Lancaster Businesses Find CRIZ Paperwork Cumbersome, Time-Consuming

Downtown business people say they support Lancaster’s City Revitalization & Improvement Zone, or CRIZ.

But boy, they sure wish the paperwork were less of a hassle.

“The process is very painful,” said David Leaman, senior manager of finance for the Isaac’s restaurant chain, which has its headquarters and one of its restaurants in the CRIZ.

Moirajeanne FitzGerald, who owns Here to Timbuktu on North Prince Street, says, “The CRIZ paperwork is cumbersome. The directions are difficult to understand.”

Read more: http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/city-businesses-find-criz-paperwork-cumbersome-time-consuming/article_f9428c5e-f5cf-11e4-a572-83e1416c6222.html

Dennis Benner Proceeding With Plans For 7-Story Building In South Bethlehem

Developer Dennis Benner is proceeding with his long-held plans for a 7-story building at Third and New streets in Bethlehem.

Benner originally intended six floors of offices with first-floor retail on the corner but his new plans submitted to the city show one floor of retail, four floors of offices and two floors of apartments.

His plans will go before the South Bethlehem Historic Conservation District for review at 7 p.m. Monday at Town Hall.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2015/04/dennis_benner_proceeding_with.html

N.J. Company Seeks Philly Headquarters (Update)

(Is Hill leaving to avoid getting squeezed out? See Update below) Hill International, the multinational construction consulting company, is seeking a new headquarters location in Center City Philadelphia, David Richter, the 4,000-person company’s president and chief operating officer, tells me. “It’s easier to hire people, and there are better buildings and a better labor pool” downtown, compared to the company’s longtime base in Marlton, N.J., he added.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/NJ-company-seeks-Philly-headquarters.html#mZfkhdzqLY2rAgYU.99

Bethlehem Economic Development Zone Would Create $300 Million In New Construction, Officials Say

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Northampton County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Pennsylvania City Revitalization and Improvement Zone in Bethlehem would create at least $300 million of new development in the city, officials said today.

Bethlehem’s application for the new state program will consist almost exclusively of private development, including a proposed convention center at the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. site, officials said.

The emphasis on private development should give Bethlehem a distinct advantage over the eight other cities expected to apply for the special economic development tax incentive, the officials said at an announcement this afternoon in Town Hall.

Only two applicants will be granted the incentive in the next couple of months, and many of them will likely have major public projects, which make them riskier and less fruitful for the state, said state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-Northampton/Lehigh/Monroe.

Read more: http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/bethlehem/index.ssf/2013/10/bethlehem_criz_economic_develo.html