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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; The sale of the city-owned Park &amp; Lock East garage to the Wilkes-Barre Parking Authority is expected to close in the next few months, authority executive director Tom Torbik said.</p><p>The authority has been working with Dunmore-based Fidelity Bank to obtain a mortgage for the garage, Torbik said Tuesday at the authority&#8217;s monthly meeting.</p><p>&#8220;(Authority member) Bob Jabers and I have twice met with the bank. The last meeting was Friday afternoon,&#8221; Torbik said. &#8220;We walked the sites and we went over a whole bunch of stuff with them that they had requested.&#8221;</p><p>The bank officials &#8220;felt that the garages (owned by the authority) were in great shape,&#8221; Torbik said. &#8220;They didn&#8217;t have any issues with the mortgage.&#8221;</p><p>Last year, Wilkes-Barre city council approved the sale of the garage on the corner of East Market and North Washington streets to the authority for the appraised value of $1.55 million. Revenue from the sale was included in Mayor Tony George&#8217;s $50.4 million balanced budget for this year.</p><p>The budget also included a $150,000 annual payment from the authority that operates Park &amp; Lock East, two other garages and two surface lots. The authority annually turns over some of its revenue to the city.</p><p>Last year, the city rejected a higher offer of $2 million for Park &amp; Lock East that would have put it in private hands and made it difficult for the authority to make the annual payment.</p><p>Torbik also provided an update on tenant leases for the garages.</p><p>Park &amp; Lock East lost 200 of the 300 spots leased to Geisinger. The health care company moved most of its downtown employees to a new building in the CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park East in Jenkins Township earlier this year. The authority negotiated a new lease with Geisinger for 100 spaces in the garage for those employees who remain in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Meanwhile, it will pick up approximately 250 parkers from the state Labor and Industry building. They will move from the James F. Conahan Intermodal Transportation Facility, owned by the city, into either the authority&#8217;s Central garage on South Main Street or Park &amp; Lock East. However, 23 L&amp;I employees will continue to park in the Intermodal under a lease assignment between the city and the authority, Torbik explained.</p><p>In December, the city signed a deal that allows more than 720 employees of Berskshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance to park in the Intermodal.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The sale of the Park &amp; Lock East garage on East Market and North Washington streets in Wilkes-Barre to the city&#8217;s parking authority should be completed in a few months, an official said Tuesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_ParkingGarage-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The sale of the Park &amp; Lock East garage on East Market and North Washington streets in Wilkes-Barre to the city&#8217;s parking authority should be completed in a few months, an official said Tuesday. </caption0><photoCredit0>Times Leader file photo </photoCredit0></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>

WB Parking Authority: Deal to buy Park & Lock East from city on track