Bethlehem Steel to Sell Land
for Tech Center II in South Bethlehem
For Immediate Release
Public Relations Division
Public Affairs Department
1170 Eighth Avenue
Bethlehem, PA 18016-7699
(610) 694-3711 - Phone
(610) 694-1509 - Fax
BETHLEHEM, Pa., December 21, 1998 -- The City of Bethlehem and Bethlehem Development Corporation have jointly announced the signing by Bethlehem Development of a letter of intent to sell four acres of land to a consortium of Lehigh Valley economic development agencies for the construction of a second Technology Center.
Bethlehem Development Corporation is a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.
The new building, part of the newly named John M. Cook Technology Center, will be located on the western edge of Bethlehem Works, a mixed-use project involving the redevelopment of 160 acres of land on the site of Bethlehem Steel Corporation's former Lehigh plant in South Bethlehem. The new building will be located next to an existing Technology Center that opened in 1993, also on land sold by Bethlehem Development.
"The development of the John M. Cook Technology Center represents an important step in the Bethlehem Works project," said Stephen G. Donches, vice president, public affairs, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and president, Bethlehem Development Corporation. "We are actively working with other potential end users and expect that this new project will help attract others to the site being developed as a public/private partnership. We look forward to completion of this transaction in the spring. It is good for our city, and it's exciting to see plans start to materialize."
In addition to the Technology Center, the Bethlehem Works project will include office, entertainment, recreation and retail uses, including the National Museum of Industrial History in affiliation with the Smithsonian Institution. Other anticipated uses include a multiplex cinema, an ice skating center, a family fun center and a natatorium with supporting retail and restaurant structures, some housed in the original industrial buildings.
The project has been named in honor of the late John M. (Jack) Cook who was the founder of the Bethlehem Technology Center I and a long-time economic development leader. A Bethlehem Steel Corporation retiree, Mr. Cook was executive director of the Northampton County Development Corporation until shortly before his death early this year.
The Technology Center houses businesses that began at the Northeastern Tier Ben Franklin incubator program for new businesses located at the Mountaintop Campus of Lehigh University. STC Technologies, Inc. has committed to becoming the first tenant within the 35,000-square-foot, $3-million building. The existing Technology Center I is currently fully occupied and covers 44,000 square feet of space.
The Technology Center II building has been designed by Lee Architectural Associates Inc. to blend the architecture of neighboring Bethlehem Works buildings, some of which date to the 1870s, with modern architectural elements. The new building will use a combination of brick, glass and steel.
Equity partners in the project include the Industrial Development Commission of Northampton County, the NET Ben Franklin Technology Center and the Bethlehem Economic Development Corporation (BEDCO). Bethlehem Steel Corporation is also a member of the BEDCO loan pool, which will assist with the financing of the project. In addition, state and local financing sources are being assembled to fully fund the project.
Construction will begin in spring 1999 with occupancy expected by the end of that year.