The former Champion spark plug factory will be demolished if a proposal to build a medical office building and microhospital on the site receives final approval. Above the I-78 overpass on Rt. 412 in Hellertown can be seen in the background.
Hellertown Borough Council last week agreed to assist the developer who’s proposing to redevelop the former Champion spark plug factory by applying for special funding available from the state.
At its Dec. 4 meeting, council unanimously voted in favor of a resolution supporting the filing of a proposal for Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) funds from the commonwealth’s Office of the budget.
The resolution council passed noted that the current plans call for the demolition of the former factory and construction of a 90,000 square foot medical office building/microhospital in its place.
Once a major employer in the Hellertown area, Champion’s history in the borough began with the construction of the hulking, 100,000 square-foot factory building around 1930.
Champion ended production in Hellertown in 1982, and the site was added to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund list in the late 1980s due to soil and groundwater contamination that occurred due to the disposal of toxic materials in large pools that were located the property.
Cleanup took place over the next three decades, and the site was finally declared remediated in 2020. However, it is still subject to monitoring under current Superfund program requirements.
Located just south of I-78 near the boundary between the borough and the city of Bethlehem, the property is visible to tens of thousands of passing vehicles, and the site has long been regarded by borough leaders as a gateway whose redevelopment is critical to the future of Hellertown.
Plans by Lehigh Valley Health Network for the redevelopment of the property first became public over the summer, and have received support from the borough.
The resolution council approved Dec. 4 noted that the funds–if awarded–will be used for the “the development of the Project with the abatement and demolition of a 100,000 square foot former manufacturing facility and related site improvements.”
It also acknowledged that “the Project is under federal and state supervision for extensive environmental remediation.”
Earlier this week, a member of the public Facebook group Exploring Abandoned (Pennsylvania) uploaded approximately 30 photos of what are identified as images taken inside the Champion building. Among them are photos of an old safe, old telephones, offices, showers and the cavernous interior of the factory, along with a photo of a 1979 memo from the then-plant manager about “proper pan level loads for studs, gaskets and shells.” It was unclear from the post when or how the photos were taken, since the building is private property and access to it is restricted.
The group’s rules note that it does not endorse “trespassing of any kind.”
Vacant for more than four decades, the former Champion spark plug factory could be demolished as part of plans by Lehigh Valley Health Network to build a medical office building and microhospital on the site. Hellertown Borough Council members recently agreed to support an application by the developer to a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania program that provides funding for the redevelopment of blighted industrial properties.
The iconic Champion sign still hangs above the Main Street entrance to the former factory, which is located just south of I-78 in Hellertown.
Although it appears to be of modest size when viewed from Main Street, the former Champion spark plug factory is approximately 100,000 square feet and occupies several acres in the northernmost part of Hellertown borough.
A board covers part of a doorway on the Main Street (Rt. 412) side of the former Champion spark plug factory, which is considered a landmark in the Hellertown area. Built in 1930, the factory closed in 1982 and became a Superfund site in the late 1980s. Declared remediated by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2020, the property is now proposed for redevelopment as a Lehigh Valley Health Network medical office building/hospital.
