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From The Morning Call

NCC cinches South Side parking
BethWorks Now deal settled a major sticking point for new campus.

By Chuck Ayers Of The Morning Call

November 9, 2004

The quandary of where to park the cars of all the Northampton Community College students, administrators and faculty expected to show up at the school's south Bethlehem campus, possibly as soon as next year, has been solved.

A deal has been struck with BethWorks Now, the owner of the 120-acre former Bethlehem Steel property that borders the proposed campus at the Discovery Center building, to get the parking space the school needs.

''Everything's been amicably resolved,'' said Michael Perrucci, a principal with BethWorks Now, the group that bought the land to redevelop into an entertainment, retail and residential area known as Bethlehem Works.

NCC President Arthur Scott said the agreement was reached 10 days ago.

''We've agreed to be good neighbors and work with each other,'' he said. ''We think we can co-exist very nicely as neighbors.''

Parking was a significant issue in building a campus at the Discovery Center building on E. Third Street.

''Without the parking, the deal would not have worked,'' Mayor John Callahan said. ''It was vitally important.''

Scott said the exact location of the parking spaces has not been determined, but BethWorks Now agreed to make space available so NCC can move forward with creating a South Side campus. Its main campus is in Bethlehem Township.

Lin Erickson, executive director of the Discovery Center, said the sale of the building to NCC could be completed by January. The Discovery Center is moving to a new building at Cedar Crest College in Allentown.

NCC is already exploring whether to offer slot-machine technician programs in case BethWorks Now is awarded a license for a slots parlor on the Bethlehem Works site.

NCC agreed to make the main entrance to the Discovery Center building face west, away from the main entrance to Bethlehem Works.

BethWorks Now officials said that will help prevent crowding in the courtyard that sits between the Discovery Center and the Steel General Office.

''We don't know exactly what we're going to do with the building and we were just concerned about the population in the courtyard,'' said Barry Gosin, a BethWorks Now principal. ''It's a primary entrance to the central part of the development.''

Potential uses for the Steel General Office include being converted to residential or hotel uses.

Under the original Bethlehem Works plan developed by Bethlehem Steel, parking garages would be built on the 120-acre site. The garages would be paid for with tax revenue from the tax district created to cover the Bethlehem Works property. The garages could provide additional parking for NCC.

Perrucci said an added benefit could come to NCC if BethWorks Now obtains a slot-parlor license. The group proposes building a slots parlor and upscale outdoor mall in Bethlehem Steel's former ore yard.

With slots and a lifestyle center would come thousands of jobs for which NCC could train students.

''We will work with the community college on job training for what will probably be very high-paying jobs,'' Perrucci said. ''One of the most successful job training community colleges is in Atlantic City.''
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