BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Planning Commission unanimously endorsed a zoning change to allow new residential development in a section of the city’s South Side, on land formerly occupied by Bethlehem Steel.
- Bethlehem Planning Commission endorsed a zoning change that would allow residential construction on a parcel of former Bethlehem Steel land near Fahy Memorial Bridge
- Serfass Development intends to build a 240-unit, six-story apartment block on the site
- Power to change zoning rests with City Council; a hearing on the change is scheduled for March 21
Representatives for Serfass Development are asking the city to rezone land at 119 Technology Drive from industrial redevelopment to the central business, which would allow the company to pursue new residential construction.
While the commission supported the zoning change, the power to amend zoning maps rests with City Council; a public hearing on the proposed change is scheduled for its March 21 meeting.
If current plans from Serfass ultimately are approved, the site just east of Fahy Memorial Bridge would become a six-story, 240-unit apartment building.
Thursday’s meeting did not consider actual plans, only the lot’s zoning.
Bethlehem Planning and Zoning Director Darlene Heller said the two zones permit a similarly broad range of commercial, light industrial and other uses, leaving residential development as the largest difference.
“It seems to me the question,” commission member Matthew Malozi said, “is do we want to exclude residential — continue to exclude residential — or allow it along with all the other uses.”
'Valuable residential development'
The site now is occupied by the IQE semiconductor facility, used to make wafers that are eventually transformed into computer chips.
The UK-based company announced in 2020 it would be rolling its Bethlehem operations into a facility in South Carolina and will leave the building empty by the end of 2023.
According to a listing for the building, it includes more than 27,000 square feet of clean-room space, 13,000 square feet of office space, and 7,000 of warehousing.
“I actively support the proposed zoning map amendment as a first step in achieving the most beneficial redevelopment of the site. We believe [the change] will allow for valuable residential development on a promising parcel that would otherwise remain dormant.”Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds
Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds wrote to the commission in support of rezoning, citing the city’s ongoing housing crisis.
“I actively support the proposed zoning map amendment as a first step in achieving the most beneficial redevelopment of the site,” Reynolds wrote.
“We believe [the change] will allow for valuable residential development on a promising parcel that would otherwise remain dormant.”
Members of the public expressed concern about a large apartment complex appearing at the site, especially as other apartment buildings rise on the South Side.
"If you're adding another building — I think it was going to be six stories high — why wouldn't that be something that could offer offices?” said Cindy Marsh, who lives nearby.
“Why couldn't it be something that actually brought more jobs into the area?”
