Format
Full
City
Bethlehem
State/Province
PA
Country
USA
Metro Area
Allentown–Bethlehem
Project Type
Special Use
Location Type
Other Central City
Land Uses
Cultural Use
Entertainment
Event Space
Office
Open space
Parking
Performance Space
Playground
Restaurant
Retail
Visitor Center
Keywords
Arts district
Brownfield
Cultural district
Former steel mill
Historic preservation
Industrial redevelopment
Outdoor sculpture
Park
Place making
Redevelopment
Tourism
Site Size
9.5
acres
acres
hectares
Date Started
2009
Date Opened
2011
The SteelStacks Arts and Cultural Campus is a former steel mill site that has been restored, adapted, and transformed into an arts and cultural campus that features preserved blast furnaces and other historic steel mill buildings, an elevated walkway/trestle that offers up-close views of the blast furnaces, a visitor/exhibit center in a historic building, parks and outdoor plazas, an outdoor performing arts pavilion, an office building and production studios for the local public broadcasting station, and a new ArtsQuest Center building devoted to performing arts of all types.
The redevelopment was funded via a variety of sources, including tax increment financing revenues, donations from businesses and philanthropic organizations, and funds and tax credits from federal and state governments. The 9.5-acre development has become a major tourist attraction and a source of pride for the city of Bethlehem, and the steel stacks themselves are iconic structures unlike any others in the United States.
Become a member today to view this case study.
Unlimited access to this robust content is a key benefit of ULI membership. View a “Free Look” case study to see what you are missing, and consider becoming a member to gain unlimited access to ULI Case Studies.
Free Look Learn More about Membership
Format
Full
City
Bethlehem
State/Province
PA
Country
USA
Metro Area
Allentown–Bethlehem
Project Type
Special Use
Location Type
Other Central City
Land Uses
Cultural Use
Entertainment
Event Space
Office
Open space
Parking
Performance Space
Playground
Restaurant
Retail
Visitor Center
Keywords
Arts district
Brownfield
Cultural district
Former steel mill
Historic preservation
Industrial redevelopment
Outdoor sculpture
Park
Place making
Redevelopment
Tourism
Site Size
9.5
acres
acres
hectares
Date Started
2009
Date Opened
2011
Websites
www.steelstacks.org
www.levittsteelstacks.org
www.hoovermason.com
Project address
711 East First Street
Bethlehem, PA 18015
Master developer
Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
www.bethlehem-pa.gov
Building owners/developers
ArtsQuest (ArtsQuest Center)
PBS39 (PBS39 building)
Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority (Visitor Center, Levitt Pavilion, and the Hoover-Mason Trestle)
First Bethlehem Works master planners (1998 plan)
HOK Architects Inc., Studio E
Sandy & Babcock Inc.
The Idea Network
Christopher Degenhardt
Second Bethlehem Works master planner (2005 plan)
KostowGreenwood Architects
SteelStacks master planner and landscape architect (2009 and subsequent plans)
WRT
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
www.wrtdesign.com
Awards
ULI Global Awards for Excellence Winner, 2014
Other Participants
ArtsQuest Center architect
Spillman Farmer Architects
PBS39 building architect
URS Corporation
Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks and plaza architect
WRT
Stock House/Bethlehem Visitor Center architect
USA Architects
Hoover-Mason Trestle architect and landscape architect
WRT
Campus and blast furnace lighting
L’Observatoire International
Turn and Grind Shop/Festival Center architect
Artefact Inc.
Interviewees
John Callahan, mayor of Bethlehem (2004–2013) and director of business development, Florio Perrucci Steinhardt & Fader
Tony Hanna, executive director, Redevelopment Authority of the City of Bethlehem
Jeffrey A. Parks, executive director, ArtsQuest Foundation
Antonio Fiol-Silva, principal, WRT
Joe Klocek, project manager, Boyle Construction
Joe Biondo, principal, Spillman Farmer Architects
Grover Silcox, reporter/producer, PBS39
Staff
Kathleen B. Carey
Executive Vice President and
Chief Content Officer
Dean Schwanke
Senior Vice President,
Case Studies and Publications
Principal Author
James A. Mulligan
Senior Editor/Manuscript Editor
Betsy Van Buskirk
Creative Director
Anne Morgan
Graphic Design
Martin Schell
Manager, Online Communications
Danielle Bilotta
Online Communications
Elizabeth Herrgott, Feast Studios
Videography