New Jersey Scuba Diving

Dutch Springs has new owners and a new name. The aqua park is gone, but here’s when divers might return to popular quarry

By Anthony Salamone
The Morning Call
Lehigh Valley News
Jul 27, 2022

Nearly a year after news leaked about its potential sale for warehousing, the Dutch Springs quarry has new owners and a new name.

Former Northampton County Council member Kenneth Kraft and Jim Folk have bought the water-filled quarry from Trammell Crow Co., which acquired most of the land off Hanoverville Road in Northampton County to develop two warehouses. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Kraft and Folk - who owns the Atlantis Aquatics dive shop in Bethlehem Township - plan to resume scuba diving in April at the quarry under the name Lake Hydra. The former Dutch Springs aqua park will not reopen, Kraft said Tuesday.

Warehouses will still be erected on either side of the quarry.

Kraft said initial plans will be to open it for scuba diving training by reservation, with the fee to be determined. They hope to provide free entry to first responders for training, he said.

Plans to sell Dutch Springs, confirmed in August by former owner Stuart Schooley to The Morning Call, had put into question the future of the well-known diving site, and the community it drew from throughout the area and beyond to its 100-foot-deep quarry. Because Dutch Springs is a relatively short drive from New York City, Philadelphia and elsewhere, it became a magnet for seasoned divers and amateurs seeking scuba certification.

Kraft, who like Folk is an active diver, said the pair approached Matt Nunn of Trammell Crow before the deal with Dutch Springs became public. They presented an offer to buy the quarry.

As part of the agreement between Trammell Crow and Dutch Springs, the third part of the subdivision, the 57.1 acres where the quarry lake is located, will remain open for diving.

"They [Trammell Crow] saw how important it was for the first responders," Kraft said. "There is no other place like it because of the clear water and its size."

Trammell plans to erect two warehouses totaling nearly 600,000 square feet on either side of the quarry, adding to others that have risen in the area in recent years.

Meanwhile, Trammell recently closed on the purchase of the land - which straddles Lower Nazareth and Bethlehem townships, not far from Route 22 - from Recreational Concepts Development Corp. The sale price of 95.5 acres and quarry: $16.1 million, according to Northampton County property records.

Recreational Concepts is led by Schooley, who was involved in the diving venture since Dutch Springs opened more than 40 years ago. He and his wife, Jane Wells-Schooley, later became sole owners. A posting on its website and a telephone message at Dutch Springs’ number says refunds are available through Sunday on season passes, gift cards and more.

Kraft resigned as council president in 2018 to become Northampton County corrections public safety administrator. Northampton County Executive Lamont McClure said Kraft's business role should not pose a conflict of interest with his county position.

Morning Call journalist Anthony Salamone can be reached at asalamone@mcall.com.

https://www.mcall.com/news/local/mc-nws-dutch-springs-deal-20220727-l3jvsq5v7jf37is35paep4crum-story.html