A revitalization project that will bring affordable rental units and refreshed commercial space to South Bethlehem was just awarded an $800,000 grant to spur the rehab of a FourStreet building.

The Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority (RDA) blight remediation project at 401-403 and 405 E. Fourth St. was just one of seven projects across the Commonwealth, and the only project in the Lehigh Valley, funded in the latest round of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency’s Community Revitalization Fund Program (CRFP).

Plans call for a mixed-use revitalization of the blighted property into four apartments, ranging from one to three-bedroom units, and a first-floor commercial space. At least three of those units will be affordable to those earning at or below 80 percent of area median income. In Bethlehem, that is $56,150 for an individual or $80,150 for a family, according to 2025 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 2025 income limits.

Working with the City’s Department of Community and Economic Development, the RDA identifies properties that require substantial rehabilitation to again make them marketable in the local economy and which will have a direct and positive impact on the neighborhood in which they are located. The RDA works to transition blighted properties to new owners and investors who have the capacity to complete the reclamation of the structure. A property can be certified as blighted by both the City of Bethlehem Planning Commission and Blighted Property Review Committee. The RDA began acquisition of this property in June 2021 and gained possession and control of the property in November 2023.

“I applaud the Redevelopment Authority in continuing to pursue vital restoration efforts in Southside Bethlehem,” said Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds. “This award is a large step toward realizing the future of this corner property and we thank the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for continuing to choose Bethlehem for its thoughtful investment.”

The PHFA Board approved this funding at its April 10 meeting. The $4.7 million allocated across the seven projects was raised through the sale of tax credits under the Mixed-Use Development Tax Credit Program, the proceeds of which are used to fund the work of the Community Revitalization Fund Program. The goal of the CRFP is to stimulate high-impact neighborhood revitalization projects around the state, according to a press release from PHFA. This round of funding prioritized applications from smaller cities and communities, including third-class cities, like Bethlehem.

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