A Religious Commitment to Affordable Housing: First Presbyterian Church’s Land Development Initiative

Bethlehem First Presbyterian Church is a community attentive to the lack of affordable housing in our city. Church leaders are exploring the use of their property to address this problem. Late last year, Church leaders shared their idea to develop approximately 32 acres of land owned by the church to create housing at a variety of income levels for purchase and rent by local community members. For the pastors behind the concept, current housing issues in the community represent a spiritual problem as much as a social one.

According to First Presbyterian’s Senior Pastor, the Rev. J.C. Austin, the mission of the church is not the accumulation of wealth, but service to the community. “What we’re doing is reclaiming an ancient, theological center of the Christian Church,” Austin said. “The Church has never been about self and institutional survival. It’s been about loving your neighbor, about embodying God’s love, about using the resources that we feel like we’ve been entrusted with by God.” First Presbyterian’s Associate Pastor for Justice and Community Engagement, the Rev. Lindsey Altvater Clifton, adds: “This is us getting right by Jesus.”

Pictured: Bethlehem’s First Presbyterian church from the front.

By exploring development of their land adjacent to Center Street and west of the Kirkland Village retirement community, the Church aims to meet the needs of those struggling to afford housing in Bethlehem. According to information First Presbyterian Church shared with the community last May, Bethlehem residents are more likely to rent than to own their homes when compared to other Lehigh Valley communities. And nearly half of renters in the city are considered cost burdened – meaning they spend more than 30 percent of their monthly income on housing.  The development of Church property aims to respond to the housing issues by increasing the stock of affordable housing options residents can access. 

While the idea to develop affordable housing on Church property is being discussed, leaders envision building a mixed-income community. In particular, they imagine building a community with market-rate apartments as well as middle-income and low-income units. They believe this structure will ensure economic diversity within the development. Additionally, twin homes and townhomes are included in the drafted concept to support people with a variety of incomes. 

However, while the idea has been met with some support, others in the community have concerns about development. Driving along Center Street prior to election season, one could see signs that read, “OPPOSE High Density Development by First Presbyterian.” Additionally, a GoFundMe titled “Bethlehem For Unique Neighborhoods, Inc.” is in the process of soliciting donations to “oppose City Administration and City Council updating the Zoning Ordinance.” The fundraiser also asserts that First Presbyterian’s proposed development “would gravely impact surrounding residential neighborhoods and, if approved, would set a precedent for future densification projects.”

The property is currently zoned as institutional with property to the north and west of Center Street zoned as rural residential. Additional areas to the east and south of First Presbyterian are zoned as medium density residential and single family residential respectively. 

Regarding rezoning, First Presbyterian has no plans to petition the city to rezone the land as a High Density Residential District. Instead, they hope to petition for the  land to be rezoned to a Medium Density Residential District. “As defined by the City of Bethlehem, medium density residential communities tend to have 10 units an acre or fewer,” said Clifton. She added that the current preferred design would be built to 6.4 units per acre, which would be closer to the density of Single Family Residential Districts that are built to 5 units an acre.

In response to the dissent, First Presbyterian’s pastors have indicated their willingness to work with local residents in providing the best solution. Austin stated, “I’d encourage anybody who’s concerned about this, anybody who feels like this is somehow detrimental to the community, should come to our website, come to look at the materials and be a part of that. Because I think in the end what we’re trying to do is something that’s a blessing to all of our neighbors.” As First Presbyterian moves forward with the development, they encourage an open dialogue with residents and hope to garner community support for their vision of affordable housing in North Bethlehem. 

To learn more about First Presbyterian and its housing project, visit First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem.

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