It's Time to Talk Costco Again

Buck up, warehouse shopping club fans. There's still a chance that you will be able to buy giant boxes of cereal, super-sized jugs of laundry detergent and massive quantities of toilet paper at your very own Lehigh County-based Costco.

Chatter on the highly anticipated Hamilton Crossings retail center in Lower Macungie Township largely died down since last June when Lehigh County Commissioners voted against the Tax Increment Financing plan being put forth to fund the $140 million project. But, according to a post made on Friday to the Hamilton Crossings Facebook page, it's time to start talking about the TIF again.

The first step in reopening the discourse will be an upcoming meeting at Muhlenberg College in Moyer Hall, scheduled for 6 p.m. on Feb. 3, according to the post, which is signed Jeremy and Tim -- presumably Hamilton Crossings developers Jeremy Fogel and Tim Harrison.

That meeting, the post says, is being put forth by new Lehigh County Executive Tom Muller, described in the post as "outspoken regarding his support for the TIF."

The post says that since so much time has gone by, Muller has decided to hold a public meeting to bring the previously much-talked about project back into the limelight and revisit the request for the TIF.

The Lehigh County Commissioners have all been invited to the Feb. 3 meeting, the developers write in their Facebook post, and in it they reinforce their position that the TIF is needed in order to move forward with the Hamilton Crossings project. In addition to Costco, the mall is expected to bring other big name retailers like Target and Whole Foods. 

"We continue to need TIF funding to close the project’s financial gap and allow the project to be financed," they write. "We have continued working to address concerns posed by County Commissioners, in regards to obtaining their support and participation in the TIF plan.

"This meeting represents another opportunity for you to ask questions and, hopefully, voice your support for the Hamilton Crossings Development project," the developers write on Facebook.

Under the TIF plan, the government bodies that would have ultimately benefited from the tax revenue generated by Hamilton Crossings – East Penn School District and Lehigh County – needed to agree to give up 50 percent of those tax dollars for a 20-year period to help the developer get the project off the ground.  East Penn approved the TIF last May.

In real terms, this would have meant that during those 20 years about $7 million in tax dollars would have been diverted to the developer to cover costs. On the flip side, East Penn would have taken in about $600,000 per year and the county about $135,000 per year on a property currently owned by the Diocese of Allentown that generates very little tax revenue. 

Moyer Hall at Muhlenberg College is located near the Haas College Center, the College's main administration building. The address is 2400 Chew Street, Allentown.