EASTON, Pa. – Will the third time be the charm for a tax incentive proposal for the redevelopment of the old Dixie Cup factory in Wilson Borough?

We could find out next month.

Thursday night, proponents and opponents of a tax increment financing plan, or TIF, being requested by the developers of the property had the chance to voice their opinions — again — before Northampton County Council.

Skyline Investment Group of New York City wants to transform the old factory at 12 S. 24th Street, which closed in 1983, into 405 apartments. It’s a $185 million project. The company has already completed extensive remediation work at the site.

A TIF is a tool that allows for future increases in tax revenue to be used to pay for redevelopment costs instead. In November, County Council voted against allowing it for the Dixie property, even after Wilson Borough Council and the Wilson Area School District board of directors — the other two bodies that had to approve the TIF — had already given their blessing.

The ‘no’ was the second for the site; a LERTA (Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance) proposal was denied in 2022, before Skyline was involved.

Skyline Managing Partner Brian Bartee previously said he would reintroduce the TIF, and he did, earlier this year. 

TIF 2.0 is very similar to the first version of the proposal: a 20-year, $26.4 million tax abatement proposal. The district would be comprised of just two properties totaling 12.5 acres: the former plant and an adjacent parking lot.

But on Thursday night, an on-the-spot change was announced. Bartee said he would up the contribution to the county’s affordable housing fund from $1.3 million in the latest proposal (it was $1.1 million in the first TIF) to $2 million.

The contribution is being made in lieu of including units that qualify as affordable housing in the building itself.

But the increase likely will not win over detractors who say the upscale apartments, with an average monthly rent of $2,500, are out of reach for the majority of people who live in the surrounding community, and that the inclusion of affordable units shouldn’t come with an opt-out.

Dominic Trabosci was one of the members of the public who addressed County Council on Thursday night.

“You, as councilmembers, owe it to the hard-working people of this community to be better negotiators in this moment, at a time when most residents in the borough are renters, with that number only increasing as housing prices go up,” Trabosci said. “The time is now to consider what kind of future you want to build for the county: an exclusive one that offers little to the people just trying to get by, or an inclusive one that benefits the most amount of people as possible.” 

Bartee said it’s not financially feasible to include affordable housing units in the new Dixie building: “When you’re talking about a $185 million cost, the debt that we will actually have to take on this building is $125 million. If we put 40 affordable apartment units in the building, it might look good on paper, but we’re not even going to close the loan, and the building will stay as it is.” 

Commissioners Kelly Keegan, Jeff Warren and Ken Kraft spoke out in support of the TIF. 

“Saying no to this project would be the most bonehead thing you could possibly do, because you’re not losing anything,” Kraft said, referencing Bartee’s $2 million contribution, which would be equal to the county’s tax portion of the TIF.

The other six commissioners did not indicate where they stand. Lori Vargo Heffner and Tom Giovanni voted against the TIF in November. The three other dissenting votes came from commissioners who are no longer on council.

Wilson Borough affirmed its support for the TIF earlier this week, voting again to approve it. Mayor Donald Barrett spoke during the County Council meeting Thursday night.

“We’re not here asking you to take a leap of faith,” he said. “We’re asking you to take a forward step with us to help us push this building forward. It’s a real opportunity.”

Northampton County Council has scheduled a possible vote on the TIF at its next meeting on May 7, which will begin at 6:30 p.m. at the government center at 669 Washington St. in Easton.