ALLENTOWN, Pa. — One of downtown Allentown’s newest attractions is set to receive a huge gift just in time for the holidays.
The Da Vinci Science Center will soon receive $12 million from the State Budget Office after the Allentown City Council approved the transfer grant last week.
City officials applied for and accepted the eight-figure grant on behalf of the state-of-the-art museum, which officials say cost about $75 million.
The Da Vinci Science Center is “another huge piece of the puzzle” for the long-term success of downtown.
Santo Napoli, Vice President of the Allentown City Council
The Da Vinci Science Center received about $20 million in bonds issued by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, which oversees an incentive-laden downtown tax district.
The project also received a $3 million federal grant secured by U.S. Rep. Susan Wild and $1 million from the city’s coronavirus pandemic relief money.
The $12 million grant, which will remain in the city’s coffers for a short time, comes from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Investment Program.
RACP supports the design, acquisition and construction of economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historic improvement projects.
PPL is the “title sponsor” of the building, while Olympus and Lehigh Valley Health Network are the exhibit sponsors. It’s unclear how much businesses contributed.
“A huge puzzle piece” for the city center
Then-Gov. Tom Wolf defended the role that state funding would play in the development of the Da Vinci Science Center when he joined a large number of officials in April 2022 for a groundbreaking ceremony in downtown Allentown.
The 67,000 square foot facility is at the forefront of the latest wave of downtown development after opening its doors in May.
“Another huge puzzle piece” for the long-term success of downtown.
Vice President of the Municipal Council of Santo Napoli
It is expected to accommodate more than 400,000 people each year, officials say. the Moxy hotel And Archer Music Room — which is expected to open soon a few blocks away — will bring about 300,000.
The number of new visitors projected for these three projects roughly matches the combined population of Lehigh and Northampton counties.
The influx could restore some of the “momentum” that downtown Allentown enjoyed just before the pandemic hit, City Council Vice President Santo Napoli said this year.
He called the Da Vinci Science Center “another huge puzzle piece” for the long-term success of downtown.
Napoli and his council colleagues passed a resolution Dec. 18 to accept the $12 million grant after eliminating the 14-day waiting period between introducing and voting on a bill.