East Penn to Consider Costco Financing Monday Night

The East Penn Board of School Directors is expected to consider its involvement in the proposed TIF financing for the Hamilton Crossings project at Monday night's school board meeting.

Is Costco Still Coming to Lower Macungie?

What's happening with the proposed Hamilton Crossings shopping center that will feature the Lehigh Valley's first Costco store?

The $140 million Hamilton Crossings shopping center in Lower Macungie—set to feature the area's first Costco—will be up for an important vote at next week's East Penn School Board meeting, according to a WFMZ report. The school board will be the first of three government bodies asked to approve a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) plan to help pay for the project. A TIF is an economic tool to help develop a site that requires a large amount of money to pay up-front costs. In this case, the costs involve removing waste from iron mining and addressing stormwater issues before the land can be developed. Ideally, the school district, Lower Macungie Township and Lehigh County will each approve their portion of the TIF. The school board meets Monday …

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Costco Plans Detailed

Developers looking to build Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie -- which will feature the area's first Costco -- are seeking some zoning variances from the township.

If all goes well, the developers of Hamilton Crossings in Lower Macungie hope to break ground a year from now on the 63-acre shopping center that will include the area's first Costco.  Last week, representatives of The Goldenberg Group based in Blue Bell showed Lower Macungie Township commissioners several renderings of their plans for the shopping center proposed for land between Hamilton Boulevard and the Route 222 Bypass. Krocks Road runs through the middle of it. Most of the land is open space owned by the Catholic Diocese of Allentown. The developers are seeking several variances to township zoning laws that deal with regulations about such aspects as the height of fencing and the size of buffers. While showing the renderings, Jeremy …

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