Lebanon City Council members have taken steps to help renovate the former Bethlehem Steel building, with the owner planning to rejuvenate the structure into a space for local businesses to thrive.
The 30,000-square-foot property at 121 Schneider Drive can be subdivided for a multi-tenant space, according to Common Craft Development principal owner Evan Reinhardt. Reinhardt, who purchased the steelworks property for $260,000, said the goal is to make the site an "economic powerhouse" for the Lebanon area.
"There's a lot of potential for the Bethlehem Steel site generally," Reinhardt said during the pre-council meeting March 21. "Not only that, but these buildings don't have much longer before they are going to fall into a point where they are not able to be repaired any further."
Council members unanimously agreed Monday, March 26, to file an application with the state Commonwealth Financing Authority for a Business in Our Sites grant and loan for Common Craft. The application includes a $2,408,248 grant and a $1.7 million loan for lead and asbestos remediation and rehabilitation of the former steel works building.
The state program's funding is intended to prepare and remediate sites for future use, according to Mayor Sherry Capello.
"We need to have some sort of grant assistance to help further develop this property because of everything that's involved, like lead and asbestos," she said.
While city officials are applying for Common Craft for the grant and loan, Capello said there will be an agreement in place making Reinhardt's company responsible for any liability to the grant or the loan.
After renovations are complete, Reinhardt said the first floor of the building would be set aside for larger maker-type users. Renovations on the second floor will include event space, small format artist studio space and executive office space.
Three small businesses have already submitted letters of intent to Reinhardt to lease space at the site. Philadelphia-based studio Weaver House requested 2,000 square feet, pottery studio Mudslingers, based in Denver, Colorado, requested 2,500 square feet, and Lebanon-based Martin Made LLC woodworking shop requested 1,750 square feet.
"They're really great kind of creative small businesses, and I think they are going to set a really great tone for the future tenants to follow once we really hit the marketing efforts hard," Reinhardt said.
Reinhardt added the vision is having 15 to 25 small businesses benefiting from the space and interacting with residents.
Council members expressed interest in seeing the site renovated.
"The building is sitting unused at this time, so there are a lot of things that are much better than what it is in its current state," Councilman Brian Martin said. "I love this plan. ... It's going to be a great addition to the future of this city. There's a lot of potential here."
Liquor license transfer
Council members Monday also tabled a decision transferring a liquor license from the Lickdale General Store in Union Township to the second floor of 629 Cumberland St.
Rob-Fam Inc. , owned by Lori Smith and Paul Robertson, plan to create an establishment to serve up to 75 people. A license was issued to the space when it was the Lebanon Democratic Club before it closed 20 years ago.
"The vision for the project is basically to create an environment to purchase food and drink that is a unique experience for patrons where they not only can consume food and beverage, but where they are educated on the products," said Buzgon Davis Law attorney Bret Wiest, who represented Rob-Fam Inc. at a public hearing March 21.
Robertson added that the proposed establishment would also be selling unopened bottles of wine and beer to take home.
Capello said the building is a mix of commercial and residential uses, with the William Penn Restaurant on the first floor and apartments on the second and third floors. There are some concerns about the physical structure of the building, with Capello saying she is not aware of any building code or zoning inspections in over two decades.
"The last permit that we have on file was from 2008, and it was for taking care of some deteriorated structural supports and roof tresses," she said.
After a short executive session, council members voted 4-1 to continue the hearing until the next pre-council meeting on April 18. Council member Sean Maguire was the only council member to vote against continuing the hearing.
Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth.
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