Lehigh Valley projects receive funding from Pa. Broadband Authority

Four Lehigh Valley projects are among the 49 receiving grant funding from the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority, Executive Director Brandon Carson ? announced Thursday.

Berks, Lehigh, and Montgomery are among the 26 counties to receive funding from the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority (PBDA), which approved a total of $45 million in funding to ensure Pennsylvanians can access reliable, high-speed internet in public facilities such as schools, local libraries, and community health centers.?

“Investing in public facilities improvements is an essential step in ensuring Pennsylvanians have access to reliable, high-speed internet across the commonwealth,” Carson said in a statement. “Public places like our libraries, health centers, and non-profit organizations are the fabric of our communities and this funding will help them better serve Pennsylvanians.”?

The Connections Work Expansion project in Reading received $722,852, which equals the total cost of the project. In Lehigh County, ASD Family and Community Engagement & Welcome Center in the Allentown School District received $522,205 towards a total project cost of $9,690,000. Also in Lehigh County, the Multi-Purpose Community Facilities program by the Casa Guadalupe Center in Allentown received $500,120 towards the $1,139,378 cost of the project.

In Montgomery County, the UDPL Multi-Purpose Community Facility in Upper Dublin Township received $500,000 towards the project cost of $2,385,000.

The Multi-Purpose Community Facilities program was established by the PBDA, which used a portion of the $279 million in Capital Projects Funds awarded to Pennsylvania under the American Rescue Plan Act in June 2022.?

“Pennsylvania is leading the way when it comes to driving out these federal dollars to ensure more people have access to the internet,” Gov. Josh Shapiro said. “By expanding access to affordable, high-speed internet to every Pennsylvanian, we can create real opportunities for our students, our businesses, and our communities to learn, grow, and thrive.?

“Thanks to this historic investment from the federal government, my Administration has the resources to work with our community partners across the commonwealth to bring reliable internet at high speeds and for affordable prices to every corner and every community in Pennsylvania and we’ll continue to do that work effectively and efficiently,” added Shapiro.?

Schools, libraries, recreation centers, community health centers, non-profit organizations, municipalities, and local government institutions are all eligible applicants. According to a release, the program requires that projects involve construction or improvements to full-service community buildings, structures, and public spaces that directly enable work, education, and health monitoring. The physical structure must also be available year-round to the public.

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