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Hazleton City Council to ask court to appoint someone to vacant seat

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Rummage sale at Lehman-Idetown United Methodist Church

<p>The former Hotel Sterling lot and several other prominent Wilkes-Barre sites may lose their tax-exempt Keystone Opportunity Zone designation the end of this year, jeopardizing development plans, officials say.</p><p>The properties are in a final KOZ phase that grants tax exemption through 2024, but only if significant development is underway by the end of 2015, officials say.</p><p>This enhanced development requirement was added by state officials after complaints that some of the properties in initial KOZ phases automatically received breaks but did little or nothing to improve their properties or create jobs, officials say.</p><p>City Economic Development Director Greg Barrouk said the state ultimately decides if the planning and other work completed at these sites over the next three months will meet the state&#8217;s definition of &#8220;significant.&#8221; He and other city officials have been working with the state to determine which sites will remain in the KOZ program.</p><p>Among the other city sites set to lose KOZ designation by the end of this year:</p><p>&#8226; The Hotel Sterling Annex, a four-story structure adjacent to the former hotel lot at the corner of River and Market streets. G2A-B Realty LLC and George Asimakopoulos, the property owners, had planned to renovate the structure for residential units with views of the Susquehanna River if needed parking is secured at the former hotel site.</p><p>The city owns the former hotel lot and is seeking interested private developers.</p><p>&#8226; Multiple connected properties on South Main Street, including the former Frank Clark Jewelers property and several vacant lots next to Place One &#8212; The Hollywood dress shop. Some of the properties are city-owned, and the city has been publicly seeking a private developer, Barrouk said.</p><p>&#8226; The third- to eleventh floors of the PNC Bank Building at the corner of West Market and Franklin streets, Wilkes-Barre, which had been planned for condominiums. The property is owned by Philadelphia-based LRD Franklin Associates LP.</p><p>&#8226; The former First National Bank building, Public Square, which was purchased by the city for $225,000 in 2005. The city completed roof repairs and other stabilization and is wrapping up roof repairs while talking to an interested developer, Barrouk said.</p><p>Barrouk said the tax break on these sites would not be utilized until construction occurs and would expire 2024 regardless of the activation date. As government grants dried up, the KOZ became an increasingly crucial incentive, he said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the only program we have to lure developers to invest millions of dollars in the community,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He pointed to the privately-owned lofts above the downtown theater property as an example of a KOZ success. The residential units are assessed at more than $2 million combined and will return to the tax rolls when that break expires the end of 2019, he said.</p><p>&#8220;You have to look at the big picture and long-term benefits,&#8221; Barrouk said.</p><p>The subject is slated for discussion at Luzerne County Council&#8217;s Oct. 13 work session because county Councilman Harry Haas has questioned if council members should ask the state to cancel breaks on the properties in the final phase if no visible construction has occurred.</p><p>Haas raised the issue at the Sept. 22 council meeting after he and eight other members voted to extend a KOZ tax break for a 47-acre, mine-scarred tract in Duryea.</p><p>The Duryea property was in the group set to expire if development didn&#8217;t occur the end of this year. Greater Pittston Chamber of Commerce representatives said they had until Oct. 1 to submit a request to the state seeking more time to utilize the break because development won&#8217;t occur before Dec. 31.</p><p>No other property owners came forward seeking county approval for more time due to stalled projects.</p><p>Haas said all properties receiving or eligible for tax-break programs should be reviewed to ensure they are complying with state requirements.</p><p>More than 150 KOZ-eligible properties are on the books with varying expiration dates from 2017 through 2024, according to local officials and the state Department of Community and Economic Development, which oversees the program.</p><p>Haas sent council members a proposed resolution this week that would require county management to scrutinize outstanding KOZ properties by Nov. 15.</p><p>Council would then use that information to seek removal of properties that don&#8217;t qualify by the end of the year, his proposal says.</p><p>KOZ properties receive up to 12 years of tax exemption.</p><p>Haas also agreed to include a review of Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) properties in the proposed review at the suggestion of Councilman Stephen A. Urban. That program allows a decade of partial or full tax exemption on new commercial or industrial structures built on blighted land.</p><p>Several residents and county officials had suggested a review of the outstanding tax break roster before, but it never got past the discussion stage.</p><p>&#8220;We want to make sure this program is being implemented productively and is carrying out its whole objective,&#8221; Haas said.</p><p>A total $330 million in property was exempt from taxation in 2013 for 97 properties in both tax break programs, past analysis shows. A more recent tally was not immediately available.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The Sterling Annex on North River Street in Wilkes-Barre may lose its tax-exempt Keystone Opportunity Zone designation if renovations don&#8217;t begin by the end of this year, officials say. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_sterling.jpg</photo0><caption0>The Sterling Annex on North River Street in Wilkes-Barre may lose its tax-exempt Keystone Opportunity Zone designation if renovations don&#8217;t begin by the end of this year, officials say. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Haas_Harry.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Haas </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/web1_Haas_Harry.jpg</photo1><caption1>Haas </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jennifer Learn-Andes</p><p>jandes@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Will high profile Luzerne County sites keep tax breaks?