"It's an enormous undertaking," Fischbein tells GlobeSt.com, "and we're in the process of choosing architects and planners for a development that will include retail, restaurants, office, probably residential and maybe a hotel. The opportunities in Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley are already fabulous," he says, "but, to have this huge former industrial site, which was totally cleaned up 15 years ago, and is located in the center of Bethlehem, is particularly exciting."

He disputes published reports that the cost of acquiring the land was $4 million, but says an earlier estimate of $450 million for development of the land "is probably low. I think the cost will exceed that figure. The land acquisition was so complicated," he adds, "I'll tell you the cost in about a month, once we sort it all out."

Bethlehem Steel first initiated a mixed-use development proposal for the site in 1997. Following that company's bankruptcy, ISG acquired Bethlehem's assets in May 2003. BethWorks Now has been vying for this acquisition ever since. There are several historic buildings on the land, including Civil War-era blast furnaces. BethWorks Now "will certainly utilize some, or parts of, the historic buildings on the site," Fischbein says. "Retaining a measure of Bethlehem Steel's historic meaning to not only Bethlehem, but also to the whole country," he says, "is something we want to do. Before there was Microsoft, there was Bethlehem Steel."

Bethlehem Steel's original plan "is not an economically viable real estate plan, but it had some interesting intentions," Fischbein says. "It looks great, but would lose a ton of money. Parts of it may be incorporated into the development, but the architects and professionals have to do their work first. The planning and design stages are critical, so I can't really tell you how long it will be before we break ground. Depending on the master plan the architects come up with, however, we could put some buildings online rather quickly." He cites the 550,000-sf former Bethlehem headquarters building in particular as a possible candidate for early redevelopment.