Last week, Northampton County Council was requested to provide a tax break to the blighted Dixie Cup building, located in Wilson Borough. Owner Joe Reibman has been trying for decades to develop the building into apartments or a condo, but has been unable to make it happen. In the meantime, the building continues to deteriorate. Enter real estate developer Nick Tsapatsaris. He's entered into an agreement of sale to take the Dixie Cup off Reibman's hands. He's pledged to keep the iconic Dixie Cup in place atop the building. But instead of an adaptive reuse for the kind of affordable housing that has made Allentown's Nat Hyman famous, Tsapatsaris wants to put a warehouse there. He will also use it for storage and offices. These are permitted uses under Wilson's zoning ordinance. The property does have 34 loading docks. But he also wants a tax break known as a LERTA.
Under a LERTA, a real estate developer can improve a property and the increased real estate tax on these improvements are phased in over a period of 10 years. Tsapatsaris told Council that, without this tax break, the project is unfeasible. He indicated that Wilson Borough and the Easton Wilson Area School District have already approved the LERTA, and he wants the county to approve it for county taxes as well.
Council member Kevin Lott expressed reservations because of the potential truck traffic and air pollution right next to two schools. He added that the quality of jobs produced by a warehouse bother him. "I in good conscience cannot see adding more trucks to the most congested area in the Lehigh Valley," said Lott.
Council member Tara Zrinski echoed Lott. She noted affordable housing is needed, but not low-paying warehouse jobs. She said it would be exciting to see the building redeveloped "to its old glory," but is unsure that it would be beneficial to the community.
On the other hand, Council member John Goffredo was more supportive. He said this project will remove an eyesore,adding it would be very difficult to turn the Dixie Cup building into affordable housing. He said he'd need more detail before supporting a LERTA.
Tsapatsaris said that the tract includes a parking lot for nearly 600 vehicles. He indicated residential is a permitted use as well, but the demand right now is for warehouse and storage. He also told Lott, a retired trade union agent, that his construction company would not pay prevailing wages.
53 comments:
I don't understand what they are saying about more traffic. That site is right off of Route 22. Wouldn't there be more traffic if that was housing? At least two cars per unit?
Once again Zirinski can only parrot another's words. She is trying to be woke. She knows nothing of th pay or jobs. Mcclure has his minion and your new best friend Stevie B. out trying to kill this deal.
How about low paid warehouse tenants in affordable housing? All that rehabilitation at 13th street and development. All while Joe couldn’t pull it off at Dixie plant , why is that?
NO!
This clown asks for public money (tax break) then tells a union business agent that he won’t pay prevailing wage. Stupid is as stupid does, I say no public money if you can’t pay prevailing wage
Bye bye low paying jobs
Should be Wilson area school district.
"Council member Kevin Lott expressed reservations because of the potential truck traffic and air pollution right next to two schools."
Now we know that Kevin Lott hasn't been paying attention to that particular neighborhood for at least 30 years. Try Google, Kevin. Easton High is right next to 22. In its busiest bustling heyday, Dixie operated right next to Wilson High with all those loading docks, and without the benefit of today's diesel emission standards. Do better, Kevin. We're paying you.
If the County would have had a regional plan in place for handling the warehouse boom in this area, they could address these issues properly. instead, every municipality has their own zoning laws and every plan must include room for warehouses. For Mr. Lott to complain about a warehouse right next to a school and concerned about the pollution that will have a negative effect on the school students, how about a municipality building a sewage treatment facility right on the boundary of their municipality and abutting their neighbor municipalities? It's called REGIONAL PLANNING assholes! Northampton County doesn't do it. Every municipality has their own code.
Dixie Cup property is in Wilson School District not Easton
Trying to turn this into affordable housing sounds like a nightmare for a developer. Wilson needs buildings that produce income. Affordable housing would bring increased demand for schools, police and additional social supports. Can the Wilson Borough taxpayers afford it, or will it lead to selling of homes to convert to apartments? Amazing that warehouse jobs are considered low paying. If you hate warehouses stop ordering from internet and grow your own food and make your own "toys." A truck is never maligned when it is delivering something to your house or to your favorite local store. As for LERTA, I am on the fence. I can't figure out all the angles and how deep the graft goes.
The building shares traffic patterns with Wilson High. Might there be concerns about exhaust fumes so close to athletic fields?
NO!
Developer was/is all talk until he has to develop with his own money!
No more corporate welfare!
Wilson & Salisbury shouldn't even be school districts, Easton & Allentown should absorb them and save taxpayers $$$.
