WILSON, Pa. — The iconic Dixie Cup that graced the Easton area’s skyline for decades was brought to the ground Thursday morning.
Crews beat much of the expected crowd, as they lowered the massive structure, which served as a water tower for its namesake factory, around 8:30 a.m.
Some of the dozen of people surrounding the factory said they were disappointed to miss the action, scheduled to start around 9 a.m.
But not Barbara Banko-Young.
“This is history,” she said as a truck slowly towed the Dixie Cup past a corner of the gutted, 640,000-square-foot factory around noon.
Banko-Young said her father worked for the company for 45 years. She said he and her brother watched Wilson Area High School football games across the street from the Dixie Cup factory’s roof.
Apartments inbound
The Dixie Cup structure is set to be restored and become a focal point of a park as part of Skyline Investment Group’s plans to turn the long-vacant industrial site into more than 400 apartments.
Those “mid-market” apartments are designed to be built within the shell of the former factory’s main building.
The project is expected to cost $185 million; a chunk of that could come from taxpayers.
Northampton County Council in November rejected a tax increment financing district that could’ve raised millions to support the project.
The TIF district would have allowed Skyline to effectively pay its debtors instead of paying most of its property tax bill for the first 20 years after new apartments open.
County Council is set to again consider a TIF for the Dixie Cup redevelopment project in May. A Skyline executive has said the 20-year tax tool could generate about $26 million.
County Council's vote to reject the TIF district for the Dixie Cup project was 5-4, but three members who voted against it are no longer on the body.
Skyline now is offering to pay $2 million to Northampton County’s affordable housing fund — almost double what it proposed paying last year amid TIF negotiations.
Donna Barr said she hopes the project makes it easier for Easton-area residents to find housing rather than attracting new residents from afar.
“It’s hard for local residents” to secure a decent place to live for a decent price, she said.
About three quarters of the 400-plus apartments will have one bedroom; the rest will be two-bedroom units.
The smaller units, about 900 square feet, will cost about $1,900 per month; two-bedroom apartments will be about $2,800 per month for 1,400 square feet.
Editor's note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the football field across the street from the former factory.
