“We’re proud to be the naming sponsor for the ArtsQuest Creative Factory helping to energize the next era of community building, arts programming and economic development in Bethlehem,” said PPL Foundation President Lissette Santana at a news conference hosted at the Banana Factory Arts Center Jan. 13.

The now closed arts center at 25 W. Third St., will soon be demolished to make way for an ambitious new facility renamed the ArtsQuest Creative Factory powered by PPL.

ArtsQuest CEO Kassie Hilgert presented interior and exterior renderings of what the new facilities will look like once completed in 2026.

The five-story new building, replacing the existing collection of repurposed retail and commercial buildings, will house a 78,500-square-foot, state-of-the-art visual, performing arts and educational hub to provide new and expanded arts-based programming open to all ages. The partnership with the Bethlehem Area School District will continue.

Among the amenities planned for the new building is an Air Products Artist 3D Makerspace, a 125-seat black box comedy theater with bar, art educator lab, additional artist studios and classrooms including designated sensory spaces, modern gallery spaces, dedicated meeting and hospitality venues and more. Named for a pair of longtime volunteers, the centrally-located Yeoman Family Volunteer Center will provide space for volunteer training and preparation.

Hilgert lauded the new digs for the glass studio, which features a temperature-controlled observation area. “Right now when you enjoy the glass studio, you get to enjoy it at 2,500 degrees or minus 25 degrees,” she quipped.

“All of our visual arts and camps will continue during construction,” said Hilgert. “We are thrilled with all the partners in and around Bethlehem who helped make that happen.”

She expressed gratitude to the public sector, corporate sponsors and individual donors that made the project a possibility.

Also on hand to express enthusiasm for the newly-named arts center were incoming Vice President of the ArtsQuest board of trustees Bob Begliomini from Lehigh Valley Health Network and BASD Superintendent Dr. Jack Silva.

The existing structures are to be razed during the first quarter of 2025, likely in March.

According to Director of Communications Jennifer LoConte, ArtsQuest is partnering with the Bethlehem Area Public Library to create a digital archive of the Banana Factory’s history for the library’s website. The archive will include exhibition catalogs, promotional materials, photographs and more. The tiles from the mosaics on the exterior of the building will be photographed for the archive as they cannot be salvaged safely.

The sculptures, “Homage to Humanity” by Karel Mikolas (the three women) and “Joyful Experience” by Susan Smalls will be temporarily moved to storage pending relocating them elsewhere in Bethlehem.

The back wall of the Mr. Imagination bus shelter is to be salvaged and installed on the property of the new facilities with signage about Mr. Imagination and his work, as well as the bus shelter project.

ArtsQuest is working with their architects to determine which building elements can be saved and reused or donated.

While the art galleries are permanently closed at the West Third Street location, the “Women in Steel” exhibit held at the Alvin H. Butz Gallery, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, continues through Jan. 31.

For information, call 610-332-1300 or visit artsquest.org