EASTON, Pa. — ArtsQuest is preparing to move ahead with environmental cleanup, mostly funded through a Northampton County grant, of a former Bethlehem Steel building it is turning into event space.
The arts and cultural nonprofit has worked for years to renovate the 26,000-square-foot, 150-year-old Turn and Grind Shop just northwest of the Bethlehem Visitor Center beside the SteelStacks blast furnaces.
“If I could open the building tomorrow, I've got 230 days of programming” ready to fill it. This is just a matter of when, not if, we're going to be able to fill this up.”
ArtsQuest President Kassie Hilgert
For decades, Bethlehem Steel used the brick structure to finish newly smelted steel bars to improve their appearance and mechanical properties.
Sands Casino donated the building in 2009; Arts Quest has mostly used it for storage.
It also will become a side venue for ArtsQuest’s Oktoberfest and Christkindlmarkt festivals. During Musikfest, it will house dressing rooms for mainstage acts.
“If I could open the building tomorrow, I've got 230 days of programming” ready to fill it, said ArtsQuest President Kassie Hilgert.
$500,000 infusion of funds
But before ArtsQuest can realize that vision, workers will need to remove asbestos, lead paint and other contaminants.
Cleanup will cost about $600,000, according to estimates.
“The main issue we do have is asbestos,” said Greg Firely, a consultant with AMO Environmental Decisions.
ArtsQuest did not budget for an environmental cleanup at the start of the project. To help cover the cost, ArtsQuest will get $500,000 from Northampton County’s share of EPA brownfield revolving loan funding.
Firms working on the project are on pace to wrap up enough design work by August to begin the process of choosing construction contractors, officials said.
If all goes well, workers will start environmental remediation in January 2026. Once any contaminants are removed, construction can begin.
The finished Turn and Grind Shop is currently set to open in mid-2027.