Bethlehem planners approve Mexican restaurant, brewpub

Lou Pektor, the developer behind historic renovations including the Main Street Commons building and Union Station, got a stamp of approval by planners Thursday to bring a Mexican brewpub and restaurant to an empty parking lot in south Bethlehem.

The Planning Commission voted 4-0 to approve the land development plans for a 2 1/2-story building at the southeast corner of East Third and Polk streets, with the intent to house Cerveza, the brewpub, and Agave, a fine-dining restaurant.

The restaurant and brewpub will have 380 seats inside and on the rooftop. There also will be outside seating, a feature added over the last two months when the developer decided to move the building back 10 feet.

Pektor has said he hopes to open both restaurants by the end of this year. That hinges on whether the $6.7 million project at 404 E. Third St., can tap into the tax incentives offered in the City Revitalization and Improvement Zone.

The lot is outside of the zone's border, though the city authority overseeing the CRIZ in October approved the project as "qualified" to take advantage of zone tax benefits.

A formal application to change the boundary is needed, but city officials have said they are awaiting direction from the state on how to go about submitting the boundary changes for state approval.

The CRIZ covers 130 acres in Bethlehem, including large portions of former Bethlehem Steel land, and allows developers to use certain state and local taxes to offset construction costs.

Pektor said the tax incentive is crucial to financing the project.

"We can't make it work without it," he said.

He said the delay is not going to affect the interest of the restaurateurs, who have a similar operation in Seattle. It would be their first East Coast location, he said.

Visit link:
Bethlehem planners approve Mexican restaurant, brewpub