asked.
“It’s a very serious situation, and from my perspective, it has impacted the entire downtown business district.”
When Councilman Bryan Callahan later in the meeting brought up the possible district changes, Community and Economic Development Director Laura Collins said the boundaries have remained the same since the plan’s inception.
“Because ultimately the goal is the same, and it’s improving quality of life in the neighborhood."Bethlehem Community and Economic Development Director Laura Collins
“The objective is always to involve as many people as possible in Northside Alive,” Collins said. “If there are entities that don’t exactly fall within the boundaries, they’re welcome to participate.
“I’m thinking of others on Elizabeth Avenue: If you happen to be right across near Carl’s Corner, for example, you’re not prohibited from coming and participating because ultimately the goal is the same, and it’s improving quality of life in the neighborhood.
“And that’s not competing with the downtown; it’s very much compatible with the downtown.”
She said she wasn't aware of any other business owners with the same sentiment as Haynes.
Councilwoman Colleen Laird said she has served as chair of Northside Alive’s Economic Vitality Committee, which focuses on building up existing businesses and adding new ones to the area’s business corridor along Linden and Broad streets.
“There were different goals identified for each of those retail corridors and plenty of collaboration with the [Downtown Business Association], usually with presence at all of our committee meetings and making sure we weren’t conflicting with major events and things like that,” Laird said.
“I was a little bit surprised to hear about any tensions.”
The Northside Alive annual meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 6, at the Bethlehem YMCA, 430 E. Broad St.
