Seventh Street in the News

Here's Peter Lewnes, quoted in a Morning Call article from January 3rd:

Peter Lewnes, manager of Allentown's Seventh Street Development Committee, attributes Emmaus' success in part to its attractive storefronts and low vacancy rate -- the more occupied shops a town has, the more other business owners are apt to move in.... "We went from a 40 percent vacancy rate [on Seventh Street] to about 100 percent occupied,'' Lewnes said. ''In this economy there has been a lot of forward movement.'' He said there has been a push for years to create a similar program along the Hamilton Street corridor, but funding for that has not been available.

And today, from Michael Molovinsky's blog:

Peter Lewnes has been doing an excellent job of filling in the gaps on 7th Street, and applying facade grants in a seemingly appropriate way. On Saturdays one is hard pressed to find a parking space. I believe that his enthusiasm, and a growing community's ambition, has finally awakened 7th Street from a long sleep.