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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Northampton County Sells Governor Wolf Bldg

Real estate developer Mark Mulligan is a Julliard grad
The latest chapter in Easton's Governor Wolf Building, named after the only Northampton County resident to ever become the state's Governor, is about to begin. At a May 29 news conference at the steps of this 1893 schoolhouse, Executive John Stoffa announced that he's found a buyer. Mark Mulligan, along with partners David Dallas and Bill Vogt, have signed an agreement to purchase the 52,171 sq ft schoolhouse, which sits atop 3.4 acres with a commanding view of the Delaware.

In addition to paying $1,925,000 for this property, located at 45 North Second Street, Mulligan and his partners plan to invest another $3.5 million and completely gut the interior for a June 2015 grand opening for high end apartments, with the possibility of some commercial use.

Stoffa explained that, in 1986, when the County purchased the schoolhouse for $912,000, it was intended to be the "One stop" center for human services. But as the demand grew, the County purchased the Bechtel building, located in Bethlehem.

"It's a great day for Easton," claims Mayor Sal Panto
But both buildings require $4.3 million in capital repairs and improvements, according to County officials. So in February, Council voted, 8-1, to lease a new human services building on Emrick Boulevard in Bethlehem Township. That decision came on the heels of a jaw-dropping power point presentation by caseworkers depicting grisly conditions at Governor Wolf that endanger not only the people who work there, but innocent children who are already the victims of abuse and neglect.

Governor Wolf is plagued by asbestos, mold, chipping lead paint, bats, guano and an excessive number of large bugs. Supervised child visitation takes place in rooms where lead paint is chipping along the floor and windowsills. Mold is all over ceilings and vents are collapsing.

The "Penny Arch" at Governor Wolf
This is where real estate magnate Mark Mulligan, who specializes in the adaptive reuse of historic buildings, comes to the rescue. His Master's degree was not earned at Harvard or Wharton, but at Julliard.

"He studied to be an opera singer, so I trust him," joked Stoffa.

Stoffa called the sale “a win - win situation. Northampton County will reinvest the revenue from this sale into the new Human Service facility that can better serve our 18,000 clients while at the same time we are able to contribute to the economic development and historic preservation of downtown Easton.”

Exec John Stoffa announces sale of Wolf Building
Buyers Mulligan, Vogt and Dallas have over 50 years experience working in real estate development, property management and commercial real estate. Their partnership is developing the Simon Silk Mill and recently renovated the Pomeroy Building, just a few blocks away from Governor Wolf.

According to Easton Mayor Sal Panto, who lauded the sale, Mulligan's group was also involved in the redevelopment of the now-full National Building as well as Maxim's 22, which employs between 70-80 people. The second-term Mayor pointed to the mix of development on Second Street, which includes a combination of modest homes with high-end law firms and other businesses and homes. Panto, who lives on the City's South Side, eschews the gentrification model practiced in many other cities. "I don't believe in it," he said, adding, "We still want to be a City - an urban center."

Panto also praise Stoffa, whose government service is ending this year. "He will be missed," Panto said.

Mulligan plans to make no changes to the building's exterior, which includes elaborate brickwork, stained glass windows, a bell tower and the ornate Governor Wolf Memorial Arch,. It's also known as the "Penny Arch.because it was funded by pennies donated by school children and their families. The arch is topped by a marble globe of the world.

The agreement of sale has provisions requiring the preservation of these historic features.

The agreement also includes the county leasing back the 5,883 square foot warehouse behind the Wolf Building to consolidate storage it has in other leased or owned facilities. This will actually save the County approximately $2,700 per year.

This agreement must be approved by County Council, which will review the matter in June.

Final closing is scheduled for the end of the year.
L to R: Mayor Sal Panto, State Rep Bob Freeman, Council member Peg Ferraro, Exec John Stoffa and developer Mark Mulligan

22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please get facts straight!
Wolf's estimated repairs were between 4 to 5 million.
Bechtel's estimated repairs were between 1 to 2 million.

NorCo Human Services do not serve anywhere close to 18,000 residents.

I'm begging you to objectively fact find and report on this hoodwinking.

County Council should be ashamed as they voted after not doing their due diligence and investigating to why the buildings needed these costly repairs in the first place.

Now the taxpayers of NorCo will be paying for a leased building, outfitting of the building, and taxes to the County!!!!

