The Bethlehem Historic Conservation Commission balked at two proposals to raze two houses during the July 15 meeting held in the Rotunda.

Representing 1304 Spring St., Diocese of Allentown CEO Joseph Shadid, with the assistance of Spillman Farmer architects Salvatore Verrastro and Christopher Worton, had his proposal to raze a circa 1885 Queen Anne-style house and replace it with a four-unit apartment building tabled.

The applicants tried to convince the commissioners that the Eugene Grace estate’s former head gardener’s residence wasn’t worth repairing and should be torn down to allow for the new construction of additional senior housing. Once home to Bethlehem Steel’s president, the West Bethlehem property is now Holy Family Senior Living.

The house hasn’t been inhabited for 15 years. Verrastro provided a list of maintenance issues with the existing building, including deteriorated plaster ceilings and walls due to roof leaks, damaged kitchen cabinets, a bathroom that is not code compliant and peeling paint on the exterior. The applicants said the “astronomical” cost of repairing the structure would be a financial hardship for the Diocese, which owns the property. They claimed the small rooms made the house “unusable for Holy Family.”

Historic officer Jeffrey Long provided some recent history of the property, including proposals for demolition of the building that had been rejected by HCC and City Council in 2012 and 2013. A 2019 proposal to replace worn slate roofing with GAF Slateline shingles was approved. Shadid mentioned that COVID interrupted their plans for fixing the roof.

During public comment, Bethlehem artist Pat Delluva and Mount Airy Neighborhood Association President Mary Toulouse strongly advocated sparing the existing house. “Demolition would be a tragic loss,” said Toulouse. Delluva recalled her grandfather worked as the head gardener for Eugene Grace and lived in the historic home from 1933-1961. “I just think that it would be a shame if that house was demolished,” she said.

Prospect Avenue resident and former HCC board member Ken Loush recommended the gardener’s house be preserved. “This particular property tells a story,” he said.

Todd Chambers asked why they could afford to spend $2 million on new construction, but not $300,000 to repair the existing historic building. He suggested saving the house and building an addition for apartment units behind it.

“I’m trying to look for a middle ground where we’d like to preserve our building, and we’d like to give you the opportunity to still build this nice addition and have some more apartments, to make it something usable,” Chairman Gary Lader explained.

The applicants were advised to explore this approach and provide details on how it would fit in the neighborhood before returning.

Accompanied by engineer Joseph Rentko, developer Nicholas Youssef found his proposal to demolish an existing single-family dwelling and garage at 330 E. Fourth St. and construct a three-story residential over commercial structure on the site tabled as well.

According to Long, the brick and masonry Classical Revival residence was built circa 1890 and the wooden porch was replaced in the 1920s with a partially enclosed Spanish Revival style masonry porch with a clay tile roof. While the historic officer considered the multi-bay brick garage in back “noncontributing,” he stated the house is “contributing” and “significant” to the historic district and should not be razed.

The applicants provided photos showing the interior of the house is in rough shape, but there was no estimate of how much repairs would cost.

Youssef admitted the property had been neglected by previous owners, but said this was a recent purchase for him.

Youssef’s father and part owner, Victor Youssef addressed the commissioners in support of the demolition and replacement proposal.

“Have you asked your architect to explore any ways of reusing the existing shell?” Lader inquired as he encouraged the applicants to retain as much of the existing building as possible while expanding it for commercial and residential apartment use.

The applicants were instructed to return with financial information on costs for rehabilitating the house and building an addition to compare with the cost of tearing it down and replacing it with all new construction. If they wish to pursue total demo, they must provide proof of any financial hardship they would incur by preserving the structure,

Recusing himself for this one agenda item, HCC Chairman Gary Lader joined Zein Basma and Michael Rehman to represent 117 E. Fourth St. The applicants had already received COAs in 2021 and 2023 for demolition of the former Boys and Girls Club building and for new construction to replace the noncontributing contemporary structure.

This time they were given approval for building cornices, handrails and exterior lighting as designed, as well as gray being chosen for the brick mortar color.

The applicants were instructed to return with site specific head jamb details for the proposed windows.

The property being developed into apartments is owned by Lehigh SH Development, LLC.

Representing 1318 Prospect Ave., contractor William Brader was granted a COA to replace the wood flooring on the front porch “in kind.” The applicant’s request to be allowed to install tongue and groove Aeratis composite materials instead of wood was considered historically inappropriate.

Brader secured permission to replace a Bilco door at the rear of the house with one made of the Aeratis composite materials as it wasn’t in a highly visible area.

Long noted the circa 1911 American Foursquare style brick residence was designed by renowned architect A.W. Leh. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During public comment, Elizabeth Bell, a former owner of the property, mentioned the wooden floor is mahogany. She urged the preservation and repair of the existing floor and not replacement.

Giuseppe Guglielmello is listed as the property owner.

Edith Losagio and Scott Williamson from Valley Remodeling represented 418 Martel St. with a proposal to replace damaged Inselbric asphalt panel siding with Castle Stone vinyl siding. The circa 1895 row house is on the corner of Martel and West Morton Streets.

Although the obsolete brick-look siding covers a rear wood addition of the masonry house, it is visible from W. Morton Street.

While the board nixed the vinyl siding product as historically “inappropriate,” the COA was granted for Hardie plank or LP Smart Side siding with a smooth finish on the façades that are visible. The applicants were told to provide additional details, including drawings of how they intend to trim out the siding, to the commission.

Scalloped vinyl siding for under a front façade gable was approved as it is an “in kind” repair and matches similar treatments on the other houses in the row.

The student rental property is owned by Bill and Byung Pottenger.

All voting was unanimous.

The Bethlehem HCC is charged with the task of determining if new signs or other alterations to a building’s exterior would be an appropriate fit for the neighborhood in one of three designated historic districts.

Obtaining a certificate of appropriateness is only a first step for business owners and residents in a designated historic district who wish to make alterations to a building’s exterior. The commission’s recommendations are later reviewed, and then voted on by city council before any project is allowed to proceed.