Cooperative making an impact in Allentown neighborhood

things.”

Ashley Corts also attributes the success of her Allentown-based business, Black Forge Coffee House, to the assistance she received from Work Hard and the Hilltop Alliance, a community revitalization nonprofit based in Allentown.

She and business partner Nick Miller chose to locate in Allentown partly because from Sept. 15 to Sept. 17, Work Hard will host a hackathon to build computer programs for local nonprofits. Give Camp participants will showcase their work product at a community celebration in Allentown’s Grandview Park on Sept. 22, also organizedby Work Hard.

Dubbed Hilltopolis, the celebration will feature performances by the local hiphop band PK Delay as well as The Cool Kids, a hip-hop band from Chicago. Allentown’s largest real estate company, RE 360, will host an after-party at the Industry Street warehouse where its offices are located.

Hilltopolis follows a series of collaborations between Work Hard and RE 360, which will soon sell 7,000 to 9,000 square feet in its warehouse to the cooperative. Work Hard decided to purchase the space, along with the former hardware store it also rents from RE 360, after receiving a $250,000 grant from the county’s Community Infrastructure and Tourism Fund through a nonprofit fiscal sponsor, New SunRising.

The transaction will increase Work Hard’s financial security by shielding it from future rent increases. The co-op might also rent commercial space to new businesses or turn some property into low-cost housing for its members. For RE 360 CEO Joe Calloway, the sale promises to strengthen Work Hard’s place in Allentown, which he believes will help to stabilize both the surrounding community and real estate market.

“Before Josh Lucas came up here, there was nothing,” Mr. Calloway, a native of the adjacent hilltop neighborhood of Knoxville, said. “Josh Lucas was kind of the first bold move to make an impact here.”