EASTON, Pa. — The fight over the historic Hooper House property on Easton’s Northampton Street may be on its way to an amicable end for the city and the Rock Church.
On Monday, Easton Zoning Hearing Board granted a variance to subdivide the property at 501-503 Northampton St. into two parcels, with the city taking ownership of the Hooper House and the Rock Church maintaining the adjacent Timothy House on North Fifth Street.
Under the agreement, the city’s parcel with the Hooper House would be 1,417 square feet, and the Rock Church’s parcel with the Timothy House would be 2,018 square feet.
“The city been attempting for quite a long time to acquire control of the Hooper House with the goal of restoring it, creating another bit of history in the city to help with tourism and the overall historical nature and character of the city of Easton."Assistant city solicitor Jeremy Clark
Hooper House once was owned by Col. Robert Lettis Hooper Jr., an officer in the Revolutionary War, and the building is considered the oldest residence within city limits, dating to 1761.
Assistant city solicitor Jeremy Clark provided a bit of history and legal background on the matter.
“So as you're probably aware, the Hooper House that sits on the corner there of Northampton and Fifth is the last remaining historic building that was held by private entity, rather than the city, [or] a nonprofit,” Clark said.
“The city been attempting for quite a long time to acquire control of the Hooper House with the goal of restoring it, creating another bit of history in the city to help with tourism and the overall historical nature and character of the city of Easton, and those negotiations were many-fold and varied.
"They ultimately failed, however, and the city felt it necessary to file a condemnation or taking of the property.”
'Divide the parcel'
Ultimately, the city paid about $350,000 for the entire existing parcel.
Clark said through the process, city officials learned the Hooper House sat on a larger parcel that also contained a building directly north of the historic property, to which the Rock Church refers as the Timothy House.
This structure, likely built in the 1950s according to Clark, is a two-story multi-dwelling unit used by the church to house traveling priests or parishioners.
The church filed an objection to the taking, Clark said, and by working with the church’s legal counsel, “we reached an agreement, tentatively, whereby we would divide the parcel.”
“And what that would do is we would subdivide the parcel between the Hooper House and then the Timothy House," he said.
"And now there's really only about an eight-inch gap between the two, so the divide is going to be pretty nominal, but we want to split the properties, allow the church to retain the Timothy House for its current use, and the city would then take the Hooper House and own the Hooper House and restore it."
'The real win-win'
Thanks to the agreement between the city and the church, Clark said, everyone will benefit.
"Now the real win-win for the city with this is the money used to acquire the Hooper House will be held in a basically in an escrow, for lack of a better term.
"And that money will be used to rehabilitate the Timothy House, which is in need of a lot of exterior renovations to bring it up to the standard of the surrounding properties, which have come a long way in the last 20 or 30 years.”
"This agreement, I think, is one that benefits everybody.”Assistant city solicitor Jeremy Clark
Clark said the city will handle the Hooper House work, while also “working hand-in-hand with the Rock Church and making sure that the Timothy House is also restored, to really bring that whole corner up to par.”
According to Clark, this agreement is tentative, with a formal, written agreement in the works.
And without the subdivision variance, the city would likely have been forced back to litigating taking the entire property, a process that could take around a year to wrap up.
Worse yet, the city acquiring the entire property would result in city officials becoming responsible for both the Hooper House and the Timothy House.
"Not to mention, there’ll probably be a lot of legal fees and headaches between here and there,” Clark said. “That's why this agreement, I think, is one that benefits everybody.”
'Ideas being kicked around'
City Public Works Director David Hopkins provided additional context for the project.
“It may not be important for this board's decision making, but the proceeds from the sale to be invested in the Timothy House, we have a yet-to-be-created committee that will oversee that," Hopkins said.
"And I'm assuming it'll be made up of city employees working on the project, as well as representatives from the Rock Church.
“And then we'll negotiate what kinds of improvements. But our vision is that that entire corner is improved and improved greatly from its current condition.”
Hopkins said the Hooper House's footprint will remain the same. Roof and window repairs will be prioritized, and the city will have to touch base with the Historic District Commission to put a protective cover on the structure while working is being done.
“We have to fundraise for it ourselves, and then, I don't know what the future use might be," Hopkins said. "There's a lot of ideas being kicked around.”
In the case that the church has any leftover funding from the city buying the property, an agreement has been made, Clark said.
“The church has agreed that those funds would then be shifted to begin the restoration of the bell tower for the Rock Church, which is obviously a pretty significant structure within the city,” Clark said.
“And so I think that's another win for everybody involved in the downtown area.”
The board voted unanimously in favor of the subdivision.
