Bethlehem Manor’s expansion plan denied
A plan to build a 54-unit addition to a Bethlehem elder care facility was shot down Wednesday night by the city zoning hearing board.
The board’s 3-2 vote denied variances that would have allowed developer Abe Atiyeh’s Bethlehem Manor to build a 2½-story addition to the facility on Pennsylvania Avenue.
Another denied variance would have allowed a nearly 12-foot setback from an adjoining property at one corner of the proposed addition.
Several neighbors who attended the hearing in City Hall expressed opposition mainly on the grounds that the expansion wasn’t suited to the Rosemont neighborhood.
Bethlehem Manor was created by converting what was once Rosemont Elementary School after obtaining a variance from the zoning board in 2016 to operate a personal care facility in a residential zone.
The facility opened in May 2017 and can care for up to 74 people in shared suites. Its occupancy is 57.
Nimita Kapoor Atiyeh, who manages the Bethlehem, Whitehall and Saucon Valley Manors, said after the hearing that the company would appeal the decision.
“I am gung-ho to keep moving ahead,” she said. “I am passionate about the elderly and I want what’s right for them.”
Gene Berg, of Allentownbased Gouck Architects, designed the addition. Under questioning from Atiyeh’s attorney, John VanLuvanee of Doylestown, Berg testified the addition would bring 54 private rooms, each with a full bath.
Berg said the first floor would be 10,026 square feet, the second 9,769 square feet, and the half story 9,761 square feet for a total of 29,556 square feet.
Berg testified that the first plan was to convert the rooms in the building into private rooms, but the masonry structure did not allow for moving doorways without significant work and expense.
Kapoor Atiyeh, who is the wife of Abe Atiyeh, testified that there has been increased demand for private rooms, which is why it was decided to move ahead with an expansion.
“Fifty-four residents in their rooms will not change the neighborhood,” she said. “I want to give these people the honor and privilege of living out their last years in dignity.”
Several residents spoke out against the project, citing issues of noise from ambulances, its unsuitability to the neighborhood, traffic and the possibility that an expansion would lead to further expansion.
Brian Nicas, who resides in the neighborhood on Tioga Street, presented the board a petition signed by more than 25 residents, all opposed to the addition.
“I’m not against health care facilities, I just don’t think it is appropriate for this site,” he said.
Anne Lendzinski, who lives near the facility on Kenmore Avenue, said, “Your facilities work well in Hellertown and Whitehall because they are in mixed-use areas. In our neighborhood it does not work well. Don’t build another building.”