Businesses back downtown Allentown public art project

City Center Development Corp. and Fastsigns have helped bring a bit of beauty to Allentown’s downtown.

They supported a project by Allentown Mural Arts, a community organization dedicated to creating public art in the city, to place art on the city’s downtown electric boxes.

The nonprofit is run by Jane Heft, vice president of product design for City Center Group.

The organization partnered with the Cedar Crest College Art Dept and art therapy students to create wraps, made by Fastsigns, featuring student art.

The project’s initial seven wraps appear on utility boxes along Hamilton Street between 8th to 12th streets. They are expected to remain up for the rest of the summer.

Heft said she was proud that her company backed the proposal.

“I think City Center is a different kind of developer. J.B. Reilly and the team believe as much in the spaces in between the buildings as much as the buildings themselves,” Heft said.

She said by creating a more attractive environment downtown with public art, it creates a better experience for those working and living there and makes the downtown more attractive to businesses and visitors.

The organization worked with the city to create a new city-owned property easement to make the project possible.

The creation of the easement will help the nonprofit bring even more art to city owned spaces and will allow it to apply for adding art to such spaces as crosswalks and more.

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