LVN Real Estate

A former furniture store on the Southside dating back more than a century is in line for a half-million-dollar state grant to help finish its renovation.

Two land developers' requests to build residential units in phases were reviewed by the Whitehall Township Board of Commissioners on Monday night.

North Whitehall Township’s Board of Supervisors denied land development approval Monday for a broadly opposed 501,000-square-foot warehouse planned for the corner of Route 309 and Orefield Road.

Plans call for nine 3-story residential buildings and a 5,260-square-foot amenity structure at the old V7 driving range and restaurant. Also proposed: 557 parking spaces and an internal circulation drive with two connections to Hope Road.

City Center executives on Monday night presented scaled-back plans to revitalize the former Merchants National Bank at the southwest corner of Seventh and Hamilton streets.

Base Engineering's Drew Nyman, project manager on behalf of the applicant, said the original sketch plan presented last year was “a lot more expansive than what we’re doing now.”

Local officials highlighted the project's potential to make a small dent in the Lehigh Valley's deep housing deficit.

On Wednesday, HARB, the recommending body to City Council that weighs proposed changes to the exterior of buildings in Historic Bethlehem, said it wanted to see revised plans for the former 555 Main St. five-and-dime at its next meeting on April 2.

The board’s unanimous vote brought an end to Monday's meeting just before it entered its fourth hour.

A proposal to add three stories and 27 apartments at the downtown Woolworth building was sent back to Bethlehem's Historical Architectural Review Board.