web1_Ryan-Meranti.jpg

GoFundMe page setup for Hughestown Hose Company Fire Captain Ryan Meranti who was injured in car accident

web1_kfc.jpg

KFC executive says chain going through ‘re-Colonelization’

<p>WEST PITTSTON &#8212; The restoration of the historic New Jersey Central train station is part of a larger effort to develop other downtown Wilkes-Barre properties, a member of the investment group planning the projects said.</p><p>Pittston engineer George Albert disclosed limited details of the plans Tuesday to the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority, the station&#8217;s owner.</p><p>His group, Market Square Properties Development LLC, has been negotiating to acquire the property and Albert went to the authority&#8217;s public meeting to buy more time to finalize a deal due to the difficulty attracting retail and commercial tenants.</p><p>The group has worked the project into plans focusing on properties a few blocks away and involving private and public partners, including the state, Albert said.</p><p>&#8220;It not only involves the Market Street Square property, but it also involves the Innovation Center property located on (Public) Square and potentially the First National Bank building as well owned by the city,&#8221; Albert said.</p><p>His attorney, Frank Hoegen, said more would be disclosed as the plans progress. &#8220;Right now we have some confidentialities that we have to maintain,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Hoegen explained the next step is to build on the work that was done since the group signed a letter of intent last June to acquire the six-acre Market Street Square parcel purchased by the authority in 2006 for $5.8 million.</p><p>&#8220;Now we&#8217;re going to put it into an agreement of sale, a document that brings about a closing and an acquisition,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Authority members welcomed the update, especially Albert&#8217;s comments that work on the station could begin in June once the sale agreement is in place.</p><p>&#8220;So the fact that they&#8217;re going to do work is a good thing I think from our perspective,&#8221; added authority Solicitor Garry Taroli.</p><p>Albert said the intent is to honor an agreement to maintain and restore the station.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to strip everything out. The train cars are going to be removed. The atrium glass is history. The open ends are going to be restored and either built on or it&#8217;s going to be put back to its original structure and that&#8217;s what we&#8217;re going to work with,&#8221; he said.</p><p>He was less specific on the downtown projects.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re working with a couple large businesses down in the area one of which is eBay Enterprises as they expand. It formulates into the Innovation Center building, some of those tenants potentially may move and we&#8217;re working with some of the schools on the bank building and also some other institutions for (the station),&#8221; Albert said.</p><p>The authority could soon be learning more about two other related projects involving its property not far from the station.</p><p>It tabled an agenda item that dealt with a proposal by Jewelcor owner Seymour Holtzman to lease property bordering the authority owned railroad.</p><p>Authority member Scott Linde recommended to Holtzman&#8217;s representative Joe Lakowski that they wait until final designs are presented for the second phase of the Coal Street project that includes a railroad crossing.</p><p>The city wants to extend Coal Street from North Wilkes-Barre Boulevard to Union Street. Holtzman has already opened up land to development for a Turkey Hill store and built a section of Coal Street on his property. He wants to lease more land from the authority for parking or for access for future development on his property, Lakowski said.</p><p>The authority also agreed to hold off on deciding on the Tax Incremental Financing program that would be used to partially fund the Coal Street extension.</p><p>The TIF was funded by tax revenue the county, the Wilkes-Barre Area School District and Wilkes-Barre Township relinquished from development around the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza. The city did not contribute and the agreement between the participating parties ended in 2012.</p><p>The county and the city have been working on a resolution to use approximately $3 million in TIF funds for the extension. They had initially set a deadline of Tuesday to update the authority. But attorney Bill Vinsko, the former assistant city attorney acting in the capacity as special counsel for Wilkes-Barre, sent a letter to the authority asking it to wait until the April meeting.</p><p>&#8220;At this time, the county and the city have had meaningful discussions as to an amicable resolution that will likely result in a positive outcome for both entities, and the continuation of this valuable project,&#8221; Vinsko wrote.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Market_Street_Square1_toned.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The historic New Jersey Central train station in Wilkes-Barre. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/web1_Market_Street_Square1_toned.jpg</photo0><caption0>The historic New Jersey Central train station in Wilkes-Barre. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Other projects include First National Bank building, Innovation Center</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Train station developer has big plans for downtown Wilkes-Barre