Dennis Benner, ’76, a real estate developer in the Bethlehem area, has proposed the construction of new apartments for Lehigh students in the city’s south side. Benner is seeking city approval to build a 13-story building at the intersection of West Fourth and Vine streets, across from popular student destinations such as Blue Sky Café, Sotto Santi and The Goose.
Although the apartments and their construction are not affiliated with Lehigh, such joint ventures are commonplace at several schools across the country. The target demographic is set to be exclusively students.
Benner owns the buildings on the block and plans to demolish them to make room for the new apartment building, which will have the capacity to house up to 29 Lehigh students per floor and 348 total.
The First United Church of Christ’s exterior façade will be preserved and will serve as an entryway to the apartments and include an outdoor common area. The remainder of the bottom floor of the apartments is planned to house three retail spaces, a restaurant and a nightclub.
There will be two four-bedroom units, two three-bedroom units, seven two-bedroom units and one single-bedroom unit offered on each of the building’s 12 residential floors. Each bedroom will have its own bathroom.
The proposal has undergone architectural review and is being prepared for submission to Bethlehem’s Bureau of Planning and Zoning. Because this process can be lengthy, there is, as of yet, no definite planned start date for construction.
Benner, along with his two sons, who are also Lehigh graduates, is a Bethlehem-based attorney and has heard students complain throughout the years about a lack of businesses and housing developments geared toward Lehigh students. With his proposal, he said he aims to remedy this lack of student-oriented housing.
“We look forward to making this a very exciting, very dynamic college town,” Benner said.
He said his vision for the future of Bethlehem is one of sophistication with more upscale dining, nightlife and living options.
Stephen F. Thode, a professor and director of the Murray H. Goodman Center for Real Estate Studies, has assigned his senior real estate practicum students to study Benner’s proposal, along with other development proposals in the South Bethlehem area, and assess its economic viability.
“I have charged my students with conducting an independent, unbiased and impartial analysis of the proposal to establish its feasibility,” Thode said.
His students are tasked with placing a value on the building by examining factors such as forecasts of how much rent will be generated and tax benefits from the Pennsylvania City Revitalization and Improvement Zone program and comparing this value to their estimates of construction costs. On Friday, his students will give a public presentation on their findings and will have estimates of how much each unit will cost to rent per month, based on their profitability assessment.
Vinicius Aguiar, ’16, an IDEAS major and East Fifth Street resident, said the apartments will be a welcome addition to the South Side and the Lehigh community, but will not be the cheapest option for off-campus living.
“It is a shame that there are so few safe and viable living options for students off campus,” Aguilar said.
He said many other schools devote large amounts of resources to student housing developments.
“Mr. Benner’s apartments promise to be safe and upscale and will most likely be very appealing to parents of off-campus juniors and seniors,” Aguilar said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the apartments will have a lengthy waiting list. Because of this I don’t think they’ll be cheap but they will definitely be worth it.”
The proposed student apartments are one of three projects proposed by Benner on the South Side. There are an additional three development proposals on the South Side by Peron Development.
The Pennsylvania City Revitalization and Improvement Zone program, established in 2013 with the goal of spurring new growth in cities that have struggled to attract development, has served as a catalyst for many of these proposals.
2 Comments
I disagree with this building. It takes away from the charm of the southside. They should consider the opinion of the residents.
I’ve seen too many of these “ventures” already. They exist to mine money from the students, of course; construction is shoddy, maintenance is crap, and the buildings are sold every few years to new fly-by-night “prey on college students” companies. When things change with the university — demographics shift, enrollment shrinks — they become a giant liability for the neighborhood. What do you think happens to these buildings when they can’t find enough students to fill them?
I have no doubt Lehigh needs more housing, but this is the laziest possible way of getting it, and the most expensive way for the students and South Bethlehem.
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