The City of Bethlehem in the fall of 2023 completed its year-long comprehensive housing strategy process resulting in Opening Doors: Strategies to Build Housing Stability in Bethlehem. This five-year strategic plan offers the City a blueprint for leveraging its funding to help the most Bethlehem residents access safe and affordable housing.
More than 3,500 Bethlehem residents and housing stakeholders participated in the Opening Doors planning process via a community survey and across pop-up events, focus groups and small interviews. The City then convened its Comprehensive Housing Strategy Committee comprised of key institutional, private and nonprofit sector partners, which helped the City hone in on the best strategies for its unique real estate market. The study identified an acute need for more rental housing to alleviate the City’s crisis-level 2% vacancy rate and created a toolkit of strategies to boost the production of affordable rentals and prevent homelessness.
Mayor J. William Reynolds and Bethlehem City Council allocated $5 million of the Community Recovery Fund for affordable housing strategy implementation in 2023. Now that the data-driven housing study is complete, the City can strategically invest that money into the programs and incentives that will move the needle for the most Bethlehem citizens. The Housing Strategy Committee is now a standing volunteer-board, which will start holding public quarterly meetings to track progress of strategy implementation and to allow for regular public input on housing issues.
opening doors Plans
Opening Doors: Strategies to Build Housing Stability in Bethlehem
Appendix Bethlehem Market Value Analysis and Displacement Risk Ratio
Opening Doors: Bethlehem Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness
To share the Opening Doors plan with the public the City hosted an open house community meeting on January 24, 2024, at Northampton Community College's Fowler Southside Center. The presentation can be found here. The informational posters can be found here in English. And in Spanish here.
Opening Doors Affordable Housing Presentations to Bethlehem City Council
On October 10, 2023, the City presented Opening Doors: Strategies to Build Housing Stability in Bethlehem to the Community Development Committee. Watch the meeting here. The presentation can be found here.
On September 26, 2023, the City presented Opening Doors: Strategic Plan to Address Homelessness to the Community Development Committee. Watch the meeting here. The presentation can be found here.
The City of Bethlehem, in partnership with The Reinvestment Fund, Atria Planning and Collabo Planning, presented an update on the City's Affordable Housing Strategies at the March 7, 2023, Community Development Committee. Watch the meeting here. The presentation can be found here.
The City of Bethlehem, in partnership with The Reinvestment Fund, Atria Planning and Collabo Planning, presented an update on the City's Housing Needs Assessment at the February 7, 2023, Community Development Committee. Watch the meeting here. The presentation can be found here.