Blog

May 27, 2023

Bethlehem panel considers plan to demolish, rebuild Walnut Street Garage

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Extending the life of the Walnut Street Garage would cost roughly the same as demolishing it and putting up a new parking garage with a 60- to 80-year lifespan, according to officials

BETHLEHEM, Pa. — Extending the life of the Walnut Street Garage would cost roughly the same as demolishing it and putting up a new parking garage with a 60- to 80-year lifespan, according to officials associated with the project.

The concept of demolishing the nearly 50-year-old garage was considered by the city’s Historical Architectural Review Board on Wednesday night.

After a two-hour discussion and many concerns issued by residents and business owners, the panel decided to table the possibility for now to consider information and feedback.

The five-tier Walnut Street Garage in the heart of the historic Main Street area was built in 1976. It comes in at 476 feet long, 516 feet wide and over 70 feet high at its tallest point.

Officials said less spaces are required to meet current demands of residential development to come, with the new garage planned to hold 591 spaces instead of more than 700 in the existing one.

Before the vote, Joseph Phillips, HARB's historic officer, clarified that the panel would be voting on the concept of demolition and a requested certificate of appropriateness.

If it was eventually approved at a later meeting, it would move to city council that would then potentially grant a certificate of appropriateness for demolition.

Steven Fernstrom, the Bethlehem Parking Authority's executive director, said the garage has been “dutifully and methodically inspected and repaired” over time to ensure its safety, but it’s time to look at other options.

“Not only is this building past its useful life, it’s ugly, it totally sucks the energy out of our downtown, and in my opinion, not historically appropriate,” Fernstrom said.

Kevin Carrigan, the project’s manager from THA Consulting out of Blue Bell, Montgomery County, said his firm has been associated with the Walnut Street Garage since 2020.

The organization has helped to complete assessments in 2021, one that looked to extend the service life of the garage by five years and another by 20 years.

Carrigan said, at that point, maintaining the current structural, mechanical, electrical and other safety systems had to take priority if the garage would last another five years.

“We realized that if we were to renovate the existing garage, we would have to rip out all those existing systems and increase the structural capacity, basically address every single steel connection in the garage and so forth to make it safe,” Carrigan explained.

He said a restoration project followed those previously mentioned tests, including some “emergency-type” repairs.

The firm shared photos of spalling concrete ceilings, rusted steel connections, broken tieback connections, cracked welds and more.

From there, Carrigan said THA has completed regular assessments, with those including a supply-and-demand study to choose a proper size for a replacement garage, as well as a parking displacement test to better understand where the current users of the lot would move their vehicles once new construction began.

If it went on to be approved for demolition at a later time, he added that any crew brought on would have to meet a broad list of qualifications, including a thorough assessment of potential impact to historic district homes nearby. Those tests would involve vibration and dust monitoring, among other things.

Mike App, THA director of architecture, said the structure is planned to be made of precast concrete as opposed to the current steel structural frame. The outside would complement the surrounding historic district.

He explained that the pedestrian bridge currently linking the lot to the nearby commercial center would be planned to be cut off on the other side of the street, and the facade would get a refinishing.

A small four-car residential garage sits to the south of the Walnut Street Garage. That sits on BPA property but is covered under an easement, according to App.

He added the only side of the enclosed garage proposed for openings would be the north end that fronts Walnut Street, all to cut down on headlights shining toward nearby homes.

The ground level would feature 6,000 square feet of tenant space, App said. A garden wall is planned for both the Walnut Street side and residential side.

Wednesday night's meeting came just a day after state and city officials opened a new parking garage, the 731-space Polk Street Garage, in South Bethlehem.

Dan Nigito, nearby resident and business neighbor to the Walnut Street Garage, said he works and lives within a rock’s throw of the structure. And construction would have him nervous for the sake of the surrounding homes.

“I’m really concerned about the vibrations because, as you guys know, our homes are 1800s homes,” Nigito said.

He added that HARB should maintain an active role in keeping tabs on the monitoring of these construction factors.

Resident Jim Follweiler questioned the process behind all of the required approvals, saying it all seemed out of order.

He also questioned where the current monthly and daily parkers using the Walnut Street Garage would go during construction.

“I just recommend and wonder, have you considered trying to incorporate the parking mitigation plan into this, because once you tear it down, it’s too late,” Follweiler said. “All these cars are going to be spread out taking everybody else’s parking spots on the streets and everywhere.”

Fernstrom assured the two that BPA has been working with THA for 18 months on an “extremely thorough study investigation” regarding parking displacement from any new construction.

He said anybody displaced can park at the North Street Garage, as well as lots on Broad Street, Old York Road and maybe soon the Spring Street lot.

Bruce Haines, managing partner with Hotel Bethlehem, said he felt that “the cart’s before the horse” in this case.

He said he’s been working alongside others in preparing the city for a potential World Heritage status designation, adding that tearing down the lot now could not only risk that run for the title but also take away places to park for incoming tourists.

“It’s unimaginable to me that we’re going to make a decision to tear down a garage and build something smaller when we could be bringing thousands of people here regularly, and are starting to bring more people now even before we get the World Heritage designation,” Haines said.

He added that addressing this in the years following next summer would be a wiser move for the city.