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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Bechtel Sale Recommended to Norco Council

A different Bechtel building
Northampton County will vote tonight on the sale of its Bechtel Building, located on East Broad Street in Bethlehem, to prominent local attorney Justin McCarthy. It's a 29,000 sq ft facility, built in 1962, on 2.12 acres. It includes 95 parking places and was purchased by the County in 1993 for $763,000. Named after the first County Executive, it houses 70 human services workers.

Those workers will move next year into a centralized human services facility in Bethlehem Township for the County's 18,000 residents. But until it's built, Attorney McCarthy will allow them to remain in the Bethlehem facility.

McCarthy will be joined by former Council President Ann McHale, who will run her family insurance business at the site. She accompanied McCarthy to a Finance Committee hearing yesterday, and seems to be much happier now that she is done with politics. She even smiled at me. ... I think.

The County has been offered $1.575 million for the facility, which will go a long way to helping outfit the new centralized human services facility.

"Thank you for not moving to Hanover Township and staying in Bethlehem," said Council member Ken Kraft, who represents Bethlehem ... and Hanover Township. I think he was referring to the Hanover Township in Lehigh County.

The sale was unanimously recommended by Council's Finance Committee.
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8 comments:

  1. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 4:17 AM

    The county took a bath on both the Wolf and especially the Bechtel building. What a shame.

    At least the new building in the Industrial Park can be called the "Martin J. Bechtel Building" in honor of a great man and greatest promoter of county human services in country history.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 6:38 AM

    The building name should be The Martin J. Bechtel Building. The building in Bethlehem should not have been sold. When that building was first purchased it seemed the wisest thing to do. Put the services where the people need and use the services, thus the Bechtel Building in Bethlehem. Now you have to provide expensive transportation to a building designed to line the pockets of contractors and friends of administrators located in Bethlehem Township. Tis truly ridiculous.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 9:59 AM

    BOTHH Buildings where sold at or above the estimated prices and sold for over 300,000 more than planned. So how did County Council "take a bath" on these two sales of real estate? And what are you doing up at 4:15am writing on this board, did the drugs wear off?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Bernie O'HareSeptember 19, 2013 at 10:04 AM

    "The county took a bath on both the Wolf and especially the Bechtel building. What a shame."

    This is just a lie. The County realized considerably more from the sale than predicted. The county realized $700k more from these sales than had been projected in power point presentations made to Council by Ken Mohr.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Bernie O'HareSeptember 19, 2013 at 10:07 AM

    ". Put the services where the people need"

    That would be Bethlehem Tp. It is the best place for residents of the entire county, with cheap public transportation every hour on the hour.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bernie O'HareSeptember 19, 2013 at 10:20 AM

    "The building name should be The Martin J. Bechtel Building."

    I opposed naming buildings after people, living or dead. It will be the NC Human Services Building.

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousSeptember 19, 2013 at 3:38 PM

    Hey Harpo, what are you doing posting on county time at 9:59am?

    ReplyDelete
  8. AnonymousSeptember 20, 2013 at 11:00 PM

    Who is Harpo?

    ReplyDelete

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