Council eyes Martin Tower site
Bethlehem officials hope ‘deteriorated’ designation could offer development opportunities, incentives
Bethlehem officials agree that the former Martin Tower site at Eighth and Eaton avenues, which has been vacant since the former Bethlehem Steel headquarters was demolished in 2019, is a bit of an eyesore.
The 55-acre plot of land is overrun with weeds, shrubs, trash and rubble.
But officially designating the site as “deteriorated” could help bring it back to life, and even add critical affordable housing, according to Laura Collins, the city’s community and economic development director.
“Deteriorated” is a state designation that could make the site eligible for tax abatement programs like LERTA or Pennsylvania Act 58. Those programs provide tax breaks to developers who build on challenging sites, such as those that have had former industrial uses.
“The idea is we really want to restart the conversation about the Martin Tower site,” Collins said in a phone interview.
The land is owned by Lewis Ronca and Norton Herrick of SWB LR Ltd and 8th and Eaton Holdings LP. The owners received approval on a “master plan” for the site that includes two medical office buildings and more than 1,000 housing units, but have not yet begun construction.
The owners have submitted building permit applications for the two medical buildings, which suggests construction on those could begin soon, Collins said.
City officials hope the “deteriorated” designation could incentivize owners to build affordable housing units at the site. Under the LERTA tax abatement program, eligible housing developers who receive tax breaks must either designate one in 10 housing units as “affordable” according to federal
guidelines, or donate to the city’s affordable housing trust fund.
Council in a 5-2 vote last year opted to increase the amount LERTA developers would owe to the housing trust fund, from $25,000 to $52,320 per 10 housing units constructed.
“We have a housing crisis, so any way we can try and incentivize housing is something we want to do, and we might need to push pretty hard for that,” Collins said.
A study published in February by the city found that Bethlehem is experiencing an affordable housing crisis, with a less than 2% rental vacancy rate. Incentivizing more government-subsidized affordable housing is part of the city’s plan to tackle the problem.
Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority board members said they are in favor of the “deteriorated” designation.
“It’s a nuisance and it’s deteriorated,” board member Tracy Oscavich said of the Martin Tower site. “I’m completely on board with the designation as a deteriorated area.”
The board does not have the authority to designate the site, however: that responsibility lies with City Council. No public hearing is scheduled yet, but council could hold one in the future, and the redevelopment authority’s support could factor into its decision.