By Anthony Salamone | asalamone@mcall.com | The Morning Call
The owner of the Dixie Cup plant in Wilson, who is spending millions of dollars to renovate the former factory into apartments, has acquired a neighboring building that was once an LA Fitness.
Northampton County property records list the buyer as Wilson Newlife District LLC, with the same New York City address as Skyline Investment Group, which Dixie Cup plant owner Brian Bartee founded. Bartee confirmed Tuesday that he bought the former LA Fitness property.
Northampton County records show he paid $6 million for nearly 3 acres at 340 S. 25th St. The Dixie Cup property sits on South 24th Street but extends to near 25th Street and overshadows the smaller gym.
The blog Lehigh Valley News Brief reported the transaction Tuesday.
Bartee declined to say what his plans are for the property.
“It will be something beautiful that will address some pressing needs in the Lehigh Valley,” he said. “We want to make all the property around the Dixie building a destination place.”
The LA Fitness, which has been closed for more than a year, was built more than 15 years ago. It replaced a Weis supermarket that was connected to a Kmart.
Bartee is also trying to acquire the former Kmart department store, which closed in 2019. Bartee said he has been unsuccessful in reaching a deal with the Kmart property owner.
The former Kmart is listed “at a price that is not consistent with the market,” Wilson solicitor Stan Margle said.
As for Bartee’s acquisition of LA Fitness, Margle said it demonstrates Bartee’s commitment to the area, especially the borough. “And we look forward to the project that he is going to propose.”
Bartee acquired the Dixie Cup property in June 2024 for $11 million from an ownership group headed by Salisbury Township attorney Joseph Reibman. He has estimated it will cost around $160 million to refurbish the former giant manufacturing facility and turn it into apartments geared toward young professionals and older residents.
Large openings now gape where windows once were in the building. Brian Sargent of general contractor Sargent Enterprises said the openings were due to asbestos being removed from the building along with deterioration of windows and walls. The plant has gone largely unused since the early 1980s.
Plans in the near term also call for demolishing a fourth-floor office penthouse, he said. Part of the fourth floor was damaged in March by fire.