Easton City Council Looks At $17 Million Bond For New City Hall

English: Skyline of Easton, PA from Lafayette College (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

If things go as scheduled, Easton will float bonds for its new City Hall in two weeks.

The bonds total $17 million, most of which will go toward the new City Hall, with a small amount for other projects. The amount of debt the city plans to take on for its new headquarters is 50 percent more than officials proposed a year ago, but plans have changed.

Easton was going to solicit a private developer to build out for the three-story, 45,000-square-foot building along South Third Street the city plans to erect in front of a 370-space parking deck. Earlier this year the city chose to take on the entire project and move City Hall to the new building and sell the Alpha Building.

The change in plans meant the city needed to borrow an additional $5 million to complete the project.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/local/easton/mc-easton-city-council-introduces-bond-20130925,0,5236996.story#ixzz2g0cuXS79
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Architect Plans $5 Million, 7-Story Condominium Project In Downtown Lancaster

Three decades after building Steeplehouse Square, architect John de Vitry again is building condominiums in downtown Lancaster.

Magnolia Place, a seven-story building he wants to build at North Duke and East Chestnut streets, would be the first entirely new downtown residential project since Steeplehouse opened in 1982.

The 13-unit building would replace the building on the northeast corner of the intersection, which was built as a gas station and later served as a law office.

De Vitry and his partners hope to begin construction of the $5 million-plus project in October, with occupancy of the units by September 2014.

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/article/local/860653_Architect-plans–5-million–7-story-condominium-project-in-downtown-Lancaster-.html#ixzz2W7xdrWlt

Mormon Temple To Be Built In Philadelphia

Mayor Nutter announced the construction of a new Mormon Temple at 1701 Vine Street in Philadelphia this afternoon.  The temple will be about a block north of the Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, on the other side of the Vine Street Expressway.  The site is currently a parking lot.  The temple will feature two 200-feet tall spires and be approximately 40,000 – 50,000 square feet.

The temple will be the church’s third high-rise temple and the first Mormon Temple in Pennsylvania.  There are about 48,000 Mormons in Pennsylvania. 

The church expects 400,000 annual visitors to the center-city temple which the city feels is significant.  City officials are pleased the new temple will be built in Philadelphia, and not a suburb.