Eight-figure grant to support Allentown’s Da Vinci Science Center

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — One of downtown Allentown’s newest attractions is set to get a huge gift just in time for the holidays.

The Da Vinci Science Center soon will bank $12 million from the state Office of the Budget after Allentown City Council approved the pass-through grant last week.

City officials applied for and accepted the eight-figure grant on behalf of the state-of-the-art museum, which officials said cost about $75 million.

The Da Vinci Science Center is “another huge puzzle piece” for downtown’s long-term success.

Santo Napoli, Allentown City Council vice president

The Da Vinci Science Center got about $20 million from bonds issued by the Allentown Neighborhood Improvement Zone Development Authority, which oversees an incentive-laden downtown taxing district.

The project also got 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 sit in the city’s coffers for a short period, comes from the state’s Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

RACP supports the design, acquisition and construction of economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historic improvement projects.

PPL is the building’s “title sponsor,” while Olympus and Lehigh Valley Health Network are exhibit sponsors. It’s unclear how much the companies contributed.

‘Huge puzzle piece’ for downtown

Then-Gov. Tom Wolf championed the role state funding would play in development of the Da Vinci Science Center when he joined a slew of officials in April 2022 for a groundbreaking ceremony in downtown Allentown.

The 67,000-square-foot facility is spearheading the latest wave of downtown development after opening its doors in May.

“Another huge puzzle piece” for downtown’s long-term success.

City Council Vice President Santo Napoli

It’s projected to welcome more than 400,000 people each year, while officials have said the Moxy hotel and Archer Music Hall — due to soon open just blocks away — will bring about 300,000.

The number of projected new visitors to those three projects is roughly the combined population of Lehigh and Northampton counties.

That influx could restore some of the “momentum” downtown Allentown was enjoying 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 downtown’s long-term success.

Napoli and his colleagues on council passed a resolution Dec. 18 to accept the $12 million grant after they eliminated a 14-day waiting period between introducing and voting on legislation.

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