BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Bethlehem Area School Board approved the $8 million purchase of a South Bethlehem property Monday to serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School, which serves students from Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley school districts.
The building at 315 Columbia St. will allow BAVTS to accommodate more students and offer more programs without a previously proposed $46.6 million expansion project at the vo-tech’s main campus, located at 3300 Chester Avenue in Bethlehem Township.
BAVTS plans
At their Monday meeting, Bethlehem Area school directors approved the agreement to purchase the South Bethlehem building from Factory Land Holding Company LLC.
The building, which was listed for sale at $5.75 million last month, is a former Bethlehem Steel facility that was originally built in 1940, according to the real estate listing. The 40,000-square-foot space was renovated in 2019 to serve as Factory LLC, a large-scale business incubator for food and beverage companies.
The BAVTS satellite campus would allow for at least an additional 330 student seats — the number planned for in the expansion. BAVTS would also be able to offer the same new programs it had proposed in the expansion plans, including vet tech studies, cybersecurity, aviation mechanics, and medical and office administration.
Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto said it will cost an estimated $12 million to outfit the building’s interior for the vo-tech’s programming. It will take until the fall of 2026 to complete these updates, he said.
Faccinetto said his district agreed to purchase the property for the vo-tech’s use because Bethlehem Area could act more quickly than BAVTS, which would require action from the three sending districts.
Bethlehem Area may either lease the building to BAVTS or sell the property to the vo-tech school in the future, he said.
Closing timeline
With the approved sale and purchase agreement, Bethlehem Area has a 30-day due diligence period to investigate the property and existing contracts to “make sure everything looks good and in shape,” Faccinetto said.
According to the agreement, Bethlehem Area has until 5 p.m. on December 18 to terminate the contract and get its $100,000 deposit back. The district has the following 15 days to close on the property with Jan. 2 being the last day to do so.
As Bethlehem Area makes these real estate moves, it’s still unclear what the future of BAVTS looks like. The three sending school districts have yet to reach an agreement on a contract to govern the next 30 years of the school, and the current articles of agreement expire June 2025.
In other Bethlehem Area news, school directors also approved Monday an Act 1 opt out resolution, agreeing not to raise taxes above 4.8% for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Additionally, school directors approved several capital improvement projects for the summer of 2025, totaling $3,028,704. These projects will be funded through the district’s capital reserve funds and a $750,000 facility improvement grant.
The projects include: domestic water heater replacements at Liberty High School and Marvine Elementary School; intercom and clock system replacements at Calypso and Farmersville elementary schools; grease trap replacements at Farmersville and Miller Heights elementary; and a roof replacement at Governor Wolf Elementary School.
