A new 5-story, 78,500 square-foot arts and cultural venue in South Bethlehem received a boost this week in the form of a multi-modal transportation fund grant to improve pedestrian safety around the building.
An architectural rendering depicts what the new ArtsQuest Cultural Center on W. Third Street in South Bethlehem will look like once completed. ArtsQuest has received a multi-modal transportation grant to make pedestrian safety enhancements around the building, which will be located on the site of the current Banana Factory. (Credit: MKSD Architects)
The future ArtsQuest Cultural Center is a planned state-of-the-art educational hub on W. Third Street that will provide new and expanded arts-based programming for all ages, a Communications Pathway partnership with the Bethlehem Area School District, a small theater, venue space for comedic performances and classes, artist studios, gallery space, dedicated entertainment and meeting space, and other amenities.
ArtsQuest said the grant will be used to install and update sidewalks and curb, add ADA accessible ramps, enhance street lighting and create a corner crosswalk outside the building, which will replace the current ArtsQuest building known as the Banana Factory. An ArtsQuest news release noted that “safe and inviting streetscapes may help reduce local automobile traffic by encouraging people to walk to their destinations, thereby improving public health, stimulating local economic activity and attracting residents and visitors to the South Bethlehem community.”
“We are extremely grateful for the overwhelming support we have received from so many–government officials, businesses, donors and others in the public sector,” ArtsQuest President and CEO Kassie Hilgert said in a statement about the grant. “Making sure that all individuals can safely enter and exit the new Cultural Center is an important factor and having safer access will help to draw even more people to our new facility dedicated to the arts and culture. Access to the arts for all is a team effort, especially when it comes to roadways, sidewalks and other infrastructure.”
ArtsQuest officials said the project is expected to create nearly 600 jobs and bring $60 million in construction and programming revenue combined.
Ground is forecast to be broken in April 2025, and the new ArtsQuest Cultural Center is expected to be completed in October 2026.
This local news story was reported with generative AI assistance.
An architectural rendering shows what the ArtsQuest Cultural Center on W. Third Street in Bethlehem will look like. Construction of the five-story building is expected to begin in the spring of 2025 and the building is expected to be completed in the fall of 2026. (Credit: MKSD Architects)
