ArtsQuest celebrated a major milestone in its \u201cRe-Imagine That! Capital Campaign\u201d with a ceremonial brick breaking May 21 for the Lehigh Valley Health Network (LVHN), part of Jefferson Health, Turn & Grind Shop at the ArtsQuest Campus at SteelStacks.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis building tells a powerful story,\u201d said Kassie Hilgert, President & CEO of ArtsQuest. \u201cThe Turn & Grind Shop once helped build the machinery that powered our nation. Today, we\u2019re honoring that legacy by transforming it into a flexible, multi-use space that will bring people together for exhibits, festivals, events and shared experiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom Musikfest and Christkindlmarkt to new programming and corporate gatherings, this facility will play a critical role in how we continue to grow SteelStacks as a destination for arts, culture and community,\u201d Hilgert said.<\/p>\n
The event brought together state and local officials, sponsors, donors and community partners to mark the next phase of construction for the historic Bethlehem Steel facility, once a critical part of the United States\u2019 industrial and military production, into a multi-use arts and cultural venue.<\/p>\n
The ceremony included remarks from Pennsylvania Secretary of Revenue Patrick Browne; State Sen. Lisa Boscola; Northampton County Executive Tara Zrinski; City of Bethlehem Director of Community and Economic Development Laura Collins; Dr. Joseph Cacchione, CEO of Jefferson Health; ArtsQuest President & CEO Kassie Hilgert; Sean Boyle, President of Boyle Construction, and Gregg Feinberg, co-chair of the \u201cRe-Imagine That! Capital Campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n
ArtsQuest Chief Operating Officer Curt Mosel opened and closed the program.<\/p>\n
The brick breaking, which allowed guests to gather at a designated spot inside the building to tap bricks with ceremonial mini sledgehammers, served as a symbolic nod to its industrial past and its future.<\/p>\n
Revitalizing 155-year-old building<\/p>\n
Originally part of Bethlehem Steel\u2019s No. 2 Machine Shop operations, the 26,000-square-foot Turn & Grind Shop played a vital role in shaping and finishing massive steel components to exact specifications.<\/p>\n
During World War II, Bethlehem Steel supplied approximately 80% of the U.S. Navy\u2019s armor plate and heavy guns, with facilities like the Turn & Grind contributing to the precision machining that powered more than 1,000 naval vessels.<\/p>\n
The space is being reimagined, transforming from a site of industrial production into a dynamic, multi-purpose venue that will support arts programming, large-scale festivals, private events and corporate functions throughout the year.<\/p>\n
The LVHN, part of Jefferson Health Turn & Grind Shop will provide expansion for Musikfest, Christkindlmarkt and Oktoberfest and creating new opportunities for community engagement and regional tourism.<\/p>\n
Advancing \u201cRe-Imagine That! Capital Campaign\u201d<\/p>\n
The Turn & Grind Shop is a cornerstone project of ArtsQuest\u2019s \u201cRe-Imagine That! Capital Campaign,\u201d which includes the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL. Together, these projects represent more than $80 million in investment in public arts infrastructure by ArtsQuest for Bethlehem\u2019s SouthSide Arts District.<\/p>\n
As SteelStacks continues to evolve as a regional and national destination for arts and culture, the revitalization of the Turn & Grind Shop emphasizes the growing connection between welcoming public spaces, social connection and overall community well-being.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis project reflects what\u2019s possible when healthcare, arts and community come together with a shared vision,\u201d said Dr. Joseph Cacchione, CEO of Jefferson Health. \u201cWe are proud to support the transformation of the Turn & Grind Shop into a space that promotes wellbeing, connection and creativity, all key components of a healthy and thriving community.\u201d<\/p>\n
New chapter in adaptive reuse<\/p>\n
The redevelopment of the Turn & Grind Shop, designed by MKSD Architects and developed by Boyle Construction, builds on ArtsQuest\u2019s nationally-recognized work in adaptive reuse, continuing the transformation of the Bethlehem Steel site into a sustainable arts and cultural campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vision for the Turn & Grind Shop has always been about honoring the building\u2019s legacy while reimagining how the community will experience it moving forward,\u201d said Todd Chambers, Partner at MKSD Architects.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur design approach preserves the industrial authenticity and architectural character that make this structure so significant, while introducing flexible, modern spaces that will allow the building to evolve into a destination for arts, culture, hospitality and community connection,\u201d Chambers said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom an engineering and construction perspective, it\u2019s been an incredibly rewarding and complex undertaking to work within a 155-year-old building while carefully preserving the integrity and character of the original Turn & Grind Shop,\u201d said Sean Boyle, President of Boyle Construction.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs construction progresses, we\u2019re carefully balancing restoration with innovation and adapting the building in a way that honors its legacy while transforming it into a new venue to support the arts and community experiences for generations to come,\u201d Boyle said.<\/p>\n
The \u201cRe-Imagine! That Capital Campaign\u201d is expected to co0nclude in 2027.<\/p>\n
PHOTOS BY LISA BOEHMCeremonial brick-breaking at Turn & Grind Shop at ArtsQuest, SteelStacks, Bethlehem.<\/p>\n
Kassie Hilgert, President & CEO of ArtsQuest.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ArtsQuest celebrated a major milestone in its \u201cRe-Imagine That! Capital Campaign\u201d with a ceremonial brick breaking May 21…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":211650,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-211649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem","tag-bethlehem-headlines","tag-bethlehem-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=211649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/211649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/211650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=211649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=211649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=211649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}