BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Drive-thru food and car wash options may be going up across from the former Martin Tower site in West Bethlehem.
City Council last week endorsed changing the zoning classification of a 4-acre part of an 11-acre parcel at 1401 Eighth Ave. from Mixed Use Commercial to Commercial Shopping Center.
The zoning change was approved 5-2, with Councilwomen Hillary Kwiatek and Colleen Laird dissenting.
There are single-family homes and apartments to the west, a Price Rite supermarket to the south across Martin Court and Lehigh Valley Health Network medical office buildings under construction to the east across Eighth Avenue.
The new zoning distinction would match that of the Price Rite.
'A productive property'
Under commercial shopping zoning, the proposed developments, pitched by developer Dennis Benner, would be by-right property uses.
That means they’re allowed on the land without requiring special review by the city.
Benner, who also owns the Gateway at Greenway Park at Third and New streets, previously said he wants to make the spot “a productive property.”
Last month, he said a likely operator of the car wash would be Cloud10 out of New England, a company he said operates with the environment in mind.
He said each wash the company uses 17-22 gallons of water, a figure similar to the average shower.
There have been no updates regarding what drive-thru restaurant would go up on site.
