BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Area School Board on Monday accepted the conditions for land development linked to the new Fountain Hill Elementary School.
Fountain Hill Borough Council set the conditions in approving BASD’s land development plan for the new elementary school, which may be a long way from groundbreaking, but is one step closer.
The proposed three-story, 86,000-square-foot building, which will sit on the grounds of the existing building at 1330 Church St., will cost $62 million, according to district estimates.
“It was the land development approval that came through working with Fountain Hill Borough, We were trying to get everything in line as we move closer and closer to construction. So it was just our preliminary plans going through the local municipality.”Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael E. Faccinetto
Other features intended for the property include “a combined food pantry/family center, parking areas, soft and hard recreational play surfaces, various stormwater management facilities, and other associated site improvements,” according to a borough resolution referenced by the BASD board.
Relief requests from the district were granted by the borough’s Zoning Hearing Board in August 2024.
According to documentation from the district, it “has been pursuing all required municipal approvals to begin construction of the new Fountain Hill Elementary School.”
The preliminary/final land development plan was approved by the borough on Dec. 18.
Notes from the borough Zoning Hearing Board, borough engineer and fire marshal, as well as concerns over delivery and traffic restrictions, were addressed over the previous year, according to the BASD’s agenda.
Cautiously optimistic on schedule
“It was the land development approval that came through working with Fountain Hill Borough,” School Board President Michael E. Faccinetto said.
“We were trying to get everything in line as we move closer and closer to construction. So it was just our preliminary plans going through the local municipality.”
"There’s always the fear that we start digging down 40, 50 feet, and you don’t know what you’re going to find. But everything else that we can plan for has been on schedule, on time and on budget.”Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael E. Faccinetto
Faccinetto said bids for construction, plumbing, electrical work and other infrastructure projects will be out in two or three weeks.
“Once they open the bids, hopefully we can award them," Faccinetto said. "And soon thereafter, if we’re still on schedule, we’ll start in June with demolition plans.”
Faccinetto said he and his fellow board members are cautiously optimistic about the schedule for the new school.
“We don’t have a hole in the ground yet — the new building will expand onto land that has not been excavated yet: surface lots, grass, playgrounds,” Faccinetto said.
“So there’s always the fear that we start digging down 40, 50 feet, and you don’t know what you’re going to find. But everything else that we can plan for has been on schedule, on time and on budget.”
If all goes according to plan, construction will start around summer 2025, as the board originally projected. The new school is scheduled to open to students in 2027.
