Present and future redevelopment was on the minds of city council members at their meeting May 17, as they joined with members of the Southside Historic Conservation Commission (HCC) to present awards to three property owners. The awards cited two property owners for adaptive reuse of a building and one for scale of the renovation project.

Phil Roeder, chair of the HCC, said, “It’s easy to see the visual benefits of redevelopment. When you visit the neighborhoods you can feel the positive impact.”

Awards were presented to owners of the Touchstone Theater, where the renovation included replacing a severely deteriorating porch, and 310 Taylor St., for a renovation that turned an ordinary garage into a brewpub. The former garage is now the home of the Bonn Place Brewing Company. The final HCC award was presented to the owners of 128 West Fourth St., a formerly vacant building which now houses a real estate office, hair salon and two apartments.

City Council President J. William Reynolds said the HCC members and the property owners they work with “really take pride in what you’re doing.”

LERTA expansion

After the HCC awards, the meeting turned to possibilities for future redevelopment, as council held a public hearing expanding the local economic revitalization tax assistance (LERTA) zone on the Southside. The area includes industrial property from Union Station to the west, the Lehigh River to the north, Riverport to the east and Second Street to the south, as well as the industrial property bounded by Columbia Street to the south and Polk Street to the east.

Director of Community and Economic Development Alicia Karner told council there have been 29 applications for the Southside LERTA over the past 10 years, with a total of $193 million invested and $114.6 million in current tax assessments.

The Southside LERTA has helped to bring businesses to Bethlehem such as Curtiss Wright, Reeb Millwork and Primark.

In addition, Karner said, the Lehigh Valley Industrial Park has brought about $20 million in street and public improvements to the city.

Council will vote on a proposed five-year extension of the Southside LERTA at the June 6 meeting.

Ethics training

In other business, council approved 6-1 an ordinance requiring members to attend training on the state ethics code. Council member Olga Negron voted nay, wanting a more comprehensive ethics ordinance which is still being developed.

Council is planning to schedule a Committee of the Whole meeting to further discuss the ethics proposal brought forward in January by Negron and Council Member Michael Colon.

A Committee of the Whole meeting was held in February, but the proposal is still in progress and is not yet ready for a vote.

The measure approved by council, which requires members to attend ethics training or face a $100 fine, is meant to be part of a larger consideration of ethics, said Council Member Shawn Martell. “I look forward to us continuing the conversation.” He said the approved ordinance, which he sponsored, was not meant to replace the Negron and Colon proposal. “That’s the last thing I would want,” Martell said.