Arts park pitched for old Steel land

$77 million plan for 40 BethWorks acres faces obstacle.

By Chuck Ayers of The Morning Call

May 27, 2004

Jeffrey Parks, the creator of Musikfest, plans to go public next week with a proposal for a $77 million arts park on old Bethlehem Steel land that would be the home for the Bethlehem music festival and several nonprofits — with the spectacular illumination of the five blast furnaces as the centerpiece.

While big on vision, Parks' proposal faces a potential problem — a New Jersey developer recently signed an agreement of sale for the 120-acre Bethlehem Works tract and Parks wants one-third of it for a mere dollar.

In a four-page executive summary circulated among local leaders, Parks wrote he will make a formal announcement Wednesday live on PBS-39, WLVT-TV, and that donors have pledged $20 million for the project, contingent on buying 40 acres for $1.

''By June 2, this project will be endorsed by every major regional commerce and tourism organization as well as the South Side 2012 Committee …'' Parks wrote. ''I cannot stress enough how much support this project has in the community.''

Parks' plan includes as its centerpiece the preservation of the old steel plant's five blast furnaces, which developer Michael Perrucci said Tuesday he also wants to preserve.

Parks declined to comment on his plan Wednesday.

Bethlehem Mayor John Callahan lauded the plan and expressed cautious optimism.

''It's certainly an ambitious plan and it's visionary, but it's in its formative stages,'' Callahan said. ''What role the arts park will play in the ultimate development of Bethlehem Works will be determined in time.''

Bethlehem Works is a $450 million entertainment, retail and residential development proposed for the former Bethlehem Steel tract.

Parks' plan calls for $20.5 million from the state, $12 million from foundations, $39.5 million from individuals and corporations and $5 million from the federal government.

''All of the above estimates assume that the city of Bethlehem and the Foundry Square Development Corp. get title to the properties for $1 because they are assuming responsibility for dealing with the blast furnaces and removal of the Weldment Buildings,'' Parks wrote.

The Weldment Buildings, located east of the blast furnaces, were used by Steel for internal fabricating and repair.

Perrucci, one of the principals of BethWorks Now, which has an agreement to buy the property from International Steel Group in Cleveland, said he met with Parks about his plan.

Perrucci was noncommittal on handing over 40 acres.

''Jeff has some very interesting points,'' Perrucci said. ''At the end of the day, though, the project needs to make economic sense, otherwise none of the projects will be successful.''

Perrucci said that whatever form the final development takes, it will include a historic preservation component that will leave Bethlehem's landmark furnace stacks standing.

Local leaders who have met with Parks say his proposal calls for creating multiple performance and arts stages, providing a home to numerous nonprofit organizations, anchored by PBS-39, and the illumination of the furnaces.

In the four-page summary, Parks details the five main elements of the Arts Park as the $60 million ''Foundry Square,'' the $30-million ''Park,'' a $20-million ''Pavilion,'' a $2.5 million ''Visitors Center'' and a $7.5 million ''Steel Interpretation Center.''

The Foundry Square would refurbish the existing foundry building into a tourism, arts, educational and retail center. The park would become the new home to Musikfest, the popular 10-day music festival. The park, along with the pavilion, would also provide venues for other festivals and performances throughout the year. The interpretation center would be a museum.

The blast furnaces would be bathed in colored light, an idea borrowed from Europe, where illuminated blast furnaces at idled steel mills have become tourist attractions. The cost would be $2 million and could be funded privately, according to Parks' document.

Bethlehem has already applied for $5 million of the $20.5 million in state grants Parks estimates will be needed for the project.

The memo said the illumination of the blast furnaces, creation of a visitors center and interpretation center next to the furnaces could be completed by the fall of 2006 with state funding.

State Sen. Lisa Boscola, whose district includes the Bethlehem Works project, advocates economic redevelopment of the site with preservation of the stacks. She has met with Parks and Perrucci and, while embracing Parks' plan, is skeptical it would fit into the financial scheme of Perrucci's BethWorks Now.

''He's willing to work with Jeff Parks, but I don't think he's going to get his 40 acres,'' Boscola said.

State Rep. T.J. Rooney, whose district also includes the site, was upbeat about the prospects of melding Parks' plan with the BethWorks Now development.

''I know that the new developers have met with these people and are trying to incorporate all the good ideas that have been brought to them,'' Rooney said. ''For the first time in a long time people are talking about specifics and that's really important because we can't go another eight years without seeing meaningful development on Bethlehem Works.''

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