BETHLEHEM STEEL LAUNCHES WEBSITES FOR BETHLEHEM WORKS AND BETHLEHEM COMMERCE CENTER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
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., October 13, 2000 - Websites for Bethlehem Steel Corporation's development tracts at its former Bethlehem plant property are now live.
Up-to-date information on the 163-acre Bethlehem Works design, intent and progress for recreational, educational, cultural and retail venues can be found at www.bethlehemworks.com. Navigational buttons are devoted to Bethlehem Works' location, history of the development initiative, opportunities for development, environmental/economic impact and history of the City of Bethlehem.
www.bethcommercecenter provides information on Bethlehem Steel's plans to develop the remaining 1,600 acres of land into an industrial park and office center. Navigational buttons include pages that discuss Bethlehem Commerce Center's location, property, land uses and history of the City of Bethlehem.
"These new sites are additional tools to promote the growing interest and excitement about the prospects for these important development initiatives, and to inform the public about activities at the sites," said Stephen G. Donches, vice president, public affairs, Bethlehem Steel Corporation, which is leading the massive, multi-year effort. "We have had a substantial number of inquiries about these sites in the past few months, and these tools will help us respond quickly to requests for information by developers and other interested parties," he said.
Each site has a contact page where visitors to the site can request additional information and a response by phone, email or U.S. mail. The contact page has a box for visitors to the site to ask specific questions or request specific information.
Both sites have hot links to other leading community and civic institutions such as Bethlehem Steel Corporation, Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, the City of Bethlehem, the Discovery Center for Science and Technology and the other Bethlehem Steel development tract. In addition, the Bethlehem Commerce Center site has hot links to rail-related activities by Bethlehem Steel's subsidiary railroads such as BethIntermodal, an on-site rail freight terminal; RailQuest, a rail-management consulting and merchandising site, and Carrier Express, a trucking company.
The first phase of Bethlehem Works is expected to open in late summer 2001 along Third Street on the South Side of Bethlehem. The first phase of projects will include the Preview Center for the National Musuem of Industrial History, in association with the Smithsonian Institution, a multi-plex cinema, a hockey/ice skating facility, a family fun center named "The Fundry at Bethlehem Works" and 175,000-square-feet of restaurant and retail space in existing early 1900s industrial buildings.
Infrastructure work to facilitate the construction of Phase 1 of Bethlehem Works is expected to begin in early November. Bids for the infrastructure have been received and reviewed by the City of Bethlehem's public works department.
The second phase of Bethlehem Works plans an opening in 2004/2005 anchored by the 330,000-square-foot National Museum of Industrial History in the No. 2 machine shop, which was constructed during the 1880s. Bethlehem Steel's former headquarters building is expected to be renovated into a 250-room hotel that is planning to open in late 2002. That building's east annex will be reopened in 2001 as commercial office space.
Bethlehem Commerce Center is home to the BethIntermodal terminal, which opened in August 1999, as well as the former Bethlehem Steel businesses CENTEC and Lehigh Heavy Forge, which were sold to WHEMCO in October 1997. In summer 2000, letters of intent were received by Bethlehem Steel from Conectiv Energy Supply for the construction of a 500-megawatt, gas-fired dual-cycle energy facility and from Majestic Real Estate Inc. for the purchase of more than 200 acres for the construction of commercial and high industrial space.
"These development initiatives demonstrates Bethlehem Steel Corporation's commitment to create a public/private partnership to return jobs and tax revenue to the community. We are also supporting our corporate-wide efforts to increase shareholder value by creating new uses for underutilized corporate assets," Mr. Donches said.