EASTON, Pa. — After more than a year of negotiations, Northampton County Council soon will decide whether to approve a $26 million property tax break to help turn the dilapidated former Dixie Cup building into apartments.
Developer Skyline Investment Group plans to build apartments inside the 641,000-square-foot industrial building at 25th Street and Butler Street in Wilson.
The building housed the Dixie Cup company’s main factory from 1921 to 1983, and has sat vacant since.
If approved, the TIF would allow the developer to essentially put some of its property taxes toward the cost of construction.Northampton County officials
To help fund the project, Skyline asked Wilson, Wilson Area School District and Northampton County to create a tax increment finance district for the property.
If approved, the TIF would allow the developer to essentially put some of its property taxes toward the cost of construction.
Wilson and Wilson Area School District first approved TIF financing for the project in August 2024. In the months since, Northampton County Industrial Development Authority has been reviewing the project.
With the authority’s negotiations complete, county council will hold a hearing on Oct. 16 to solicit public comment on the TIF proposal.
The body is currently scheduled to vote on the measure Nov. 6.
The latest plans
Over the past year, plans for the project have not changed much. The developer still plans 405 apartments in the building, along with other amenities such as a public park, retail space, walking trails and a dog-friendly bar/lounge.
Average rents will run roughly $2,500 per month; the largest apartments, boasting 1,800 square feet and two bedrooms, will cost about $4,500 per month.
Skyline Investment Group’s ask of local lawmakers, too, has changed only slightly: The developer wants tax increment financing to help pay for the roughly $185 million cost of redevelopment.
Tax increment financing effectively lets a developer pay off its loans instead of paying some of their property taxes.
If Northampton County approves, the developer would take out a $26 million loan on the municipal bond market — roughly the same amount Skyline would pay in property taxes on the finished project over 20 years.
Skyline would continue to pay its full tax bill on the property’s pre-construction value, but would not pay the borough, school district or county any property taxes on the newly completed project for 20 years.
Instead, it will pay the amount it would have been assessed to creditors. In effect, the arrangement lets Skyline receive up front some of the tax value created by the finished building.
Construction could begin next year
Though the project could probably move ahead without Northampton County’s support, Bartee said, it would not be possible without the TIF.
Wilson and the school district both approved the latest TIF deal last month, leaving only Northampton County Council to weigh in.
If all goes according to plan, Skyline is on track to begin construction in mid-2026, with the first group of tenants moving in about a year later.Northampton County officials
While Skyline negotiated with the industrial development authority, pre-construction work continued at the site.
Environmental remediation of the site is now complete, Bartee told the council, and workers have begun demolition of the site. Most noticeably, the building’s more than 730 windows all have been removed.
In all, the developer has spent $13 million so far, Bartee said.
If all goes according to plan, Skyline is on track to begin construction in mid-2026, with the first group of tenants moving in about a year later. Work would wrap up completely in early 2028.
