Is Bethlehem Going Vertical? City to Review More Than 200 Proposed Units Total on North Boulevard, Broad Street and Southside

July 6, 2026

— Jeff Ward, Lehigh Valley News Briefs

If Bethlehem is going to keep squeezing more apartments in, the city will have to be more vertical.

Not quite like Orbit City, where the Jetson cartoon family lived (see below), but there won’t be any other way to build more. There is lots of space at the Martin Tower site but nothing is happening there.

The Planning Commission will review Thursday proposals to add 226 rental units. Two projects are on the South Side, one on Broad Street, and the fourth at the site of a single-family home on East Boulevard.

The lineup:

— Gateway on 4th, with 120 units and four buildings on 3.7 acres at 1400 E. Fourth St., the former Szilagyi Fuel site.

— East Boulevard Crossing, a plan for 16 units at the intersection of East and North boulevards. The building would be only three stories high but it’s in a neighborhood of single-family homes. Many of them are just one story, so maybe the residents may want to buy more curtains.

This is not the biggest plan but it has neighbors talking. If an apartment building can go up on East Boulevard, a few blocks off Easton Avenue, maybe they can go up anywhere.

— At 52-62 E. Broad St., the proposal is for 10 apartments with commercial space at street level. 

— The real tall one is 404 E. Third St. Seven stories with 80 units (30 with one bedroom, 50 with two bedrooms).

Planning review comes early in the approval process, but it’s a good place to hear the pros and cons of a development. The commission sometimes reviews proposals multiple times.

The Bethlehem Planning Commission will meet at 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 9, at Town Hall. Here is a link to the agenda and below is a cut-and-paste version. The meeting is open to the public and will be shown online.

Agendas are subject to change. Check the city website before making the trek downtown.

AGENDA
PLANNING COMMISSION
Thursday, July 9, 2026 @ 5:00 pm Town Hall10 E. Church Street, Bethlehem PA
The Meeting will be livestreamed for viewing purposes only on:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4HYHr4C6mVbfhRXhWYXaJw
Applications can be viewed at:
https://www.bethlehem-pa.gov/calendar-planning-zoning, or in Bethlehem City Hall.

1. APPROVAL OF MINUTES – June 11, 2026
2. (26-004 LD&S) – 26020009 – 1400 EAST 4TH STREET (Eastern Gateway aka Gateway on 4th) –
   LAND DEVELOPMENT AND SUBDIVISION PLAN (LOT CONSOLIDATION AND RE SUBDIVISION) – Ward 17, Zoned CL, plans dated February 20, 2026, last revised June 1, 2026.
   The Applicant proposes to construct in two phases:
3. Phase One will include:
   a. (Building A) a four-story structure, with the first floor containing a 1,200 SF retail space, a 750 SF fitness center, a 1,350 SF community room, and maintenance and utility spaces (all square footage is approximate), floors two through four will contain 44 multi-family dwellings.
   b. (Building B) a two-story structure, as viewed from E 5th Street, containing 16 multi-family dwellings with 20 below grade, due to site topography, parking spaces.
   c. Additional site improvements include a 45-car surface parking lot, trash enclosure, mailbox shelter, stormwater management facilities, lighting, landscaping, and other site appurtenances.
4. Phase Two will include:
   a. (Building C) a three-story structure, containing 44 multi-family dwellings.
   b. (Building D) a two-story structure, as viewed from E 5th Street, containing 16 multi-family dwellings with 20 below grade, due to site topography, parking spaces.
   c. Additional site improvements include a 45-car surface parking lot, tot lot, paved trail connection to the South Bethlehem Greenway, stormwater management facilities, lighting landscaping and other site appurtenances.
5. (26-003 Sketch Plan Review) – 26050007 – 52-62 EAST BROAD STREET – SKETCH PLAN REVIEW – Ward 7, Zoned CL, plans dated February 16, 2026, last revised April 28, 2026.
   The Applicants propose to construct a three-story brick and frame in-fill structure on the parcel 56 E. Broad Street. The structure would contain a ~730 SF commercial use on the first floor front and nine multi-family dwellings on the first-floor rear, second and third floors. The applicants propose modifying the tenant spaces at 52 E. Broad Street, reducing it to ~523 SF and creating a tenth new dwelling to the overall site. The proposed plan would contain four commercial uses, 19 dwellings, and 45 off-street parking spaces (44 surface and one garage space).
6. (26-001 LD) – 26010004 – 404 EAST THIRD STREET (aka 404 Mechanic Street) – LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN – Ward 4, Zoned IR-R, plans dated January 2, 2026.
   The applicant proposes to construct a seven-story structure containing two commercial spaces (3,394 SF Tenant A, 2,183 SF-Tenant B) and utilities on the first floor; one commercial space (7,671 SF-Tenant C) and residential tenant amenities on the second floor and 80 multi-family dwellings (30 one-bedroom and 50 two-bedroom) on floors three through seven. Gross floor area for the first floor totals 8,050 SF, second floor totals 11,425 SF and the maximum footprint totals 15,060 SF.
7. (26-005 LD) – 26050003 – 1405 NORTH BOULEVARD – LAND DEVELOPMENT PLAN – Ward 14, Zoned RT, Plan dated May 8, 2026.
   The Applicant proposes to demolish the structure and all site appurtenances and construct a three-story multi-family (apartments) structure containing sixteen (two-bedroom) dwelling units; a 21 space off-street parking lot, with vehicle ingress and egress from East Blvd; 3 off-street parking spaces, with head-in/back out access from North Blvd; a dumpster pad and enclosure located at the rear of the parking lot; utilities, landscaping and other site appurtenances.
8. GENERAL DISCUSSION ITEMS