Easton Adds More Buildings to Blighted List

Properties on the South Side, downtown added to blight list.

Easton has added more buildings to its list of blighted properties, Councilwoman Sandra Vulcano said Monday. The buildings were part of a long list the city announced it would target last year, going after properties that -- in some cases -- had spent decades vacant and untouched. The properties in this latest round include: Once the city's planners and vacant property board have given the buildings blighted status, the Easton Redevelopment Authority can begin the process of taking the properties by eminent domain. However, a lot of owners have sold off their properties after the blight designation was handed down, said Mayor Sal Panto, allowing the city to avoid having to flip the buildings. "We haven’t had to do that," Panto said. "It’s …

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Easton Begins Block-by-Block Inspections

Mayor's tour of Easton neighborhood showcases "oases" along with blight.

They were lovely homes: freshly-painted, well preserved, the type of places that would fit in a nice neighborhood in any city. Just a few houses down, you'd find graffiti, garbage, and kids playing in the yard of a home the city had labeled unfit for occupancy. This was the 600 block of Ferry Street, which the city showcased Thursday, warts and all, as part of Easton's block-by-block inspection program. For about 90 minutes Thursday afternoon, city workers walked the 600 block of Northampton Street and its surrounding neighborhoods -- Ferry, Pine, Locust streets, and Walnut Avenue. Code enforcement officers inspected buildings, police looked for gang graffiti and drug activity. There was even a health inspector checking out the food …

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Visions For Vacancies

What Should Go On the Stewart Silk Mill Property?

The city has declared this property blighted; what would you like to see there someday?

Typically, we reserve this space for vacant storefronts. This week, we're looking at a more problematic property. The city put the former former Stewart Silk Mill/Black Diamond site on the South Side on its blighted list last year. Most of the properties on that list are standalone buildings; this one takes up most of a block, and would need a lot more in the way of repairs.  Speaking to the Easton Area School Board earlier this month, Mayor Sal Panto alluded to a local builder "who'd love to go in and build buildings" on the property. What would you like to see at this property, along West Lincoln and Coal streets? Housing? A park? Some sort of community center? Let us know in the comments.  

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Easton Blight Battle Enters Round Two

Armory building, others, will go before property review committee tonight.

Easton's "armory" building appears to have a new owner. But that may not be enough to save it from being designated a blighted property by the city.  Easton's Vacant Property Review Committee declared the armory -- and five other buildings -- blighted last year. Tonight, the city is expected to continue that process, which could end with Easton's Redevelopment Authority taking over the properties in question. A liquor license sign appeared in the armory window recently, announcing that Peter G. Koorie, owner of the city's Beer Brothers beer distributor, was seeking a liquor license for the property. Jacob Estephan, whose family had owned the armory since the 1980s, said last week that Koorie had bought the building, as well as Northampton …

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Christina Georgiou

1:41 pm on Thursday, March 15, 2012

As tiny as it is, Glendon is indeed an independent municipality. What to do about the Old Stone Inn, with regard to it's blighted condition, would be up to the Glendon Borough Council if it lies within their municipality.   more ›

Your Turn

Your Turn: Rehabbing Old Homes

Groups like the Lehigh Valley Community Land Trust are fixing up old homes in Easton. What properties would you choose?

There's been a number of stories this year about efforts in the city to improve blighted properties. The city put out a most wanted list earlier this year of properties it wants to see fixed.  We've written about the Easton Redevelopment Authority's efforts to rehab homes in the West Ward. And the Express-Times reported today on a similar program by the Lehigh Valley Community Land Trust, which is also renovating homes in the West Ward, one at 1201 Bushkill Street, the other at 31 N. 9th St. So we're asking you: Are there homes in your neighborhood that can benefit from this sort of program? Let us know where they are. 

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Rock Church: Hooper House Work Almost Done

Building has been untouched since church bought it more than 30 years ago.

Easton's Rock Church says it has plans for one of the city's oldest buildings. The Express Times reports that the church told the city's Historic District Commission on Monday that it's begun facade work on Hooper House, and could be done those repairs within weeks. The commission approved the church's plans, which will get final approval by city council when it meets Oct. 26. Hooper House, at 501 Northampton Street, is believed to be one of the oldest -- if not the oldest -- residential buildings in Easton. The church bought it in 1979, and city officials have said it appears no work has been done on the building since then. Its condition led the city to put it on its list of blighted properties earlier this year.

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Four City Properties Closer to Official Blight Designation

Others on the city list, combined with regular applications, will mean extra planning commission meetings through spring of next year, city planning director says.

Four properties of 28 of a list of vacant and run-down properties moved one step closer to receiving an official city designation as blighted Wednesday evening. The Easton Planning Commission unanimously approved the recommendations of the city's vacant properties committee for 373 Nesquehoning St., 430 West Lincoln St., 501 Northampton St., and 51 South Warren St. to preliminarily assess the properties as blighted as per the state building code. The properties will now be inspected by the city codes officer and potentially be certified as blighted if it is found repairs have not been made. Property owners have 30 days to appeal the planning commission's decision, City Planning Director Becky Bradley said. If no timely appeal is made and …

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