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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Two developers have submitted proposals for the former Hotel Sterling property, 2 acres of prime real estate downtown that the city has been marketing for years.</p><p>McClure Company Inc. of St. Petersburg, Fla., and Gateway Center Associates, with a West Market Street address across the street from the site, responded by the Thursday deadline for a request for proposals.</p><p>Messages left Friday with McClure, a real estate development and property management company, and Hysni &#8220;Sam&#8221; Syla of Gateway were not returned. Syla purchased the former Wyoming National Bank building on the corner of West Market and South Franklin streets and converted it into apartments and opened the Vault Grill &amp; Bar on the ground floor.</p><p>The next step after receiving the developers&#8217; plans is to begin the review process to determine which proposal best suits the site that has been used as a parking lot since the city condemned hotel and demolished it in 2013.</p><p>A sealed enveloped containing McClure&#8217;s plans and documents from Gateway rested on a table in city Administrator Ted Wampole&#8217;s office Friday.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re going to reach out to community people to sit in and review them with us,&#8221; Wampole said.</p><p>The developers also will have the opportunity to meet with city officials, said Wampole. &#8220;We&#8217;ll either bring one or both in,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Wampole laid out the process to follow, saying Mayor Tony George will make his choice and from there his recommendation will go to city council for a vote to sell the property.</p><p>The city had a signed letter of intent from Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Co. to purchase the site for its new corporate headquarters. But GUARD&#8217;s purchase in October of a high-rise office building on Public Square, a few blocks away, made the Sterling lot available again.</p><p>Other parties also had shown an interest and the city issued an RFP in December. The site on the corner of West Market and North River streets is in a Keystone Opportunity Zone that provides tax breaks through 2024.</p><p>The city had once before issued an RFP after it took ownership of the property from Luzerne County more than two years ago. The sole respondent to that RFP later withdrew its proposal.</p><p>The property had been in the hands of CityVest, a nonprofit corporation that had been preparing the vacant hotel to attract a developer. But CityVest was unsuccessful and ran out of money, despite receiving a $6 million Community Development loan from the county. The city then condemned the building that had deteriorated and became a safety hazard. It spent approximately $600,000 to secure and demolish the structure, which means the city holds the first lien to recover its costs if the property was ever sold. Any sale proceeds above the city&#8217;s costs will go to the county.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Two developers have responded to a request for proposals issued by Wilkes-Barre for the former Hotel Sterling property, which is currently being used as a parking lot. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020318Hotel-sterling1-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Two developers have responded to a request for proposals issued by Wilkes-Barre for the former Hotel Sterling property, which is currently being used as a parking lot. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020318Hotel-sterling2-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">The property at West Market and North River streets that was once home to the Hotel Sterling is shown Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/web1_TTL020318Hotel-sterling2-1.jpg</photo1><caption1>The property at West Market and North River streets that was once home to the Hotel Sterling is shown Friday. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></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>

Two developers respond to RFP for former Hotel Sterling property