This is insane Bernie!!

Anonymous said...

"But both buildings require $4.3 million in capital repairs and improvements, according to County officials."

Not not really, you mean according to Stoffa. A claim never confirmed by a lazy county council who should have hired their own engineer for a quote.

So Mr. Mulligan will gut and renovate the Wolf into high end apartments for $3.5 million. That would mean the county could have gutted and renovated the building for much less. Since the county would not have had to have individual apartments and kitchens and the needs of many individual high end residences, the cost would have been lower.

So therefore, we spent at least $25-30 million in order to save $2to 3 million. Stoffa is a genius.

No wonder the next Admisntration will need a huge tax increase.

What a bunch if clowns. However in fairness to Stoffa, if you are able to pull the wool over the eyes of the chimps on county council, might as well get your own building out of it.

Good old Peg Ferraro will spend millions to get her face in any county publicity shot she can. Will she ever stop smiling while spending our money for her publicity?

Bernie O'Hare said...

My facts are accurately reported. Sorry they don't fit your arguments.

I think we all know who's insane.

Anonymous said...

Simple fix for Peg the Poser, don't vote for her!

The fix to this building mess is not as simple with a signed lease and a written agreement of purchase for Wolf.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,
Please link Mohr's speech to council about building.

Please also release your figures and breakdown of the 18,000 residents served in human services last year.

The first one should be simple, the latter is a pipe dream

Anonymous said...

And people thought Jim was crazy? Lol

Bernie O'Hare said...

No, people know Gregory is cRaZy. John Stoffa, a former Director oif Human Services in both this County and in Lehigh,m and the current County Exec, has stated several times that county human services are provided to 18,000 people. This claim was made not just today, but in numerous Council meetings.

Mohr gave Council two full blown presentations, prepared two Q&As that were published both here and on the county web page. I linked to one of them as recently as yesterday.

Bernie O'Hare said...

"Simple fix for Peg the Poser, don't vote for her!"

Somebody is angwy that Peg came in first while she came in last.

Anonymous said...

It would appear the numbers quoted by Stoffa/Mohr on rehabbing are contradicted by Mr. Mulligan. Once again the shameless
Stoffa has lied to achieve his goals.

No honor and a clueless county council add up to poor taxpayers.

Anonymous said...

Pegs spendthrift ways are getting real old, real fast. time for the voters to retire Peg.

Charlene & Jim said...

I heard Peg Ferraro wanted to approve a Nazareth area contractor to do Wolf repairs for %50 million. She thought the $3 million figure was low-balled and wanted to keep jobs in Nazareth that the rest of the county would pay for. I love Peg. She's always looking out for her own wrinkly skin.

Anonymous said...

So the County owned both buildings, Wolf and Bechtel outright, did not pay taxes on them, charged the human services programs rent, and now will pay 25 million dollars for a lease to option to buy, taxes on a building back to themselves all while the could just have spent 6 million to rehab both buildings?

Sounds like another Swaption deal to me!

Anonymous said...

Maybe Peg and Stoffa will ride into the Sunset come December with Ken Mohr driving them in his brand new luxury car NorCo taxpayers just bought him!

Anonymous said...

The live news report stated that the deal was contingent upon tax breaks. This property use to be in a KOZ. Does anyone know anything about this requirement. Easton has had problems with the school district approving tax free zones.

Anonymous said...

I thought Abe wanted to buy the building for $3 million?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Almost all the comments here appear to come from the same person - failed County Council candidate Tricia Mezzacappa. She recently added Peg Ferraro to her growing enemy list.

Anonymous said...

Bernie,

Was Freeman there for any particular reason or just for the photo op?

Bernie O'Hare said...

Freeman was invited to be there and has a important role to play with local government as a member of the local government committee. Don't be such a hater. You might live a little longer.

Anonymous said...

Look closely at the photo where Freeman is shown (conveniently in the rear). It's either a cardboard cutout or a bad Photoshop. Bob hasn't been seen alive in years. Nice try, Bernie.

Anonymous said...

Does John own another dress shirt?

Anonymous said...

Sad day for the county. ripped off again. Thank you Peg.

Bernie O'Hare said...

MezzaKKKappa is angry that she came in last and Peg came in first. But Peg is a lady while Mezzacappa is something else. Exactly what I don't know.