BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Bethlehem Mayor J. William Reynolds provided an update on the unsheltered encampment on Norfolk Southern land at the Bethlehem City Council meeting Tuesday.

“Thank you to the health bureau and police for gathering this very, very important information — this very, very important data,” Reynolds said.

As of Sept. 16, the camp housed 75 individuals, Reynolds reported. In comparison, data gathered last week by the Health Bureau showed 53 individuals.

The population was also surveyed about its interest in housing assistance and using Bethlehem’s emergency shelter. Overall, 55 participants said they were likely to use the emergency shelter, and 23 said they had no interest in housing assistance.

“Not to say that we’re not going to keep trying,” commented Reynolds.

“We will continue to work with people; there are some unique challenges,” he said.

As far as the total number of respondents, 75 was high, Reynolds said, and he suspected it may have been tied to a homeless camp along Jordan Creek in Allentown that was cleared due to its location on a floodplain, also in September.

The encampment has been discussed at recent City Council meetings and stems from a request by Norfolk Southern, which owns the property along the Lehigh River. Police Chief Michelle Kott said the company asked her department to post signs by Sept. 15 informing encampment residents that they must relocate.

Norfolk Southern said the site is too close to an active track and poses health and safety risks, including open fires and improper waste disposal.

A Norfolk Southern spokesperson said the company’s priority is safety.

Officials said plans to address homelessness are not reactionary to the letter from Norfolk Southern, but that they have been working on the issue for some time.

Gateway on Fourth

Also Tuesday, Reynolds discussed the city’s recent award of tax credits from the state for housing.

According to a release from state Sen. Lisa Boscola’s office, the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency has awarded $16 million in federal low-income tax credits to the City of Bethlehem for the Gateway on Fourth, a 120-unit housing project at 1400-1414 E. Fourth St.

“This is a big deal; it allows us to stay on our (construction) timeline,” Reynolds said.

With the funding, the city can start the first phase of the Gateway on Fourth — a new construction of two, two-story and four-story buildings, consisting of 29 one-bedroom, 15 two-bedroom and 16 three-bedroom units, for a total of 60 general-occupancy units. There will also be nine accessible units.

In a news release about the award, Boscola (D-18) said, “The Gateway on Fourth project will help address the city’s housing affordability crisis by increasing the supply of affordable housing at South Bethlehem’s eastern gateway. This is another example of the commonwealth partnering on an important redevelopment project to make it a reality.”

Construction is planned to begin in late 2026 and be completed in spring 2028, when leasing will begin. The phase will be anchored by a health clinic operated by Neighborhood Health Centers of the Lehigh Valley.

According to the release, the project represents a “public-private partnership between the City of Bethlehem, Lehigh Valley Industrial Park and Pennrose.”