As for “polluting” the air next to Wilson High School, how do they think Dixie Cup moved millions of their products out of there for decades….by wagon train? Oh wait, the horse manure would have been polluting too. Wilson High School has been there forever and, in fact, was a wee bit closer when it was on the opposite side of 22nd Street. Easton Area High School is no newcomer either.
Nat Hyman has rebuilt half of Allentown with no LERTA, NIZ, RCAP or any public money or other government program. And he is building nice affordable housing as you say Bernie. Why should this guy get it for it a warehouse if Mr. Hyman doesn't need it for housing?
I find it interesting that the propaganda of capitalism is so ingrained into the psyche of the working class that they’ll come to the comment section here to defend tax breaks for wealthy corporations, while at the same living below the poverty line.
No tax breaks should ever be given to corporations willing to do business in our area because if they can’t afford to pay their fair share, there’s a good chance they’ll exploit and underpay their employees.
And we don’t need their “business” if they can’t afford to pay us a living wage.
With 34 loading docks working their will be utter grid lock. Good for Lamont, Barron, and Dirty Dertinger. They have this right!
Mother Earth Tara will not let all those asthmatic kids breath exhaust fumes!
Are Vargo and her new bestie Brown that dumb. Just because the dude will paint the Dixie Cup and make it look pretty does not negate the bad he will do in the building below. Hell give Vargo and Brown a shiny new things they are so easily distracted from the real issues.
The only thing worse than a warehouse is a warehouse built by some carpet bagger from New Jersey. This dude is the Dr. Oz of warehouses. No tax breaks for Jersey Warehouses!
LERTA should not be used. We don't need to give tax breaks to incentivize another warehouse, we've got too many already. Give a grant to current owner to demo it with the promise from him to build affordable housing.
As you said a retired union member. He got his ,screw the rest. Does not give a care about county union employees. As do all the the members of county council.
Does not push for steps for the county union employees.
Might mean tax increases. Can't take that political hit. It is always good to know both sides of the fence.
Yes. He is taking a risk and hoping it pays off. Otherwise all the armchair quarterbacks here can gather some investors and see what they come up with.
Prevailing wage is nothing more than a union racket that stifles progress. I'm comfortable saying this because I've had to bid on work that requires it. It just becomes a pass through that makes the project more expensive for the same quality of work.
"Are Vargo and her new bestie Brown that dumb. Just because the dude will paint the Dixie Cup and make it look pretty does not negate the bad he will do in the building below. Hell give Vargo and Brown a shiny new things they are so easily distracted from the real issues."
And you appear to be distracted by facts. Brown was not at that meeting, and Vargo Heffner arrived late. So you are slamming them without knowing their stance on this issue. What you are really doing is carrying water for McClure. Let's try doing what is best for the county, not McClure, and hope that both interests intersect.
I remember when the Hamilton Crossings developer told the LC Commissioners he wouldn’t be able to complete the Costco project in LMT if the commissioners didn’t go along with approving a TIF.
The school district and township were duped into going along with it, the Lehigh Commissioners were not.
Amazingly, within a week the developer announced that he found a way to move forward with the project without the TIF.
These tax incentives are wrong and a scam. Lower everyone’s taxes, not just for pet projects of politicians.
"As you said a retired union member. He got his ,screw the rest. Does not give a care about county union employees. As do all the the members of county council."
Kevin Lott is not just a retired union member, but a retired union agent for the carpenters' union. I find his argument entirely hypocritical. I support a prevailing wage, but that should start with the people who work for the county. Lott is perfectly willing to authorize jobs with the county that pay $13 an hour. If he were consistent, I'd be much happier with his pious pronouncements.
Let me add that, while I think we have enough warehouses, the Dixie cup is located a stone's throw from a highway. It will impose no burden on local infrastructure. Having said that, I am philosophically opposed to tax breaks for developers. If this is a good idea, it needs no stimulation from the government. If bad, no amount of government $ will help.
Prevailing wage is nothing more than a union racket that stifles progress. I'm comfortable saying this because I've had to bid on work that requires it. It just becomes a pass through that makes the project more expensive for the same quality of work.
You are full of SH%$ Prevailing wage cuts into YOUR profit margins that's all, go away
Exactly Bernie, I’d rather see a crumbling infrastructure in the old Dixie plant than have a corporation move in and not contribute to the local tax fund, while at the same time creating more traffic woes for the Wilson community.
I like a regional plan for warehouse. Put the warehouses in existing space only. No new space taken like farmland. Our industrial parks are empty. Fill them back up! As for Dixie site. Give it to the school. And no tax breaks for any of these big corporations moving in. We have enough. Let them go elsewhere
Why in the wide world of sports would Wilson SD be absorbed by Easton? Wilson SD is way better off on their own. Why would they want the headache of Easton SD? Wilson's school taxes and GPA are way better than Easton's.
