New homes, cinemas and retail move ahead in Easton with sale of land for The Confluence
The proposal comprises 216 apartments, 50 condominiums, 23,000 square feet of retail proposed to be anchored by a grocery store along South Third, 14,000 square feet of amenities and 213 parking spaces in an underground garage. One of the site’s buildings is proposed to be connected to Easton’s South Third Street garage for additional parking.
05/12/2021
Easton officials this week agreed to sell nearly 3 acres to Bethlehem-based Peron Development for The Confluence mixed-use project a 185 S. Third St.
The developer started initial site exploration work last month. Wednesday’s vote by city council to approve the $3.5 million agreement of sale opens a 90-day due diligence period once the sale ordinance takes effect over the next month.
Peron proposes The Confluence, in view of where the Lehigh and Delaware rivers meet, as a six-story project at South Third Street and Larry Holmes Drive.
The proposal comprises 216 apartments, 50 condominiums, 23,000 square feet of retail proposed to be anchored by a grocery store along South Third, 14,000 square feet of amenities and 213 parking spaces in an underground garage. One of the site’s buildings is proposed to be connected to Easton’s South Third Street garage for additional parking.
Plans include an amphitheater/seating area along Larry Holmes Drive that leads to a public courtyard that could host concerts, surrounded by the new homes, with access to twin 100-seat cinemas.
Residents’ amenities include lobbies for the apartments and condos, a second-floor pool and outdoor terraces for residents.
The facades planned along North Fourth Street draw inspiration from architecture and windows seen elsewhere in Easton.
The development is estimated at $70 million atop land the city bought for $5.9 million, and where it had a Days Inn demolished in March 2018 to make way for the proposed Da Vinci Science City. That plan was scrapped in May 2019, and the city then formed a committee that reviewed developer proposals and in February 2020 recommended Peron’s plan to city council. Da Vinci is now moving forward in Allentown.
Peron is also building 68 apartments in The Seville on North Third Street, atop a former Easton municipal parking lot sold to the developer for $1.3 million, with a completion date expected next February. The company led by attorney Michael Perrucci also has numerous high-profile projects underway or proposed in Bethlehem, including redevelopment of the former Bethlehem Steel Corp.’s Steel General Office building annex on East Third Street.
Credit: Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. lehighvalleylive.com Updated Apr 17, 2021; Posted Apr 17, 2021
