Former Coca-Cola plant in West Bethlehem being transformed into $2.5M project
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The former Coca-Cola building in West Bethlehem, also known as the Banko building, will soon be converted into a new commercial complex.
Tavarez Real Estate Investments bought the property at 1825 W. Broad St. in March, which previously housed a Coca-Cola factory until the early 1980s. The sale was for $ 750,000 by Frank Banko III, according to Lehigh County’s real estate records.
The 67,000-square-foot lot is slated to soon become the West Broad Street Commons Complex, which will serve multiple tenants in “high quality, affordable spaces” after renovations are completed in September, Tavarez officials said. Construction of the three-story building began shortly after the sale.
Tavarez is investing more than $ 2.5 million in the project, which includes upgrades to the electrical and plumbing systems, replacing the roof and updating the heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, project manager Howard Lieberman told lehighvalleylive.com on Friday . The project is funded by private and US Small Business Administration loans, Lieberman said.
While the project is not intended to be a formal conservation project, representatives from Tavarez said the crews will strive to preserve the architecture both inside and outside the building while improving access and interior facilities. Technology improvements include updating communications links, including a fiber link for phone and internet needs, as well as LED lighting and the use of energy efficient HVAC systems.
W2A Architects from Allentown and 4/4 Architecture from Bethlehem provided the design plans for the project, with Shafnisky Electric from Allentown, Young Plumbing from Bethlehem, MBI HVAC Inc. from Allentown and New Tripoli commissioning important work from Scherer-Contracting. The outdoor facilities will be completed by Jerdon Construction of Allentown.
A current tenant of the building is Cheryl Chickey’s All-American Performing Arts Center, which has lived on the building’s top floor for three decades. The new occupants are said to include Austin’s Auto Service and Made in the Shade Film Pros. Tavarez is also working with city officials to make the space available to potential office users who have already shown interest in the space, representatives said.
Tavarez Real Estate Investments is also the real estate division of Austin’s Auto Service, owned by Nelson and Carolina Tavarez since 2010.
The purchase by the Tavarezs started a huge growth in the auto repair business that doubled three years ago. It added new service bays, new staff and several energy efficient improvements to the former company gas station. The company’s four-man fleet also offers towing services throughout the region.
Aside from the minority company’s 13 full-time employees, the owners plan to add four to six new full-time employees and at least one new tow truck to allow for further business expansion based on West Broad Street Commons. The renovation also provides for an additional 15 on-site parking spaces – between the West Broad Street Commons building and Austin’s Auto’s current parking lot – through development of land adjacent to the store and acquired by the city.
The building, according to Lieberman, is primarily used by Austin’s Auto Service as an extended service area, but the newly renovated suites are made available for rent.
The building was originally built specifically for Coca-Cola in 1942. The factory produced and bottled Coca-Cola products on the property until the early 1980s. The building then housed both the office for local operations and the production and storage facilities for business operations, including the original bottling lines. Coca-Cola later moved to Lehigh Valley Industrial Park I on Schoenersville Road, Lieberman said.
The company, according to Lieberman, was founded as a franchise on 10th Avenue in Bethlehem in 1917. In 1941 the operation was relocated to West Broad Street and renamed Quaker State Coca-Cola Bottling Co. The new owners eventually moved Coca-Cola from Broad Street to the industrial park after a takeover in the 1960s. The company later became the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. of the Lehigh Valley and stopped making soda at the industrial park in 2017, Lieberman said.
As of the mid-1980s, the upper level of the Banko building was occupied by Toyota Forklift, while the lower level was occupied by Cameron Supply, a carbonated beverage dispenser and utility company that plans to continue doing business on the site.
Currently, the building is about 40% occupied, said Lieberman.
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Pamela Sroka-Holzmann can be reached at pholzmann@lehighvalleylive.com.
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