The Bethlehem Area (Pennsylvania) School Board has approved the $8 million purchase of a factory building that will serve as a satellite campus for the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School.
LehighValleyNews.com reports that the building will enable the vocational-technical school to accommodate more students and offer more programs than it would have under a previously proposed $46.6 million expansion project at the vo-tech’s main campus.
The vo-tech school serves students from three districts: Bethlehem Area, Northampton Area and Saucon Valley.
The building is a former Bethlehem Steel facility constructed in 1940, according to the real estate listing. The 40,000-square-foot space was renovated in 2019 to serve as Factory LLC, a business incubator for food and beverage companies.
The satellite campus would provide at least an additional 330 student seats — the number planned for in the previously proposed expansion. The vo-tech school would also be able to offer the same new programs it had proposed in its expansion plans, including vet tech studies, cybersecurity, aviation mechanics, and medical and office administration.
Bethlehem Area School Board President Michael Faccinetto said it will cost an estimated $12 million to outfit the building’s interior for the vo-tech’s programming. It will take until fall 2026 to complete these updates, he said.