If you are worried about truck traffic, there used to be a railroad that went right through Dixie and the Bakery. The Bakery's traffic isn't what it used to be, neither is Dixie's. So where is the problem?
We should hold a contest! Which will degrade first? The old Dixie in Wilson, or the newer abandoned Dixie in Forks? I pick Wilson due to regulation and environmental rules. Elections have consequences, people. Choose wisely...
12:16 - No, we factor in the added expense of prevailing wage in our bid, simple as that. Every company bidding on the work does the same. Our margin does not change due to prevailing wage. Prevailing wage adds cost to the municipality or better yet the taxpayer.
I oversaw a project where all the skilled labor was making a higher hourly wage than myself. Yet I was responsible for the project. Makes sense, right?
That margin is what allows us to give annual merit increases along with a bonus. Profit margin bad!
Now go stick to your union demands and encourage more companies to offshore.
Taxes phased in over 10 years. Let's give a cheer for reading comprehension, folks.
Why not sell the building to Hyman? He will make into a beautiful building and it won't cost the taxpayers a dime. He would have restored those beautiful buildings at the state hospital and saved the tax payers $12m. But Pat Browne had to quickly demolish them for what? Now they are gone and the land sits there. Any wonder why Browne lost the election?
I think it's interesting the same people who always want government (local, state, fed) to leave business alone and let the "Free Market" work. Are also the same people looking for a bailout, PPP, or a handout from the County Government.
"The building shares traffic patterns with Wilson High. Might there be concerns about exhaust fumes so close to athletic fields?"
Fair question. The answer is a very confident "no." Today's diesel emission standards often result in exhaust that is cleaner than the surrounding intake air. Trucks are now fabulously more expensive with SCR burners and particulate filters. But they're also fabulously cleaner. Most truck servicing locations removed their overhead exhaust pipe snakes several years ago. Some keep one around for an occasional older stinky truck.
Try making improvements to your home, or rental/commercial property. The government won’t phase in your taxes on the improvements over 10 years - you’ll be paying the increase from year #1.
Let’s give a cheer for the government picking winners and losers.
Do with no public money and no tax breaks…
This developer stated there is a high demand for warehouse and storage. It takes no dumby to drive around see that there is a tremendous amount of brand new warehouses that are EMPTY! Such a joke.
"Why not sell the building to Hyman? He will make into a beautiful building and it won't cost the taxpayers a dime. He would have restored those beautiful buildings at the state hospital and saved the tax payers $12m. But Pat Browne had to quickly demolish them for what? Now they are gone and the land sits there. Any wonder why Browne lost the election?"
I understand that Hyman attempted to purchase several times. If he were to build with 1 BR apartments, this would impose no burden on the school district and would enhance its tax base. He does good work, too, as seen at Lincoln Commons or his apartment buildings in Allentown. This is adaptive reuse of existing infrastructure and provides homes to working people, not those with their hands out.
I believe he would have transformed the east side of Allentown at the state hosital grounds, but Browne and Schlossberg would rather let it sit and collect dust.
I believe Reibman had a lerta or the equivalent which expired last year since he did nothing with the property.
I believe Reibman had a lerta or the equivalent which expired last year since he did nothing with the property.
They give away money to everyone else so why not his project.
Being familiar with the building's interior, it's a turd. Raze the thing and build a pot farm in its place. Wilson needs revenue, badly. The economy doesn't want Dixie cups. The economy wants legal, organic, and locally grown cannabis. NO tax breaks necessary. Just redevelopment, jobs, and tax revenue where currently sits a worthless turd that produces none of these things.
Zirinski will be a state senator. Let her fix it next year.
Agree...raze the building and start with a clean slate. Sub divide it into parcels for business start ups with incentives for short term tax breaks. Save the cup if you must but stop the warehouse crap!
Oh be quiet. Are you mad because you can’t exploit employees by paying them crap? Fuck your profit, pay people a living wage!
They should be making more than you, you’re just a micro-managing whip operator. And if you’re not willing to pay someone a living wage, you shouldn’t own a business in this country. EXORBITANT profit is bad, exploiting workers bad. See how that works?
How can you pay a living wage without profit? What do you think this place is, UNICEF?
8:49 - No, I don't see how that works. Sounds like a recipe for failure. Everyone plays their part and my role is to control the flow and sequence of the project. By your reasoning a football team doesn't need a quarterback to move the ball?
You got me on one count though, I welcome every morning, hoping I can whip and exploit my employees and break their sprit with a health dose of micromanagement. Send me your CV, I bet it reads as entitled as your comments.
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