BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds told City Council on Tuesday that redevelopment has helped make the city a destination to where people are considering relocating.
But development also can have critics, as members of the public showed by opposing a proposed apartment development at Hanover Avenue and Broad Street on the Bethlehem-Allentown border.
- Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds told City Council on Tuesday that “There’s never been a higher demand to live in the city of Bethlehem than right now"
- Reynolds cited the redevelopment of the old Bethlehem Steel land as a draw
- But at the same meeting, some residents complained about a proposed apartment complex, saying a lawyer has been hired to help them oppose it
Reynolds spoke of his recent conversations with Lehigh Valley Planning Commission and public comments it has received, citing the redevelopment of the old Bethlehem Steel land and creating a city that people would consider when moving.
“There’s never been a higher demand to live in the city of Bethlehem than right now,” Reynolds said during his regular presentation. “And people throughout the country want to know that story.”
“Flowers and bushes do not hide the monstrosity of buildings that he is proposing."Bethlehem resident on proposed building
Hanover Apartments, among several housing projects recently proposed for Bethlehem, would bring 317 units spread across four buildings, most of them five stories tall, to 2300 Hanover Ave at the border to Allentown's east side.
It was unveiled during a city planning commission meeting in February.
At Tuesday's council meeting, a resident of Grandview Boulevard told the council that she and other residents have hired a lawyer and made petitions and flyers, gathering support around the community to oppose the proposal.
The woman said the development's builder "called me one day to see if we wanted to talk to him, maybe discuss what they could do to make it nicer for us, you know, put flowers and bushes in, something like that."
“Flowers and bushes do not hide the monstrosity of buildings that he is proposing," the woman said.
“Tell me how you would feel if you lived here and learned that someone was going to build a five-story set of apartments behind your house. Would you fight for less as we are doing?"
“I’m retired and I’m on a fixed income now,” the resident said. “So this isn’t exactly how I wanted to spend my retirement money, but I’ll do what I have to do to help salvage our neighborhood.”
The property is currently listed on the agenda for appeal at the April 12 meeting of the Zoning Hearing Board.
Council next meets at 7 p.m. on April 18.
