A $250,000 grant will pave the way for engineering design work for the redevelopment of the first building at the 17-acre site of the former Allentown Metal Works on South 10th Street.

Mayor Ed Pawlowski and AEDC Executive Director Scott Unger were on hand this afternoon to receive the ceremonial check from the Lehigh Valley Community Foundation via the BB&T Economic Growth Fund. It was one of a series of grant announcements by the BB&T Economic Growth Fund today totaling nearly $1.5 million.

The new grant will be used along with a $2 million Pennsylvania Business in Our Sites loan to rehab a 42,000-square-foot building at the entrance to the property. According to AEDC, it could be occupied by one to three companies and create as many as 45 jobs.

The Allentown Metal Works site has been vacant since 2008. AEDC purchased it in 2012. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and City of Allentown grant and loan funds of more than $700,000 have been used for environmental cleanup and remediation work.

--30--