The developer of the former Dixie Cup property in Wilson plans to forge ahead with a $185 million redevelopment that would turn the factory into hundreds of apartments, with or without Northampton County Council’s blessing on a tax break.
“If the county doesn’t want to support it, the project would move forward,” Brian Bartee said following more than an hour discussion Wednesday with County Council’s Finance Committee. He said it would be possible to restructure financing to do the deal.
“But it’s good to get the vote from all the taxing bodies,” he said.
Council on Thursday scheduled a public hearing for Oct. 16 and could vote Nov. 6 on the plan, known as Tax Increment Financing. A TIF allows the increased property tax revenue generated by the new construction to be used to pay off the initial construction loans.
To help fund the project, Skyline asked Wilson, Wilson Area School District and Northampton County to create a TIF. The borough and school district approved the taxing plan in August 2024. The proposal then wound through the county’s Industrial Development Authority, which adopted the plan during the summer and sent it to Council to act.
The IDA must issue about $20 million in bonds for the TIF district to be created, according to Jaime M. Whalen of Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp., who works with the IDA.
During the meeting, Bartee and attorney Jonathan Cox, who helped draft the $26 million TIF, said they would like County Council’s blessing. The TIF would run 20 years, with property taxes used to pay back loans taken to fund some improvements.
The financing would leave Bartee responsible to pay current property taxes but also pay lower taxes while the property is redeveloped.
Some Council members expressed concerns during the hourlong discussion, including the length and amount of the TIF.
“Dixie Cup is a big piece of the county, but there are a lot of people in the county who don’t want this,” Council member John P. Goffredo said. “Could you pull this off without us?”
“I would like support,” Bartee said, using more measured words during the meeting.
Goffredo and Council member John Brown raised questions about apartment rents and plans for affordable housing.
Bartee said rents would average about $2,450 a month, and he will earmark $1.1 million to the county in lieu of putting affordable apartments on site.
“Other than $1.1 million, where does the affordable housing component come in?” Brown asked. “I think you’re getting a pretty good deal with $1.1 million.”
Bartee said he is not “looking for a deal. It is so tight on [profit] margins.” He also said he plans further development in the community. He recently acquired the closed LA Fitness building on South 25th Street, almost adjacent to the Dixie property.
Officials from Wilson and the school district urged Council to approve. Wilson Area School Board President Judith Herbstreith said elected leaders from the community unanimously approved the TIF last year.
She said previous redevelopment deals have fallen through, but Bartee, who recently moved to the area, can be the exception.
“He’s given us a chance to remake that whole corner [along South 24th Street and Washington Boulevard],” Herbstreith said. “We’re putting all of our faith in Brian, and he has been a man of his word.”
Bartee, speaking later outside Council chambers, said work thus far has included removing all of the Dixie Cup’s more than 700 windows.
Soon, he said, workers will remove the giant Dixie Cup that has stood over the factory since noted industrialist Hugh Moore opened it in the 1920s. Plans call for refurbishing the iconic cup, which is visible from Route 22, and placing it in a park onsite. A new cup would replace the old one atop the building.
“And once the cup comes down,” Bartee said, “then it will be the signal to the public, we’re literally ready to go.”
Bartee acquired the former factory and adjacent parking lot, more than 10 acres total, from a private partnership called WilsonPark Ltd. The preview owner tried three times over 40-plus years to sell the property without success before Bartee bought it.
After Dixie Cup stopped manufacturing, the factory became a logistics and warehouse facility until the early 2000s. It was mostly vacant since then and had become a significant eyesore for the borough.
County Executive Lamont G. McClure and the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission, which reviews major developments, have recommended that the Dixie Cup redevelopment proceed.
Meadows Road Bridge project
Council also heard a brief update on the Meadows Road Bridge replacement near Route 412 in Lower Saucon Township.
Public Works Director Michael Emili said the contractor has relocated utility lines, installed bridge pier and continues to work on abutments before it will install beams and then a concrete deck.
“There is a chance that, if the weather cooperates, we can get the new road paved this year,” Emili said. “If not, we’re still track to have the project completed in the spring as originally planned.” PennDOT has said the bridge could reopen to traffic in June.
Construction began in December, six years after officials closed the historic bridge when a 4-foot large hole opened in its center. The project has been estimated to cost $3 million.
A completed bridge for Meadows Road would help shorten the drive between Route 412 in Lower Saucon, near the Hellertown border, and Route 309 and Interstate 78.
Contact Morning Call reporter Anthony Salamone at asalamone@mcall.com.
