{"id":6918,"date":"2025-10-18T09:24:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-18T09:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/6918\/"},"modified":"2025-10-18T09:24:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-18T09:24:07","slug":"artsquest-marks-milestone-for-new-creative-factory-with-beam-signing-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/6918\/","title":{"rendered":"ArtsQuest marks milestone for new Creative Factory with beam signing ceremony"},"content":{"rendered":"

BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 ArtsQuest celebrated a step forward Thursday in the construction of its $32 million Creative Factory powered by PPL \u2014 a new arts, education and community hub rising in Bethlehem\u2019s South Side Arts District.<\/p>\n

Local officials, business leaders and community members gathered at the future site, 25 W. Third St., for a beam-signing ceremony marking the latest milestone in the project\u2019s development.<\/p>\n

\"artsquestArtsQuest staff pose in front of the freshly signed beam Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 (Jai Smith\/Lehigh Daily)<\/p>\n

The Creative Factory, which broke ground in June, is part of ArtsQuest\u2019s ongoing effort to expand access to the arts and creative programming across the Lehigh Valley. The 80,000-square-foot facility will feature classrooms, studios and collaborative spaces dedicated to visual arts, performance and community innovation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a great opportunity to celebrate all the different groups that have contributed to make this project possible,\u201d said Curt Mosel, ArtsQuest\u2019s chief operating officer. \u201cWe\u2019ve talked about it for years, and moments like today are fantastic for our staff to take in and celebrate with everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mosel said the project will introduce entirely new creative spaces to ArtsQuest, including a maker space where visitors can work with wood, metal and other materials, as well as a comedy club to complement the organization\u2019s existing performance and visual arts programming.<\/p>\n

\u201cArtists are all makers,\u201d Mosel said. \u201cWhether it\u2019s a hobbyist, a retiree or someone doing it for fun or professionally, this space will let people create in new ways \u2014 and bring different energies together.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"stateState Sen. Lisa Boscola speaks to the crowd on the grounds of the future Creative Factory in Bethlehem, Pa., Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025 (Jai Smith\/Lehigh Daily)<\/p>\n

Among those in attendance Thursday were state Sen. Lisa Boscola, Bethlehem Director of Economic and Community Development Laura Collins, PPL Foundation president Lissette Santana and ArtsQuest president and CEO Kassie Hilgert.<\/p>\n

Hilgert called the day \u201chumbling\u201d and said it reflects the community\u2019s shared vision for Bethlehem\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt honors who we were, and it looks forward to who we\u2019re going to be,\u201d Hilgert said. \u201cThat\u2019s what\u2019s so important about these projects \u2014 the public and private sectors buying into a vision together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boscola, who grew up on Bethlehem\u2019s South Side and helped secure nearly $9 million in state funding for the project, said the project represents both a continuation of the city\u2019s transformation and a tribute to its steelmaking heritage.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo see the revitalization of this whole South Side means so much to our community and to the legacies of all the steelworkers,\u201d Boscola said. \u201cThis is what happens when you have public officials, the private sector and the community all coming together to make something beautiful and monumental happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

Construction crews are currently several weeks ahead of schedule, according to project leaders, with an anticipated opening in late 2026.<\/p>\n

Aaron Gasparetti, speaking on behalf of U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie\u2019s office, said the congressman\u2019s team supports the initiative and views it as a model for community-driven revitalization.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think it\u2019s a wonderful hub for expansion, creativity and influence throughout the district,\u201d Gasparetti said. \u201cBethlehem and the Lehigh Valley are catalysts not only for our region but for the nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

When completed, the ArtsQuest Creative Factory is expected to serve as a year-round center for arts education, workforce development and cultural engagement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BETHLEHEM, Pa. \u2014 ArtsQuest celebrated a step forward Thursday in the construction of its $32 million Creative Factory…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6919,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154],"class_list":["post-6918","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\/6918","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=6918"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6918\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6918"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6918"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6918"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}