CATASAUQUA, Pa. — A project that officials expect will bring a downtown to Catasauqua and reshape the borough’s future soon could kick into high gear.
U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, announced Friday that his office secured almost $3.7 million in federal funding to support the first phase of a planned overhaul of the former Crane Iron Works site along Front Street.
The $75 million project is expected to bring 300 residential units and several commercial spaces to the site, where Crane Iron Company operated from 1840 to 1930.
“It’s truly going to be a Main Street which we can all be proud of. It’s going to take us time to get there, but in 10 years, it’s going to be completely different. We’re going to go, ‘I remember when that was just a pile of rubble.’”Glenn Eckert, Catasauqua borough manager
The Fuller Co. used the site through the early 2000s.
Catasauqua bought it in 2013 and built a 38,000-square-foot municipal complex on 1.5 acres of the property.
The then-newly reorganized Lehigh County Redevelopment Authority took control of the long-mooted revitalization project a decade later.
It chose VM Development Group as its preferred developer in 2024.
Catasauqua built a 38,000-square-foot municipal complex on 1.5 acres of the property, and VM plans to redevelop the remaining 11 acres.
The project’s first phase includes plans for 60 apartments and up to a dozen townhomes to the municipal building’s west and south, VM partner Gretchen Rice said Friday at a news conference to announce the federal grant.
The developer is working to move “as fast as possible” on that phase, which is set to be followed by further redevelopment on the east side of the property, Rice said.
'Game changer' for borough
Catasauqua Borough Manager Glenn Eckert said the project has the potential to be a “game changer” for the town by attracting higher-income earners and significantly contributing to the local tax base.
And a small but vital part of the project could provide the foundation for a true downtown in Catasauqua, Eckert said.
The borough and developer have secured $1.4 million to rebuild a retaining wall that stretches about 900 feet along the southern edge of Front Street.
“Today's investment is going to help ensure that Catasauqua gets the Main Street that it deserves, and that our communities get the new housing that they're counting on."U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley
Crews are set to widen the borough’s main street to allow for two-way traffic and parking on both sides.
That “would completely change the street into a functioning downtown, which we don’t have,” Eckert said.
A two-way thoroughfare will encourage further development on the north side of Front Street, and plans to connect it to the D&L Trail should provide much-needed foot traffic, he said.
“It’s truly going to be a Main Street which we can all be proud of,” Eckert said.
“It’s going to take us time to get there, but in 10 years, it’s going to be completely different. We’re going to go, ‘I remember when that was just a pile of rubble.’”
'Critically important'
Mackenzie, a first-term congressman, said he worked to secure federal funding for projects that support first responders, improve critical infrastructure or revitalize local communities.
“Today's investment is going to help ensure that Catasauqua gets the Main Street that it deserves," Mackenzie said Friday after he and other officials toured the future construction site.
“We're glad that they're going to be able to bring that same kind of experience and vision right here to Catasauqua Borough."U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie
"And that our communities get the new housing that they're counting on.”
The “size and scope” of the Iron Works revitalization project means it’s “critically important” for Catasauqua and its roughly 6,000 residents, Mackenzie said.
He credited VM for its “awesome development” at Easton’s Silk Mill, where the company has built more than 150 apartments and space for dozens of businesses while preserving historic architecture.
“We're glad that they're going to be able to bring that same kind of experience and vision right here to Catasauqua Borough,” Mackenzie said.
