A factory building that has been part of the urban landscape in Hellertown for nearly a century will soon be gone. The Champion spark plug factory at 1770 Main Street is being demolished to make way for a medical office building and microhospital that will be part of Lehigh Valley Health Network. Above, workers wearing protective suits remove window glass along the Main Street side of the building on Friday, March 29, 2024.
The demolition of a Hellertown landmark has begun, in preparation for the property’s redevelopment following its recent sale for $2,750,000.
A large oil tank was removed from the Champion property on Thursday. (Contributed photo)
The 94-year-old Champion Spark Plug factory at 1770 Main Street is being torn down to make way for a medical office building and microhospital that will be part of Lehigh Valley Health Network.
On Friday, crews could be seen working along the front side of the massive building, with workers removing glass block that filled some of the window openings facing Main Street.
The removal of the building’s windows provided glimpses of what the massive structure’s interior had deteriorated to look like.
Champion stopped manufacturing spark plugs at the Hellertown plant in 1982, and the site was susbequently added to the federal government’s Superfund program due to environmental contamination that had occurred during prior decades.
The 7.35 acre property underwent remediation from the late 1980s until 2020. It was then declared remediated, but is still subject to monitoring by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Plans for the medical building were first revealed last summer and received support from borough officials, many of whom view the location as a critical northern gateway to the community.
The demolition of the spark plug factory is also a sign of the times in Hellertown, where development is having a marked effect on the landscape, particularly in the borough’s north end.
Adjacent to the Champion site, a 24-hour Sheetz gas station and convenience store has been proposed at the corner of Kichline Avenue and Main Street, opposite the eastbound ramps to I-78, and at the other end of Kichline a developer has proposed an apartment complex that was recently discussed by the Hellertown Planning Commission.
Part of the adjacent Star Pre-owned building is visible through a window opening in the Champion Spark plug factory that is currently being torn down.
