The Sterling Hotel as it seemed to be in the center of Wilkes-Barre shortly before its demolition in 2013. Plans are still being developed for a new hotel on the site.
Stock Photo
The Luzerne County Council had awarded $2 million in the federal budget of the U. S. rescue package to build a public parking lot on the former site of the Sterling Hotel in downtown Wilkes-Barre earlier this year, $1 million less than had been requested.
Now, the Wilkes-Barre Industrial Development Authority and the developer of a Gateway Hyatt Place hotel and convention center have committed to getting that million dollars of casino gaming funding.
The county’s redevelopment authority is expected to vote Tuesday on whether to submit a million-dollar application for the design and structure of a 150-car, two-story parking garage at the corner of North River and West Market streets.
Local Gaming Account (LSA) budget requests will need to be submitted through certain entities, including redevelopment governments and municipalities. The Commonwealth Financial Authority makes a decision on which programmes are approved.
Stephen Barrouk, speaking on behalf of Gateway Associates, reiterated Monday that the garage is a public-private partnership involving the city’s commercial progression authority and the city’s industry.
In addition to the planned hotel, there is more parking on this domain for several buildings that have been converted into apartments and for occasions at the county-owned River Common Recreation Complex, which runs along the Susquehanna River across from Sterling’s former site, Barrouk. saying. .
“It has a public goal in addition to economic development,” Barrouk said of the parking lot. “When there’s an occasion on River Common, the Sterling Hotel fills up with cars. “
The crowded parking lot on Sterling’s vacant lot will end when a hotel is built there, he said.
Barrouk estimated the surface parking would cost $3. 8 million and said financing options were also being explored.
Due to emerging costs, the design has been scaled down from the original 250-vehicle structure, he said, noting that it will be built to allow for higher-level additions in the future. According to the existing design, the car park will accommodate up to 75 cars on each level.
“We would like to see a 300-space car park there, but for now it is all we can afford,” he said.
Barrouk said the organization was grateful for the county’s $2 million American Rescue award, but needed to find a way to fill the gap.
He is under pressure that American Rescue’s county investment may not be recovered from the county until those involved in the task are confident they have enough cash to complete the parking. The deadline for the final touch of American Rescue’s task is December 2026, officials said.
The county council had capped American Rescue’s outdoor grants at $2 million for municipalities and city officials, preventing approval of the full $3 million application.
Hotel
Barrouk said the hotel will be built, but developers will first have to finalize all the investment and make sure the design fits that budget.
He blamed the delays on the COVID-19 pandemic, chain problems, inflation and interest rates that fell from about 3% to 8%.
“We are working very actively on the hotel project. We are working on a basis,” he said.
Some architectural changes are being made to reduce prices without compromising the hotel’s design, he said, noting that it will be a design that “people will be proud of. “
At the same time, developers are still looking to get more budget to cover prices beyond what they can finance privately, he explained.
It had estimated the total cost of the project, adding up parking, at $40 million earlier this year. To date, the state has committed $7 million in grants to the project, and that investment will go toward the hotel, the parking lot, he said. saying.
“If all goes well and we finalize those numbers and get the state and county numbers, we can be structured next spring,” Barrouk said. “We pushed hard. “
This site is more complicated because much of the debris from the Sterling Hotel demolition was dumped in the hotel’s basement when the design was demolished, and those fabrics will have to be removed and transported for the design of the new hotel, he explained.
It’s also oddly shaped land that requires the structure of a parking lot, hotel projects on giant lots with enough parking area, he said.
There’s also a risk that this downtown hotel won’t rely as heavily on interstate travelers, he said. Barrouk is confident that events and activities similar to downtown schools will help attract tenants.
As the final design is still subject to change, the design of the hotel will be less than 10 stories long and will be aesthetically appealing.
History of the site
The Sterling Hotel, a historic landmark, condemned and demolished in 2013. The public learned in 2011 that CityVest, the nonprofit owner at the time, was on a budget and might not fulfill its project of attracting a developer to renovate the old hotel. in a residential and advertising complex of first level.
CityVest was unable to repay a widely used $6 million county grid progression loan to expand the land, pay a consultant, demolish an adjacent hotel structure and remove hazardous materials. Critics had questioned this approach, saying the budget had been overturned. in repairing the roof and putting it on hold to prevent leaks and save you additional deterioration.
The county has set aside more than $6 million in the network’s progression budget in case the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development digresses the issue. The U. S. Department of Justice, or HUD, met a threat of a fine in 2014 to withhold $6 million in funds.
HUD had decided that Sterling’s old assignment did not deserve to have earned $6 million because it did not create jobs or result in a revitalization allocation.
County officials challenged the decision, arguing that planned progression at the site is expected to create tasks and that HUD regulations do not specify a timeline for task creation.
Efforts are under way to find a solution that would free up the $6 million programming budget.
Tuesday’s redevelopment authority assembly begins at noon at the authority’s workplace at 16 Luzerne Ave. in West Pittston, participation is requested via teleconference as the meeting room is small. Teleconferencing commands are posted on the authority’s website.
Contact Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.