ALLENTOWN, Pa. \u2014 A still-forming nonprofit could be \u201cthe missing link\u201d for Center City Allentown to finally reach its potential, according to a councilman and downtown business owner.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have all the pieces,\u201d Councilman Santo Napoli said, talking about the area’s many assets, including the PPL Center and Archer Music Hall, numerous cultural institutions and thousands of parking spaces \u201cwithin three blocks of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
But Napoli said it\u2019s \u201cblatantly obvious\u201d what downtown Allentown is missing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we don\u2019t have is an organization to professionally tie it all together,\u201d Napoli said.<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, he and his colleagues on Allentown City Council\u2019s Community and Economic Development committee \u2014 Cynthia Mota and Daryl Hendricks \u2014 recommended the full body invest $300,000 in a Main Street program led by the Downtown Allentown Alliance.<\/p>\n
\u2018Foundational support\u2019<\/p>\n
Alliance board Chairman Matt Malozi and Vice Chairman Kyle Edwards said they are seeking \u201cfoundational support\u201d from the city and other contributors as they work to establish the nonprofit.<\/p>\n
The new nonprofit is distinct from the regional Chamber of Commerce\u2019s Downtown Allentown Business Alliance, which coordinated a Hamilton District Main Street Program.<\/p>\n
And it will be much better-funded than its \u201cprecursor,\u201d Malozi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting at a much more developed and evolved position in our downtown than [Easton] did.”<\/p>\n
Matt Malozi, chairman of the Downtown Allentown Alliance board<\/p>\n
A $300,000 grant from the city would \u201cunlock\u201d almost $1 million in other funding; the organization then would work to grow its private contributions, he said.<\/p>\n
Downtown Allentown Alliance aims to develop Center City into a thriving attraction \u201cthat would resonate not just locally, but also \u2026 super-regionally\u201d within five years, Malozi said.<\/p>\n
Among its planned first steps is hiring \u201cblock by block ambassadors,\u201d who would be tasked with reporting any issues and offering recommendations and directions.<\/p>\n
That would help spread positive \u201cmessaging\u201d about downtown Allentown, which \u201cwill be very important,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Officials, businesses and advocates worked for decades to raise downtown Easton\u2019s profile to its current status, but Allentown can undergo the same transformation much quicker, Malozi told the committee Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re starting at a much more developed and evolved position in our downtown than they did,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
‘Economic engine’<\/p>\n
Mark Hartney, the city deputy director of community and economic development, said he has \u201clonged to see\u201d an organization such as like the alliance launch in Allentown after getting an \u201cup-close look\u201d at how a public-private partnership transformed downtown Easton.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why [city officials] focus on these areas \u2014 because it\u2019s such an economic engine to the rest of the city.”<\/p>\n
Mark Hartney, deputy director of community and economic development<\/p>\n
Hartney served on the Greater Easton Development Partnership board for about five years.<\/p>\n
\u201cSeeing Allentown really start mobilizing and building that coalition-of-the-willing to create a welcoming downtown for residents, for our visitors, it’s very exciting to me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Downtown Allentown Alliance\u2019s designated area will cover less than 2% of the city.<\/p>\n
But that zone includes about a sixth of all businesses and employees and generates significant portions of the city\u2019s tax revenues.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why [city officials] focus on these areas \u2014 because it\u2019s such an economic engine to the rest of the city,\u201d Hartney said.<\/p>\n
‘Empty vessel’<\/p>\n