EASTON, Pa. — The old Dixie cup building in Wilson Borough is on track to become a 405-apartment mixed-use complex, developer Skyline Investment Group told a Northampton County Council committee Thursday.
“While largely 'gutted' with basic mechanical systems that are either dysfunctional, removed, and/or antiquated and even though windows are partially unsecured, the building is structurally sound and dry,” a report from the developer reads.
Skyline intends to construct 405 “mid-market” apartments within the shell of the former factory’s main building, said Claudia Robinson, a consultant with the company.
About three quarters will be one-bedroom apartments; the remainder are all two-bedroom units.
The smaller 900-square-foot apartments will run about $1,900 per month, she said; two-bedroom apartments will be roughly $2,800 per month for 1,400 square feet.
The former factory’s boiler house will become a dog-friendly cafe and lounge: “A distinctive social hub in the commercial space, complete with a wet bar catering to dog owners and a unique atmosphere designed for their pets,” as the developer’s copywriters put it in materials submitted to Northampton County Council.
Tenants will also have access to amenities like “a club room with warming kitchen, fourth-floor rooftop lounge with outdoor space, and a well-equipped fitness center,” along with a pool.
Outside, the developers will build new parks and plazas for both residents and the public, including tie-ins to a nearby public bike trail.
The iconic giant cup atop the building will be removed from the roof and placed in one of the parks below. In its place will rise a lighter, more durable fiberglass copy.
“Our target market for this is really what you would consider middle-market. What we're looking for is providing brand new housing for professionals, young married couples, empty nesters,” Robinson said. “It's not a family development.”
After talks with the Wilson Area School District, she said, the developers decided they would avoid a potentially burdensome influx of new students by attracting tenants without children.
In all, the redevelopment project will cost roughly $155 million, Robinson said.
Skyline hopes to finance the project in part through a $29 million tax increment financing bond, which effectively allows the company to effectively borrow property tax money they will eventually pay on their new project.
For the next 20 years or so, local governments would only receive taxes on the property’s pre-construction value.
Taxes assessed on the value of the new improvement are used to pay down the $29 million loan. Once it is paid off, the landowner goes back to paying their full property tax bill to local governments.
“I really believe it is happening this time. I've gone through about four or five developers as possible builders and buyers."Wilson Borough Solicitor Stan Margle
County Council will vote next month on whether to approve the financing program.
The company hopes to break ground in August, and open the first set of apartments to tenants in January of 2026. Skyline expects to finish the final phase by May 2026.
In the meantime, workers have begun the process of cleaning up contamination from the building’s factory days. The developer has also applied to place the building on the National Register of Historic Places.
Skyline is not the first developer to tackle the Dixie cup site, but local officials are optimistic they will be the first to succeed.
“I really believe it is happening this time. I've gone through about four or five developers as possible builders and buyers [for the project],” said Wilson Borough Solicitor Stan Margle. “Their plans are going to come to fruition, I'm confident. And it's going to be a real beautiful thing for the community.”
“We are a lot further along than everybody else who has pitched something on this site,” Robinson said. “We've also spent a whole lot more money than everybody else" — roughly $7 million by the end of June.
