Interchange Proposed by Charles Chrin Companies Moves Closer to Reality

The interchange proposed by Charles Chrin Companies that will connect Route 33 to Main Street in Tatamy is progressing to the next stage – funding. The project is estimated to cost about $25 million.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation said last year that it could not finance the project. The state reported a $3.5 billion budgetary gap for infrastructure projects in 2010. According to the state budget office, the budget gap for infrastructure projects has widened to $4.2 billion this year.

Alicia Karner, executive director of the Northampton County Industrial Development Authority, said Chrin has completed a formal application for a 20-year tax-increment financing plan. A TIF is a bond floated by an authority to help finance public improvements. In this case, Chrin would receive the bond to help pay for the construction of the interchange, she said.

Local officials formed a committee to review the TIF proposal and feasibility study, Karner explained. Drafted in the feasibility study is an absorption schedule, which lists the number of acres per year that the county should expect to be developed. Based on the development of 700 acres, the absorption schedule shows that it would take about 12 years for the county to recoup the $25 million. This is a favorable result, since the lifespan of the TIF is 20 years, Karner said.

With the interchange in place, Chrin would be able to continue Phase I development of the Chrin Commerce Center in Palmer Township. According to a brochure about the property, Chrin would like to continue development of the land in three phases with Phase I featuring office space, retail sites and upper story loft apartments.

Before the TIF can be approved, each of the taxing bodies covering the area of the interchange need to agree to it, said Mike Dowd, a Northampton County councilman and chairman of the Economic Development Committee.  The taxing bodies are Palmer Township, Northampton County and Easton Area School District, he said.

Dowd explained that the taxing bodies will continue to receive any taxes that are applied to the property, including any tax increases.

The TIF bond would be paid off with the difference between the assessed value and the appreciated value of the property, Dowd said. As development continues, the appreciated value of the property grows, increasing the difference between the two values. Therefore the TIF payment amount increases as the development of the property and value of the property increases.

“Progress is being made, but more work has to be done before we can take it to any of the taxing bodies,” Dowd said.

A four-person committee met in December to review the feasibility study for the TIF, said Karner. The members are Karner and Dowd, in addition to David Colver, the chairman of the Palmer Township supervisors, and Kerri Leonard-Ellison, an Easton Area School Board member.

The feasibility study “gave a great indication” into the success of the land development, Karner said. One of the requirements for the TIF is that the interchange would have to be completed by December 2013, the feasibility study stated.

PennDOT approved a Point-of-Access study in July and has developed a detour plan for the project, said Ron Young, the press officer for PennDOT’s Engineering District 5-0. He said the project could begin in the fall of 2012.

The interchange would replace the current bridge that spans above Route 33. According to a map in a company press kit, Chrin owns about a seven-mile stretch of land on both sides of Route 33. A billboard on the land closest to the states that there are 1,100 acres available for development.

The land holdings include property north and south of Main Street/Tatamy Road along Eighth Street in Tatamy and Palmer Township. On the other side of Route 33, the property runs north of Tatamy Road to Hercules Cement Co. and westward toward the school. South of Tatamy Road, the property encompasses land along both sides of Van Buren Road down to Newlins Mill Road.

The construction detour prepared by PennDOT would take traffic from the Tatamy side out Uhler Road in Forks Township to Sullivan Trail. From there, traffic would travel to Stockertown, where it would connect with Route 191 and pick up Route 33. Traffic headed for Nazareth would stay on Route 191 to enter town. 

Karner said Chrin has paid all costs -- an amount exceeding $1 million so far -- of the engineering plans and other expenses. Construction plans for the interchange are being handled by Langan Engineering in Doylestown, said Colver. He said he recalls from the TIF committee meeting that the new bridge would have five or six lanes.

Messages left for Langan Engineering were not returned.