SOS In The News

From the Morning Call - August 19, 2004

NCC may stop looking at Steel site

The community college wants to buy 5-story East Annex building for a South Side campus, but is offered only a lease.

By Matt Assad
Of The Morning Call

Negotiations to build a Northampton Community College campus in the former Bethlehem Steel annex in south Bethlehem have hit a snag, forcing the college to begin exploring other options.

NCC wants to own the five-story East Annex building on S. Third Street, while would-be building owner BethWorks Now is offering only a long-term lease, college President Arthur Scott confirmed Wednesday.

Negotiations will continue today, but Scott said even if the deal falls through, NCC's plans to move into south Bethlehem will not.

''Our commitment is to be on the South Side,'' Scott said. ''We still believe the annex is our best option, but we have other options. I think we've been through every building in south Bethlehem.''

The 150,000-square-foot former Bethlehem Steel General Office East Annex is now owned by International Steel Group of Cleveland, which bought bankrupt Bethlehem Steel's assets last year.

The college in Bethlehem Township is negotiating to buy the building from BethWorks Now, the group led by local attorney Michael Perrucci, which has an agreement of sale to buy the annex and the rest of the 120-acre Bethlehem Works property from ISG. Perrucci on Wednesday said he's scheduled to close a deal to buy the land next month.

More than 900 NCC students take classes at a satellite campus in the Farr's building on Broad Street, north of the Lehigh River, but would move to a south Bethlehem campus when it opens, as early as next year, Scott said.

Today's 11th-hour negotiations come just a day before Gov. Ed Rendell is expected to arrive in Bethlehem with state money for south Bethlehem projects.

The NCC campus is considered a key element of the proposed $450 million redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel property because it would fill a prominent Third Street building with 2,000 to 4,000 students, who could be counted on to boost business at the restaurants and entertainment facilities planned for Bethlehem Works.

Perrucci would not give details of the talks, but said he has not given up on the idea of putting NCC in the annex.

''We very much want the community college on that site,'' Perrucci said. ''We understand their issues and they understand ours. Proposals are going back and forth. I'm still hopeful we can come up with something that works for all of us.''

Scott said BethWorks Now is offering leases of as long as 20 years, but he prefers that NCC own the building because government grants and private contributions are less likely for capital projects involving a building not owned by the college.

Scott said there may still be hope for a lease-to-purchase deal. But he said the college probably would decide in the next week whether to accept a deal for the annex or shift its focus to other buildings.

Rendell, in an appearance at Lehigh University last month, said he planned to return to Bethlehem this month with $5 million for NCC and $2.5 million for a parking garage at the proposed Lehigh Riverport retail and residential mall.

The governor is expected to deliver the Lehigh Riverport money Friday, but may have to wait until this fall if NCC doesn't have a purchase or lease deal by Friday.

The community college would spend $5 million on top of the $5 million from the state to renovate the building into a multiuse facility.

Though Scott said he has not been informed that Rendell will arrive with a $5 million check for the NCC project, he hoped to have a deal for the annex before the governor arrives.

''We want to be a catalyst for South Side development,'' Scott said. ''We plan to put 2,000 students and 50 employees in south Bethlehem on Day 1, if not in the annex, then somewhere else.''

He would not say what other buildings are being considered, but pointed out there are several other viable options in south Bethlehem.

The move would allow the school to expand its offerings beyond the basic literacy and English as a Second Language programs to include credit and noncredit courses, work force training for adults and after-school, weekend and summer programs for youths.

Copyright © 2004, The Morning Call