Photo courtesy of Lehigh Financial Group.
Lehigh Financial Group Helps Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Organization Purchase New Community Center
Allentown Building To Offer Cultural, Health, Educational Services
Allentown, Pa. – A year after announcing their vision, the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center finally has a building to call its own, thanks to a mortgage acquired through the assistance of the team at Lehigh Financial Group .
Once open, the 13,000-square-foot building at 522 W. Maple Street (photo attached) right off of W. Hamilton Street in Allentown, the Lehigh Valley’s first LGBT community center in downtown Allentown will provide direct services to members of the LGBT community, including cultural, educational and health promotion programs.
Lehigh Financial’s Jeff Barber and Lewis Edwards helped arrange the financing through People’s First Federal Credit Union for the organization. Closing on the purchase was Sept. 28.
“Non-profit financing is among the hardest to get done, nationally, so when you can get financing for an organization like this, it really speaks to the strength of that organization,” Barber said. “People’s First did something not many lenders do for non-profits, but the Bradbury Sullivan LGBT Community Center is a very thorough organization. They have very strong management and organization.”
The organization was created in 2014 out of a restructuring of Pennsylvania Diversity Network, which was formed in 2004 by Allentown residents and LGBT community leaders, Liz Bradbury and Patricia Sullivan.
The 2010 U.S. Census confirms that the vibrant LGBT community in the Lehigh Valley is growing at inspirational rates, reporting that, over a ten-year period, Allentown saw a 55 percent increase in same-sex couples residing in the city, Bethlehem saw a 79 percent increase and Easton by 26 percent.
“The growing LGBT community brings with it a greater need for community resources, infrastructure and direct services,” said Community Center Executive Director Adrian Shanker. “Jeff and Lewis understood our needs and they were a tremendous help to us as we navigated through the financing process to acquire the building that really suits our needs.”
This community center, once open, provides the organization with a physical space to support those needs, Shanker added.
“It allows us to respond to the tremendous need in our community by providing a variety of important programs and services for our community” he said.
Lehigh Financial Group, LLC is a leading source of innovative real estate capital solutions and financing options for commercial customers. The company, based in Allentown, serves the Lehigh Valley region by providing capital for businesses and investors locally, regionally and nationwide. For more information on how Lehigh Financial Group LLC can help your business, please see our website at http://www.lehighfinancialgroup.com.
