CITY CENTER INVESTMENT CORP. COMMISSIONS MURAL FOR 520 LOFTS STAIRWELL, VISIBLE FROM HAMILTON STREET

City Center Investment Corp., the real estate development company revitalizing downtown Allentown, Pennsylvania, announced today it has commissioned a seven-story mural inside a glass-enclosed stairwell in 520 Lofts, its 68-unit apartment building at 520 Hamilton Street that will open this fall. Community members from three organizations and residents of 520 Lofts will join muralist Matt Halm in painting the piece.

Halm will begin painting the 19-by-89-foot mural, which will be visible to the public from Hamilton Street, in mid-September. Participants from City Center community partners Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center, Central Elementary School and The Baum School of Art, as well as residents of 520 Lofts, will help create the piece during sessions beginning in late September. The 1,691-square-foot mural will take around two months to complete. 

According to City Center Vice President of Project Design and Corporate Branding Jane Heft, the mural will be in the style of a graphic poster or art collage with themes that include Allentown’s history and relevant artful symbolism. Halm’s concept for this unique project will incorporate elements of print, poster and pattern art to transform the space into a three-dimensional canvas. 

“City Center is excited to introduce more public art in downtown Allentown, and we’re pleased to offer community members this opportunity to help create a vibrant, permanent piece for our city alongside a renowned muralist,” Heft said. 

Halm is an accomplished muralist and Allentown native. He has worked as a professional artist and teacher for more than a decade, creating dynamic mural work for a wide variety of clients throughout the eastern United States. 

“By engaging citizens and students in the process, I hope to build a connection between the art, the community and the innovative space at 520 Hamilton,” Halm said. 

City Center’s fourth residential building in downtown Allentown, 520 Lofts, will include studio and one- and two-bedroom units. Each top-floor unit will include loft space. The 95,000-square-foot pet-friendly building will include a community lounge, rooftop social deck, a fitness center, bicycle storage and a pedestrian bridge connecting to the adjacent Community Parking Deck. The first floor will be composed of office space along with three artist work spaces at the rear of the building with garage doors that open on to Maple Street across from the Bradbury-Sullivan Center. 

The building’s design pays homage to historic Allentown with a sloped mansard-style roof, similar to the one on the former Hotel Allen, which sat at Seventh and Hamilton streets. 520 Lofts’ floor plans, which range in size from 511 to 1,216 square feet, are named after Allentown’s parks, including The Alton, The Jordan and The Trexler, among others.

For more information, contact the 520 Lofts team at 610-841-2489 or Live@520Lofts.com, or visit www.520Lofts.com. Follow the project on Facebook and Instagram at @520Lofts! #LiveCreatively520.