SLATE BELT TIGHTENING
Proposed River Pointe Commerce Park development draws fire from residents at special meeting
More than three years and dozens of public hearings in regarding a major industrial park in the Slate Belt, Bethlehem developer Lou Pektor’s River Pointe Commerce Park still would take several years before the whole project is built out, Pektor said Friday.
But on Thursday night, Upper Mount Bethel Township supervisors held a special meeting on key aspects of that proposal: water and sewage service that will be needed once the business park begins being built.
Attorney Marc Kaplan and Fred Ebert, an engineer, gave presentations to about 100 people at the Mount Bethel Fire Company. As has been the case almost since the business park’s inception, skeptical residents peppered supervisors and the developer’s officials with concerns and questions following the presentations.
Who will own the systems remains unknown, with Kaplan and Ebert noting choices include establishing a municipal authority, selling it to one or more public utilities, or selling to a private operator.
The Lehigh Valley Planning Commission recommended last year that River Pointe pursue a locally owned system, as privately owned systems tend to become neglected due to high, longterm maintenance costs. The commission recommended that the township and neighboring Portland work with the developer at establishing a public operating system.
Ebert detailed how a municipal authority could take over the system from Pektor with cash from the fees it charges tenants, and an authority would take it over after more than half the buildings become occupied.
Resident Mary Kiernan asked how citizens can be sure an authority “respects what we want.” Township Solicitor Ronald Karasek said it would be incumbent on the authority to be independent and operate the utilities at reasonable rates and with sufficient operating maintenance costs.
Ebert, who wound through the technical side of the operations, also said the systems will not cost taxpayers. The developer pays until customers are established in the buildings. An authority that is seated to operate the facilities would inherit money from the developer, he said.
“That’s the beauty of it; there’s no debt or exposure
to it,” Ebert said.
As for the water system, Ebert said two tanks will hold hundreds of gallons of water for tenants’ use and fire protection, and the water is to be drawn from wells, with the used water treated and returned to the ground, thereby avoiding possible drought.
Resident Charlie Cole said township officials ought to hire independent experts to review the proposal. “What you’re learning is a developer’s point of view,” he said.
Supervisors took no action on the utility proposals, with township officials saying the plans are also subject to planning and zoning reviews.
Pektor attended the meeting but did not speak. He also declined to comment afterward, but on Friday gave a statement via his public relations company: “It will take several years before the whole project is built out. The initial (sewer and water) infrastructure would pursue permitting in an expeditious manner, and our goal is to start construction by late 2023 or early 2024 on the infrastructure.”
The proposed industrial park, just over 800 acres and south of Portland, has been a source of contention between Pektor’s development company, some township officials and residents who oppose the project, which was first proposed in 2019, worrying such a large commercial project would bring more traffic and harm the rural character of the northern Northampton County community. River Pointe, which is along River and Demi roads, about 1½ miles south of Interstate 80, is expected to include 12 buildings totaling 5.8 million square feet. Pektor bought 725 acres in 2019 for $17 million, adding much of the balance of the 800 acres by acquiring a former coal-fired electric utility plant near the main industrial park.
The land, which is near the Delaware River, has been zoned industrial since the 1970s and is in a Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance zone, which gives property owners a break on real estate taxes associated with improvements or new construction. The taxes are phased in at 10% a year over a decade.
While River Pointe officials have stressed the buildings are being designed to lure industry — the developer changed the name from including “Logistics” early on to “Commerce Park” — large-size buildings and warehouses that have arisen in the Lehigh Valley in recent years have prompted heated debate in communities affected by them, including Upper Mount Bethel.
And while even township officials such as Supervisor David Friedman have said they want development, they do not want a development of this size.
“We would like industrial, commercial development,” Friedman said before Thursday’s meeting, “but warehouses don’t create good-paying jobs and create more truck traffic.”
Kaplan said Pektor is trying to stay away from warehouses and distribution, but citing confidentiality, he declined to provide specifics on possible tenants. Kaplan also said, “We are going ahead with the development. There is going to be a sewer and water system developed.”
Pektor has said the complex would bring thousands of jobs and potentially $2 million annually in taxes and revenue to the township.
In its latest report, commercial real estate company CBRE said Northampton County has 48.2 million square feet of warehouse space with a 5% vacancy rate and 4.7 million square feet under construction. Lehigh County has 64.2 million square feet of warehouse space with a 2.1% vacancy rate and nearly 570,000 square feet under construction.