Martin Tower site plan gets a boost
City Council paves way for mixed-use proposal to advance
No matter what form of transportation dominates the landscape in the years ahead, the former Martin Tower site will require ample parking to serve a developer’s vision of office and living space, Bethlehem City Council decided Tuesday.
Council voted 4-1 to pass a zoning amendment that will allow for two driving aisles and four rows of parking spaces between a commercial building and the curb, paving the way for property owners Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick of SWB LR Ltd. and 8th and Eaton Holdings LP to move ahead with their plans for a mixed-use project on the 53-acre parcel at 1170 8th Ave.
The amendment, proposed by council member Michael Colon, was intended as a compromise to the developer in order to move the project forward.
“I thought it was a simple yet sensible solution,” he said before the vote was cast.
The action nullifies the restriction in the office mixeduse zone of one driving aisle
and one row of parking spaces between a commercial building and the curb, which is intended to minimize parking lots along major roads.
The plan calls for two office buildings and two medical office buildings, a 31,000-square-foot grocery store, two restaurants, a gas station and 300 apartments, along with a 130-room hotel.
It also includes a nature trail and interconnectivity of the buildings with sidewalks.
Council member Grace Crampsie Smith, who represented the lone vote against the amendment, said she was swayed by Lehigh Valley Planning Commission Executive Director Becky Bradley’s call for less parking and more consideration for alternative forms of transportation when the matter
was brought forward during a public hearing last month.
She said she favors “smart development” at the site, and agreed with Bradley’s assertion that additional parking is “not in alignment” with the LVPC’s vision for the Lehigh Valley.
Council member Bryan Callahan, who participated by phone, said he thought Bradley’s comments during the July
hearing regarding accommodating for electric cars and bicycles
“were a little slanted,” and that the project will require parking
no matter what form of transportation is in vogue by the time it reaches fruition.
“No matter what technology, no matter what mode of power, they still need parking,” he said.
Council member J. William Reynolds said he was anxious to see the parcel get back on the tax rolls and wanted to see how the project would dovetail with the city’s climate action plan, which calls for ecological development standards such as solar panels and green roofs.
“Everybody’s goal is to make this as high a quality project as possible,” he said.
Council members Paige Van Wirt and Olga Negron were absent.