BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Updated plans to add apartments at the old Woolworth building at 555 Main St. got the city Historical Architectural Review Board's approval Wednesday.
The newly agreed-upon design, offering a mix of 24 apartments, both one- and two-bedroom units ranging from about 600 to 1,700 square feet, was approved 4-2, with board members Diana Hodgson and Joseph McGavin opposed.
This time around, developers looked to better conceal the addition among neighboring structures, setting it back 28 feet from the original facade instead of a previously proposed 6 feet.
The fourth-floor mansard roof, with its sloped sides, would put the project at a similar height as the Main Street Commons building next door at 47 feet.
“The color palette is appropriate — substantial or sufficient differentiation — the massing is proportional, based on precedent. The visual impact is insignificant.”HARB member Nik Nikolov
Modifications to the upper-level dormers will be back at some point for official review, officials said.
The project was last before HARB in March, when the board asked the applicant to explore different potential setbacks for the addition and offer revised plans.
The Woolworth building’s owner is Lehigh Valley developer Lou Pektor and Rubel Street II LP by Pektor Holdings I GP DE LLC.
The project was designed and pitched by MKSD Architects.
Pektor also owns the Main Street Commons building.
'A home run'
“The color palette is appropriate — substantial or sufficient differentiation — the massing is proportional, based on precedent,” HARB member Nik Nikolov said.
“The visual impact is insignificant.”
He said the rear facade proposed is a substantial improvement from what’s there now, and he wasn’t worried about its “minimal” visual intrusion for people out and about to the west at the Colonial Industrial Quarter.
“If it’s going to be viewed from Main Street, it shouldn’t look like somebody took a bunch of Legos and built a box on top of the building."HARB member Joseph McGavin
“If it’s going to be viewed from Main Street, it shouldn’t look like somebody took a bunch of Legos and built a box on top of the building,” board member Joseph McGavin said.
Gavin prefaced that by saying the plan was “better than it was before.”
The board’s historic officer, Joe Phillips, agreed on the look of the rear facade: “It doesn’t jump out at you. It’s just part of all that other stuff that’s back there.”
HARB member Rodman Young called the newest application “a home run.”
'How this body should be working'
Resident Marty Smith agreed “wholeheartedly” for an approved certificate of appropriateness for the project, saying the developer had tastefully incorporated previous comments from the board.
Mary Filiciotto, a Center City resident, said that while the project has improved in its latest iteration, she hoped the slate-gray roof wouldn’t turn out too dark in color.
Another Bethlehemite, Chris Carson, said that even though he still thought the proposed project was too tall, approving it would be “an example of, really, how this body should be working” in arriving at a solution that promotes investment in downtown and meets the needs of the Historic District.
But he said it could be a slippery slope if the board’s interpretations of overarching guidelines become too loose with present and future applications.
As HARB is an advisory board of volunteers, Bethlehem City Council will have the final say on a certificate of appropriateness for the project.
Council is set to meet next on April 15.
