The Easton Area School Board is considering selling an undevelopable hillside to an alumnus who wants to build a hotel at the bottom of the hill.
Williams Township resident Terry Briggs wants to build The Grand Riverview Hotel at 300 S. Delaware Drive near the Delaware River and its parallel canal. The five-story hotel would be adjacent to Lachenour Park on Easton’s South Side.
The school district owns the 8-acre park, according to Briggs. He wants to buy a 5-acre weed- and tree-covered section of the park that drops about 100 feet downhill behind his proposed hotel.
He said he wants to clean it up, landscape it and provide his guests a better view. He’s not interested in buying the three acres where a baseball/soccer field lies.
“This proposal just makes so much sense,” Briggs told the school board at the Sept. 21 meeting. You can watch the discussion on the meeting video on YouTube.
The board agreed to move ahead with a land appraisal. Briggs will pay for the appraisal and the cost to survey and subdivide the property.
School board member Bill Whitman said the proposal looks OK at first glance if the school district keeps the ball field.
Board member Meg Sayago said she wants to walk the site before making a final decision. She’s “far from convinced” about selling the land. Moving ahead with an appraisal will give her the information she needs to make an informed decision.
Briggs unveiled his plans to the city more than three years ago. The five-story hotel would be on the site of the Kuebler Brewing Co. The brewery was closed in 1953 and later leveled. Briggs excavated a man-made cave formerly used to store beer. The cave extends 80 feet into the hillside and stays 52 degrees no matter how cold or how hot it gets outside.
It took Terry Briggs a year to clean out debris inside a man-made cave at the former Kuebler Brewery site. He hopes to open a hotel at the site, 300 S. Delaware Drive in Easton. The cave was once used to store beer. It maintains a year-round temperature of 52 degrees.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
Terry Briggs takes us inside a man-made cave at the former Kuebler Brewery site. He spent a year to cleaning out debris in the hopes to open a hotel at the site, 300 S. Delaware Drive in Easton. The cave was once used to store beer. It maintains a year-round temperature of 52 degrees.Saed Hindash | For lehighvalleylive.com
Briggs has discussed turning the cave into a possible dining or drinking destination. He might partner with a vineyard or brewery to serve locally-made alcoholic beverages. He said buying the hilly land will allow him to put in a walking trail. He would also be able to extend Lachenour Avenue to the edge of the hill, allowing emergency vehicles to perch from above if Delaware Drive/Route 611 gets washed out by a flood.
He said the hilly area has become a haven for illegal dumpers and campground for homeless people over the years. He’ll discourage those practices if he buys the land, Briggs said.
Briggs noted he’s an Easton Area High School graduate from the class of 1968. He believes his plans will benefit the city and the school district.
“I believe this is a win/win situation,” he said in his proposal to the school district.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com.
Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
"hotel" - Google News
September 26, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://ift.tt/3CL4lxS
Easton Area School District may sell hillside land to hotel developer - lehighvalleylive.com
"hotel" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3aTFdGH
https://ift.tt/2xwvOre
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Easton Area School District may sell hillside land to hotel developer - lehighvalleylive.com"
Post a Comment