Iron Works project in Catasauqua making strides after years of stagnation

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — Local officials are about to take “a very substantial step” in their plans to redevelop the Iron Works property in Catasauqua, a project that could reshape the borough.

Catasauqua officials recently awarded a contract for an updated appraisal of the property, according to Chris Gulotta, chairman of the recently relaunched Redevelopment Authority of Lehigh County.

• Catasauqua and Lehigh County officials are working to redevelop the Iron Works property, which has been mostly vacant for years
• The borough is funding an appraisal to determine the property’s market value
• Officials could pick a preferred developer for the project by next spring

An updated appraisal is the “logical next step” in the process to reimagine the former site of Crane Iron Works, Gulotta said.

“We need to know what the property’s worth in 2023,” he said.

The appraised value could be available by the end of July, Gulotta said. That will inform discussions between the redevelopment authority and borough, but will “not necessarily” be the property’s final price when the agency requests proposals from developers, Gulotta said.

Officials from Catasauqua and the redevelopment authority now are hammering out a memorandum of understanding to guide the property’s redevelopment, Gulotta said.

The memorandum should be ready within 45 days, with requests for proposals likely to be issued this fall, he said.

Officials could choose their preferred developer for the Iron Works project as early as March 2024, Gulotta said, though he cautioned that's an “aggressive” goal.

‘As important as price’

The Iron Works project in Catasauqua played a major role in the redevelopment authority’s rebirth earlier this year.

The borough reached out to the county several years ago for help with the project, but the agency was dormant at that point after sitting idle for about a decade.

Unlike municipalities, redevelopment authorities are not legally required to sell properties to the lowest bidder. Those agencies can dig much deeper into developers' backgrounds and their proposals before awarding contracts.

Catasauqua is expected to pass the Iron Works property to the RDA for $1, with an expectation the borough would get money when the redevelopment authority sells it to a developer, Gulotta has said.

That practice is allowed under the state's Redevelopment Cooperation Law.

The Redevelopment Authority of Lehigh County will ask developers to show their concepts for the property, offer timelines and provide details about their “track record in developing similar projects,” Gulotta said.

“My experience is that those are as important as price” to the success of a redevelopment project, he said.

Mixed-use development likely

The Iron Works redevelopment project “has the potential to have substantial impact on the borough” due to its size and location, Gulotta said. 

The site covers 12.5 acres on Catasauqua’s west side between Front Street and the canal, and from Pine to Willow streets.

Crane Iron Works operated on the property from the 1830s until 1921. Much of it was torn down about a decade later, project consultant Chad Helmer told redevelopment authority officials last month.

Several manufacturers operated on the property until the 1990s, but it has sat mostly vacant since the 2000s, Helmer said.

Catasauqua spent more than $10 million to open a new municipal building in 2017 for its borough offices and fire and police departments.

The municipal building sits on a 1.27-acre lot at a corner of the property, and the borough is looking to sell the rest to a developer, Helmer said.

Catasauqua officials entered into an agreement to sell the larger lot to the Dunn Twiggar Company in 2017, but that deal was terminated last summer, Helmer said.

Gulotta said he expects most, if not all, redevelopment proposals for the Iron Works property will include a mix of commercial and residential uses.

“Obviously, there’s a need for additional housing in the Lehigh Valley for working households,” he said. The project would be “adding that housing in a waterfront setting, which is really nice.

“That’s what makes the site so attractive.”

A successful redevelopment of the property would not only create jobs and add housing, it also would generate significant taxes for the borough, Catasauqua Area School District and state, Gulotta said.

Helmer projected more than $1 million in additional tax revenues each year once the Iron Works project is complete.