Bethlehem rejects rezoning that would allow 6

Bethlehem City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to reject a rezoning request that could have brought a 6-story, 240 unit apartment complex to the South Side.

Serfass Construction, an Allentown construction firm and developer, had requested the city rezone 119 Technology Drive, which sits at the corner of the Lehigh River and Fahy Memorial Bridge, from "industrial redevelopment" to "central business."

The building there was constructed in 1993 as the Bethlehem Technology Center and is used by IQE, a semiconductor manufacturing company, which announced in 2020 it plans to move its Bethlehem headquarters to North Carolina.

Alex Ciruzzi, a general manager for IQE, said the building there is "dilapidated" and that several manufacturing companies who had toured the facility were not interested in buying it, which is why the company opted to sell to Serfass Construction.

At a meeting last month, developer Kevin Serfass laid out his plans to convert the one-story industrial building into apartments with amenities such as a sculpture garden, gym and art gallery on the first floor. Serfass could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

But several council members, explaining their "nay" votes, said they would rather see the building at 119 Technology Drive retain its use as a semiconductor manufacturing hub instead of demolished to make way for rental housing.

"This particular site has significant life science and technological possibilities still left," member Wandalyn Enix said. "I went to the site and instead of seeing ‘obsolete,’ I saw possibilities."

Several council members who had initially supported the rezoning, including Hillary Kwiatek, Paige Van Wirt and Kiera Wilhelm, said they had changed their mind after learning more about the 2022 CHIPS Act, a federal law that allocated around $280 billion to incentivize semiconductor manufacturing and research.

The Technology Drive site could be eligible for funding from that law.

"While I do see housing as a wonderful thing to happen here, and a really good place to happen right there, I also think that giving a tech hub, because of the CHIPS Act, a place and a chance to grow, is a signal to the tech community that we are open to business," Van Wirt said.

Mayor J. William Reynolds, asked by Kwiatek where he stands on the rezoning, did not give a direct answer. He said the rezoning decision is up to City Council, but that he wants to see the building be reused in some way, rather than sit vacant after IQE leaves.

Some prominent Lehigh Valley figures had urged City Council to reject the rezoning proposal, including Don Cunningham, former Bethlehem mayor and current CEO of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. Jeffrey Parks, founder of prominent Bethlehem-based nonprofit ArtsQuest, which is headquartered nearby, also urged council members to reject the rezoning, arguing that the city should aim to incentivize technology hubs in light of the CHIPS Act.

This article has been updated to reflect that Tuesday night's city council vote is a final, not preliminary, vote.

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at [email protected].

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