Bethlehem eyeing millions in grant funds to bolster housing initiatives

• Bethlehem City Council voted 6-0 on Tuesday to apply for an affordable housing grant
• The U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department plans to award 20 grants ranging from $1 million to $10 million
• Community Development Committee meetings about housing are set for Sept. 26 and Oct. 10

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem officials plan to apply for up to $10 million in federal strategy implementation funds to support the city’s comprehensive housing strategy.

Council voted 6-0 to approve the application Tuesday. Councilwoman Rachel Leon was absent.

If later approved through the federal government’s Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing program, the money could be used alongside $5 million already set aside in the city budget to go toward affordable housing initiatives, according to a Sept. 14 memo that city Community and Economic Development Director Laura Collins sent to council.

“We are well positioned to apply for this new competitive grant opportunity because we have spent the last year identifying the major local barriers to creating and preserving affordable housing and devised a set of targeted strategies to help us overcome these barriers,” Collins wrote.

If the city is approved to get the money, Collins said the improvements to the housing strategy — known as Opening Doors: Strategies to Build Housing Stability in Bethlehem — would include zoning updates, a revolving loan fund and more financial support for partners within homelessness-eviction prevention programs around the area.

Prior to any sort of approval, the city is required to approve a draft application, make the plan available to the public and also hold a public hearing.

Collins said that draft would seek council approval on Oct. 3, with a public hearing to follow.

By the end of next January, the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department is set to make 20 such awards nationwide ranging from $1 million to $10 million.

And considering the grants have a six-year performance period ending in September 2029, Collins said it would align with the five-year timeline of Opening Doors.

The public will be able to learn more about the Opening Doors plan Tuesday, Sept. 26 and Tuesday, Oct. 10, during city Community Development Committee meetings.

Another grant secured

Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds said Tuesday that implementing the city’s housing strategy moving forward is all about collaboration between local entities, the private sector and the state and federal government, especially as the city’s in the final year of its affordable housing study.

Reynolds made reference to the recent approval of a $500,000 planning grant for a “total neighborhood transformation” for the Stefko-Pembroke area of northeast Bethlehem.

That's among just 14 of its kind approved nationwide through HUD's Choice Neighborhoods grant program.

A two-year planning process and other efforts could lead to up to $40 million in implementation funds and a complete revamp of that neighborhood, including mixed-income housing developments and quality-of-life amenities such as grocery stores and childcare services, he said.

“The systemic inequalities that have grown out of that neighborhood being on the outskirts of Bethlehem, this is a real opportunity for us over the next several years to be able to transform that neighborhood,” Reynolds said.

“It is also a good transition as we are going to start talking about our Opening Doors housing strategies.”

City Council President Michael Colón said he grew up in the Marvine area, and wishes the best for the current residents and his own family still living and working there as this project develops.

"That's big news for the Housing Authority, and I look forward to what else is to come down the road," Colón said.