Bethlehem Township Sells Strip of Land

Bethlehem Township Commissioners tonight approved the sale of a narrow 1.1-acre strip of land at Hope Road and Freemansburg Avenue to American Bank for $31,500.

The property had initially been appraised at $225,000, but a public sale bidding process yielded only one buyer – American Bank – which initially offered only $15,000.

The property is north of Freemansburg Avenue and along the east side of Hope Road, across from the Southmont Mall, and is contiguous to land where American Bank has approved plans on the books to build a new branch.

The undevelopable strip of land came into township possession when the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation found they no longer needed it, according to township solicitor James Broughal.

When the bank sought and gained approval for the project, it was required to gain an easement from the township to develop an access point to the property, which sits at the northeast corner of Freemansburg Avenue and Hope Road.

PennDOT required the access point to line up with the Hope Road entrance to the Southmont Mall, meaning that this particular strip of land was needed to create a driveway for the branch, Broughal said.

Broughal reminded commissioners that he had advised that there was no real reason for the township to continue to own the property and suggested selling it.

However, the process hit a snag when the appraised value and the bid value did not align. Broughal said the appraiser adjusted the value downward after he explained the property really had no other potential use other than to serve as the driveway for the new bank.