As explained on the state budget website, "The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) is a Commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational, and historical improvement projects. ... [They] have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues, or other measures of economic activity."
Some of these are worthy projects. Most are corporate welfare or handouts to unsustainable nonprofits.
The following award applications have been approved in Northampton County:
ArtsQuest got $7 million (it asked for $8 million) for adaptive reuse of the former Bethlehem Steel campus.
Peron Development was awarded $3 million to spur for a 183-apace parking garage at 185 S 3rd St in Easton, to spur the development of mixed-use buildings.
Hangdog LV is getting $350,000 for a combination brewery and four-story high rope climbing course in Easton (What could go wrong?)
Lehigh Tp is getting $1.5 million for a public works facility.
Lehigh Heavy Forge is getting $1.1 million for an upender that will enable it to move heavy objects safely. (Bethlehem)
Majestic Realty (Bethlehem) is getting $2.5 million for even more public infrastructure.
City Center is getting $3.5 million (it asked for $8 million) to demolish the parking garage at 27 S 3rd in Easton and replace it with a "dynamic" mixed-use development that incidentally includes a 302-space parking garage.
The Portland Power Plant is getting $500,000 to remediate and remove asbestos.
The National Museum of Industrial History (Bethlehem) is getting $500,000 to expand into its second floor. (Seriously, would you pay to see blocks of rust?)
St. Luke's Anderson Campus (Beth Tp) is getting $4.3 million for its 7,000th expansion.
Peron Development is getting $5.5 million for "selective" demolition and abatement of a Bethlehem Steel office building.
Treatment Trends is getting $500,000 for renovation of a drug treatment facility in West Easton.
Watermark Easton will get $1.5 million for 150 ap0artments on Larry Homes Drive, complete with balconies and views of the Delaware River. This will be great next time the river floods.
I'll fill you in on Lehiogh County awards tomorrow.
17 comments:
check out the contributions to the elected officials. Love to know the McClure connections.
BernieOHare to 2:38, I get your unhealthy hate, but these are state, not county, grants. The place to look for contributions would be state officials, and last year. You are free to do so and report your findings. I frankly don’t believe McClure got a dime from any of these recipients bc I do actually look at expense reports instead of making wild accusations as you just did.
Yeah. Rip down a garage complex so you can build another one. Brilliant, simply brilliant. These are our tax dollars. Corporate welfare sucks and its time for the people to voice their opinion to their elected officials. Our roads suck because of poor maintenance and our countryside littered with garbage. Where is the money to beautify our state. We are the pig sty of the country. These trucks on our road come from all over the Northeast to dump their garbage here in Northampton County and in so doing, they let their garbage blowout of their trucks all over the road. Where's the money to police this industry?
238, this is a state program administered by DCED that requires projects be written into an appropriations bill before one can even apply for grant. The process could take years.
"The National Museum of Industrial History (Bethlehem) is getting $500,000 to expand into its second floor. (Seriously, would you pay to see blocks of rust?) "
Have you ever visited the museum? It's a really cool place with a lot of history and not just steel related. Pretty sure they have a senior discount available and free admission on occasion.
"Have you ever visited the museum? It's a really cool place with a lot of history"
I am a major history buff and probably should be teaching it somewhere. I have visited the museum. I was singularly unimpressed. Pouring $ into that venture is a waste. Sorry.
If you haven't been paying attention to the news lately, a painful uncoupling of the US/China is on the horizon. Thinking we need more onshore industry not less. I'd rather give my tax dollars to uplift industry than social programs that give away freebies.
Why not have the actual patrons of the National Museum of Indistrial History pay to expand their second floor?
Since this “National” museum surely draws a humongous number of visitors each year (which incidentally also likely contributes Hundreds of Bazillions of dollars to the local economy), it would only be mere pennies on the cost of a ticket.
The museum is very popular in telling the story of the Industrial Revolution in America that Bethlehem of which Bethlehem was a major part. out of town visitors.
I would suggest that you do some re-evaluation of your opinion of NMIH and consider the value of their current professional staff, archival collection, unique artifacts, and volunteers before you write off the entire effort based on just what you say you saw displayed in the the current museum building or what you may have heard about the difficulties that organization had before the building opened. Think whatever you want about that building and the past history of the organization, but accurate understanding of the need for a museum such as NMIH to play a key role in the stewardship of our regions industrial history long predates NMIH itself. The Lehigh Valley is home to several excellent historical organizations and county based historical societies but none of them have a specific mission to concentrate on interpreting and preserving the history of the national and world wide impact of the industrial development that occurred in our valley and the anthracite producing area near to us from the 19th to mid 20th Centuries. Beginning in the last quarter of the 20th Century much of the industrial history that was saved and preserved was due to an iconic figure named Lance Metz who happened to be on the staff of the National Canal Museum (now a part of the D&L National Heritage Corridor). Lance not only was an expert on canals but he saw the larger picture of how canals and later railroads bringing anthracite and other raw materials into our region's cities and areas of production played such a major role into making the United States the industrial giant it later became. As Bethlehem Steel Corporation faded in economic power and importance in the late 20th Century it was Lance Metz who devoted his own efforts and those of the National Canal Museum into saving many artifacts and equally important archival items from Bethlehem Steel when many others both within the Corporation and outside of it in local historical organizations failed to see the importance of doing so. Unfortunately as time went on Lance Metz lost his good health and passed away too soon to continue the vastly important work in local and regional industrial history that still needed to be accomplished. Fast forward to today as the board of NMIH finally assembled an administrative staff who got the museum open and perhaps more importantly hired a few pure history oriented people like Mike Piersa and Andria Zaia along with several other very capable staff and volunteers. Add to this the work of the incredibly knowledgeable Martha Capwell Fox at the National Canal Museum and you are dealing with the best people the Lehigh Valley currently has to carry on the historic work of Lance Metz. It is clear that you do have great interest in history but you really need to get to personally know some of these people and hopefully support their work, before you judge something based on surface observations and organizational stories of what appeared to happen a decade or more ago.
What is going on at Lehigh Valley Hospital!?
Inappropriate images of patients have been released because LVHN failed to protect patient data and then refused to pay the ransom. On top of it they are threatening to deport a comatose patient under their care! … all while they keep building leasing unnecessary space throughout the region seemingly daily! Something is very wrong over there.
2:10, Honestly, I do have a voracious appetite when it comes to history and even historians. Bit I am less intrigued by the business titans who are sometimes than I am by political leaders and military figures. Perhaps the fault is mine.
I visited NMIH very shortly after it opened and was singularly unimpressed. Based on what your arguments, I'll make a return trip and give it a second shot. I'm not loaded, so I'll go on a senior discount Wednesday when I can get in for $6 once the weather improves and I can cycle in.
You may be right and I might have not given it a fair shot.
"I would suggest that you do some re-evaluation of your opinion of NMIH..."
I would suggest you re-evaluate your position on punctuation.
Not sure how long it has been since you were there Bernie; but it is a popular attraction for out of town visitors & warranted funding in my opinion as it adds significantly to the city historic experience.
Hospitals should not get one blessed cent from taxpayers. The fees charged are outrageous, the “non-profit” exemption allows for tax evasion, and the salaries of the big wigs shows that both St. Luke’s and LVHN have money to burn.
Bethlehem is adding upward of 1000 new apartments in the city with no infrastructure to handle it. The apartments will all be overpriced and not affordable by people with average income. Why do they continue to get public money to screw over the city and its residents?
Sounds like they're taking a page from the Allentown playbook.
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