The Downtown Allentown alliance, which was formed in 2025, to enhance the downtown experience, has received a significant\u00a0boost to its funding.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The DAA has secured $675,000 annually for six years through Pennsylvania\u2019s Neighborhood Assistance Tax Credit Program (NAP), providing sustained support for initiatives designed to bring more people downtown, expand opportunities for local entrepreneurs, improve the visitor experience and strengthen the district\u2019s small businesses.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The funds\u00a0will support public markets, small business growth, expanded ambassador services and coordinated downtown marketing\u00a0and\u00a0will help DAA turn its long-term revitalization strategy into visible, community-centered programming.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Among its efforts will be the first-ever Downtown Allentown Marketplace on Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at DLP Plaza, 835 W. Hamilton St. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The marketplace, hosted along with the Allentown Chamber of Commerce, will bring together local artists, makers, creatives, food and performances, creating an opportunity for residents and visitors to discover local talent and experience downtown in a new way.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cDowntown revitalization is about creating a place where people want to spend time, where small businesses have opportunities to grow and where residents feel welcome and connected to their community,\u201d said Lisa Finkelstein, executive director of the DAA. \u201cThis commitment gives us an important foundation to build on that vision over the next six years. We\u2019re grateful to the corporate partners who are investing in the downtown\u2019s future and to Senator Nick Miller for his leadership in securing the NAP funding that makes this partnership possible.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Corporate partners behind the funding include Capital Blue Cross, City Center Group, Coterra Energy Inc., ESSA Bank & Trust, Fulton Bank, Peoples Security Bank and Trust Company, Phantoms Hockey LLC, PPL Corporation and Univest Bank and Trust Co. This program is an example of a highly effective public-private partnership reflective of the DAA mission. Their support will help DAA coordinate programming, public-space improvements, business engagement and marketing across the downtown core. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
The Nov. 14 marketplace is part of a broader activation strategy that will build toward recurring downtown markets and programming. \u00a0\n<\/p>\n
DAA also plans to advance coordinated downtown marketing in the spring, helping businesses reach broader audiences and encouraging residents and visitors to make downtown a regular destination.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cEvents like this marketplace do more than bring people downtown\u2014they help celebrate and strengthen the unique identity of Downtown Allentown,\u201d said Kyle Edwards, vice chair of the DAA. \u201cArts, culture and entertainment are essential to a vibrant downtown, creating opportunities for local artists and businesses and strengthening our local economy. By creating consistent opportunities for people to discover, connect with and participate in downtown life, we can build a stronger sense of community. That means working alongside residents, neighborhood organizations, artists and businesses to build on what already makes Allentown special and shape its future together.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Downtown Allentown alliance, which was formed in 2025, to enhance the downtown experience, has received a significant\u00a0boost…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322638,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,124378,21762,130800,130801,130802,559,110452,130803],"class_list":["post-322637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-allentown","tag-allentown","tag-allentown-headlines","tag-allentown-news","tag-capital-blue-cross","tag-downtown-allentown-alliance","tag-downtown-allentown-marketplace","tag-downtown-marketing","tag-fulton-bank","tag-ppl-corporation","tag-public-markets","tag-small-business-growth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322637","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=322637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322637\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322638"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}