BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A new student union at Moravian University will be financed in part through a $45 million bond approved by the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority Wednesday night.
Much of the university’s old Haupert Union Building — “the core of our campus,” University Vice President for Finance and Administration Mark Reed told the authority — has already been demolished.
The new Haupert Union Building, three stories tall and designed around “a focus on health and wellness,” will soon rise on the same foundation, said Reed, and will include meditation rooms, student gathering space, new student dining facilities and a place for public meetings.
Part of the building home to student dining will remain undisturbed, stay operational throughout construction, and become part of the new union.
The Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority approved a $45 million municipal bond for the project on Moravian University’s behalf, giving them access to more favorable financing than they could receive through an ordinary loan.
“We're trying to maximize the amount of fundraising that we do, and then we want to borrow as little as possible, we just wanted to make sure that our board and the development authority didn't cut ourselves short and end up short for the ultimate project cost.”Mark Reed
Capital lending firm RBC will underwrite the bond, lending their money to Moravian. For their part in the transaction, the redevelopment authority will receive a $45,000 fee.
Neither the authority, the City of Bethlehem nor any other government body would be responsible for paying the bond debt if Moravian could not.
University officials hope not to use all $45 million; the project is currently expected to cost around $40 million.
“We're trying to maximize the amount of fundraising that we do, and then we want to borrow as little as possible,” Reed said. “We just wanted to make sure that our board and the development authority didn't cut ourselves short and end up short for the ultimate project cost.”
The new building will open by August of 2025, he said, in time for the first day of fall semester classes.
Reed acknowledged that losing access to one of Moravian University’s most important shared spaces for more than a year could be “significantly disrupt[ive]” for students.
The contractor Moravian selected for the project, Lancaster County-based Warfel Construction, developed plans to keep students “engaged and not unhappy” during construction, he said, “through training, tours, things of that nature.”
