Historic District Commission Okays Demolition to Make Way for More Parking

By Christina Georgiou

Easton plans to demolish this  former bank drive-thru in the very near
future to make way for more parking.

 A small building that once housed a drive-thru bank at 39 North Fourth St. will be demolished to make way for more parking spaces in a lot the City of Easton acquired last month.

Easton's Historic District Commission gave the go-ahead with little discussion Monday night, other than to agree that elimination of the late 20th century brick building won't detract from the architectural charm of the city's downtown.

Currently, the lot, which was used for parking by former owner Scott Kindred before the city bought it for $120,000 on March 28 after threatening to acquire it by eminent domain, has 20 parking spaces, which will be increased to 38, including two handicapped parking spots, after the building is gone, said City Administrator Glenn Steckmann.

After the building is razed, the city will fix the asphalt, reroute the electrical service to the property, and add lighting. The parking area, which is currently a teardrop shape, will be made rectangular to accomodate more vehicles, said Public Works Director David Hopkins.

Getting the electrical service sorted out is the thing that will take the most time in the reconfiguration, Hopkins said, estimating the work should be completed by the end of May or at latest, by the middle of June.

Steckman said the project is important to the further development of Downtown.

"We're trying to get this ready in time for Crayola's reopening," Steckman said.

The lot will help by providing parking for the expected increase in number of Crayola Experience visitors this summer and while the new parking deck at the planned Transportation Center on South Third Street is under construction. After that, it will allow the city to be able to tear down and rebuild the parking deck on South Third and Pine streets, which accomodates about 375 vehicles, Steckman said.

The city intends the new parking area to be aimed more at city visitors than residents and will not be part of the city's residential parking permit program, Steckman said.

"There's actually plenty of parking for residents on the North Third Street lot down the street," he added.

The city recently chained off the lot in anticipation of making the planned changes to the newly-acquired property.

"Really, what it developed into was a free parking lot," Steckman said.

He added that when it's complete, the space will be reopened to the public at current parking rates.

"We'll get signs up to let everyone know it's there," Steckman said.