BETHLEHEM, Pa. — A mixed-use development to include 69 apartments at 4th and William streets in Southside Bethlehem got approvals Wednesday from the city Zoning Hearing Board.
Bethlehem-based developer Greenway Park Associates plans a four-story building with 69 one- and two-bedroom apartments, 4,000 square feet of commercial space and a parking garage beneath the ground level.
The project is expected to cost $15 million, said Brandon Benner, a member of Greenway Park. Benner said 10% of its apartment units would be priced below market rents.
"I think it's a great project, a great location. It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood. We can do something a little special there."Brandon Benner, Greenway Park Associates
“I think it’s a great project, a great location,” Benner said. “It’s an up-and-coming neighborhood. We can do something a little special there.”
Compared with previous iterations, the design presented Wednesday includes fewer two-bedroom apartments and more one-bedrooms.
To assemble land on which to build, Greenway plans to merge six lots into a single 0.93-acre, limited-industry-zoned parcel wedged between 4th, William and Mechanic streets and Steel Avenue.
Citing the resulting lot’s unusual shape, with four roads almost surrounding the property, the developer asked zoners Wednesday for exceptions to several city zoning rules.
“The uniqueness of the property — not only the layout, but also the frontage on all four of these streets — it’s very restrictive,” said Ana Martins, an engineer with Van Cleef Engineering working on the project.
The board voted unanimously to allow more than double the number of apartments ordinarily permitted on a lot of that size, smaller-than-usual rear setbacks, and a building 40 feet longer than the prescribed 180-foot maximum.
The board also granted a special exception allowing the project to include 86 off-street parking spaces, fewer parking spaces than zoning rules typically require, because of the planned site’s mix of uses.
Last month, the Bethlehem Planning Commission voted 5-0 to endorse the same requests for variances and exceptions.
The six lots along 4th Street currently hold two buildings comprising Paul B Wood Tires, both of which would be demolished. Both buildings are “in poor condition — kind of neglected,” Martins said.
A lawyer for the developer, Joe Piperato, said it already inked contracts with the current landowner to buy the six lots.
