$4M Project Will Convert Historic Building Into Apartments

The developers who renovated the old Farr’s Shoe Store building to add 24 luxury apartments to Bethlehem’s historic downtown have announced a similar project for another historic building a block away.

Anthony Scarcia and Lou Pektor are planning to invest $4 million in the Dodson Building, 528 N. New St., the onetime Bethlehem office of the historic Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., the developers announced last week.

In June, the developers will begin gutting the 32,000 square feet of old office space interior and renovating the exterior in an eight-month project that will add 21 new high-end one- and two-bedroom apartments, Scarcia said.

The four-story structure was built in 1918 as an office for the Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co., said Mayor John Callahan.

“The Old Company,” as it was known around the Lehigh Valley, built the Lehigh Canal, which was instrumental in transporting coal from the anthracite region to Philadelphia and New York during the 19th Century.

The company’s Bethlehem roots date back to 1792, which accounts for its “Old Company” moniker. Bethlehem Steel was “the new company,” Callahan said.

The Old Company ceased business operations in 1932 and shareholders voted to dissolve the company in 1966. For most of its history, the building has been rented out as divided office space.

The city has helped the remaining office tenants, including to relocate.

One feature from the building’s rich history that will remain is a Lehigh Coal & Navigation Co. emblem that is embedded in the lobby floor.

“It is just a tired, tired building,” Callahan said. “With a little TLC and a lot of renovation, we can breathe new life into it. We’re really excited about this project because it is a beautiful building.”