{"id":121933,"date":"2026-02-24T07:15:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T07:15:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121933\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T07:15:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T07:15:08","slug":"bethlehem-historic-board-pushes-back-on-proposed-demolitions-to-construct-7-story-mixed-use-project-bethlehem-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/121933\/","title":{"rendered":"Bethlehem historic board pushes back on proposed demolitions to construct 7-story mixed-use project | Bethlehem Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 Plans for a seven-story mixed-use building<\/a> on South New Street were put on hold Monday night after the Bethlehem Historic Conservation Committee raised concerns about proposed demolitions.<\/p>\n

To construct the new building, the applicant would need to demolish 319, 321-323, 325 and 327 S. New St.<\/p>\n

Demolition of the historic structures \u2014 specifically, the Italianate fa\u00e7ade of 321-323 S. New St. \u2014 was a key sticking point for committee members.<\/p>\n

\u201c323 New Street is a beautiful old building on a very prominent spot along New Street. I\u2019d hate to see it torn down,\u201d said committee member Todd Chambers.<\/p>\n

According to City Historic Officer Jeffrey Long, the proposed building would include 1,900 square feet of commercial space on the first floor and 4,300 square feet of community space reserved for tenants. Upper floors would total about 6,200 square feet each and include a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments.<\/p>\n

The proposed building would be 93 feet wide, about 96.5 feet deep, and between 75 and 78.5 feet tall. Plans call for a full-bed brick veneer, fiber cement panels, aluminum storefront windows, Fibrex windows and fabric canopies.<\/p>\n

The several buildings slated for demolition date back to the late 19th century through 1950, Long said.<\/p>\n

The committee expressed particular interest in preserving the Italianate fa\u00e7ade of 321-323 S. New St.<\/p>\n

\u201cLosing the fa\u00e7ade means losing the historical context of the neighborhood in the proposal,\u201d Long said.<\/p>\n

The applicant, however, said preserving the fa\u00e7ade was not feasible. Eric DeLong of USA Architects in Easton said the double-wide brick structure sits on wood framing and would likely not survive shoring or construction for the new building. He also noted that modern \u201cpodium\u201d construction requires noncombustible materials for the first two floors.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a failing brick structure. We feel it\u2019s best to remove that existing fa\u00e7ade,\u201d DeLong said.<\/p>\n

Chambers encouraged exploring other design options to preserve the historic structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cI totally agree it\u2019s not a practical proposition to preserve that fa\u00e7ade and integrate it into the new structure,\u201d Chambers said. \u201cSitting here, I can\u2019t help but wonder if there are other design solutions to preserve the entire building and still build a successful project.\u201d<\/p>\n

For their return, the applicant was directed to provide more detailed plans and three-dimensional plans at a future date.<\/p>\n

Long said the properties have a long history of development proposals. The committee previously held discussions from 2020 to 2022 with significant public comment on a similar yet larger project.<\/p>\n

Earlier plans called for a nine-story building measuring 110 feet wide, 75 feet deep and between 88 and 92 feet tall. The committee ultimately recommended a Certificate of Appropriateness allowing some demolition that did not include 32-321 S. New St. and set limits on size and scale. The applicant later returned with revised designs addressing architectural rhythm, window and door openings, materials and textures, resulting in a second certificate approved by Bethlehem City Council.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

325 S. New St., Bethlehem<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2013 Plans for a seven-story mixed-use building on South New Street were put on hold Monday…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,153,57347,57348,57349,32263],"class_list":{"0":"post-121933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news","11":"tag-bethlehem","12":"tag-eric-delong","13":"tag-historic-conservation-committee","14":"tag-south-new-street","15":"tag-todd-chambers"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}