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<p>PLAINS TWP. &#8212; The planned luxury 600 Waterfront project here could be on a path to qualifying for a proposed tax break if Luzerne County votes to authorize a public hearing Tuesday.</p><p>The township and Wilkes-Barre Area School District already agreed to participate in a hearing, which is required to publicly present project specifics and arguments on why it should be eligible for temporary tax forgiveness, officials have said.</p><p>Located on 3.7 acres at the Waterfront Professional Park along the Susquehanna River, the eight-story, mixed-use residential and commercial 600 Waterfront project is estimated to cost $28.65 million.</p><p>Taxing bodies would have to vote at future meetings for a tax break to take effect. The break falls under the state&#8217;s Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance Act, or LERTA, and would provide up to 100 percent real estate tax exemption for 10 years on new construction but not the land.</p><p>Attorney Francis Hoegen, who is representing 600 Waterfront developer Ross Spengler, has said the request should be described as an incentive instead of a tax break because the local image-enhancing project won&#8217;t materialize without it. Spengler is taking &#8220;a lot of risk&#8221; investing his own funds and borrowing and needs the LERTA to secure the loan and lock in investors, Hoegen has said.</p><p>Council&#8217;s voting meeting starts at 6 p.m. at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>At a work session earlier this month, county Councilman Harry Haas asked if the developer will present specific figures on the break he is seeking at the hearing.</p><p>Hoegen said financials would be presented post-hearing when the developer formally requests the LERTA.</p><p>The more recent LERTAs council has approved provided phased tax exemption on new construction, instead of the full 100 percent for a decade.</p><p>For example, Missouri-based NorthPoint Development must pay 10 percent of the taxes in the eighth year, 20 percent in the ninth and 30 percent in the tenth year on its two latest projects in Hanover Township and Nanticoke.</p><p>In Hazle Township, plastic manufacturing company IRIS USA received full real estate tax exemption on its new plant in the Humboldt Industrial Park in the first year only through a LERTA that county council approved in September 2017. The discount will be lowered to 90 percent in the second year and continue decreasing by 10 percent annually.</p><p><strong>&#8216;Just not a fan&#8217;</strong></p><p>Haas described the 600 Waterfront project as &#8220;beautiful&#8221; but said he would have a &#8220;hard time&#8221; supporting it.</p><p>In his view, developers take a risk with their own funds based on their confidence they will eventually recoup their investment and make a profit. Granting tax forgiveness to some is unfair to other developers who do not receive such a &#8220;gift,&#8221; Haas said.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just not a fan of these abatement programs,&#8221; said Haas, describing them as &#8220;corporate welfare.&#8221;</p><p>Councilman Stephen A. Urban concurred, saying he is aware of several local development projects that did not receive tax forgiveness.</p><p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t think we should be picking and choosing these tax advantages over someone else. You either have the capital to do it, or you don&#8217;t,&#8221; Urban said during the work session.</p><p>Hoegen told council 600 Waterfront representatives will respond to such points in a future presentation.</p><p>Supporters of LERTAs have repeatedly argued the region will miss out on future tax base-boosting projects without such breaks, particularly because incentives are offered in other competing areas.</p><p>The upscale 600 Waterfront would be visible from the busy Cross Valley Expressway and transform a gateway to downtown Wilkes-Barre, Hoegen has said.</p><p>In addition to 22,000 square feet of class-A retail space on the second floor, 600 Waterfront will feature 102 &#8220;luxurious&#8221; apartments &#8212; studio and one- and two-bedroom &#8212; on the third-to-seventh floors and two rooftop penthouses, the project description says.</p><p>The apartment units will range from 543 to 1,233 square feet with rental rates averaging between $1,500 to $2,300 per month &#8212; $3,900 per month for the two penthouses.</p><p>Amenities would include an on-site health club, concierge service and a rooftop equipped with a putting green and community room housing theater seating and a big-screen television. A pavilion, grills, walking track and enclosed dog park will be on the grounds.</p><p>The development is expected to serve a growing market of young professionals and retirees &#8220;with a preference for luxury rental living,&#8221; the paperwork said, noting competing developments in neighboring communities have occupancy levels above 95 percent.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">A rendering of the luxury 600 Waterfront project in Plains Township, which could be on a path to receiving a tax break if Luzerne County Council votes to allow a public hearing. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/web1_600-Waterfront.cmyk_-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>A rendering of the luxury 600 Waterfront project in Plains Township, which could be on a path to receiving a tax break if Luzerne County Council votes to allow a public hearing. </caption0><photoCredit0>Submitted photo </photoCredit0></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>

County council to decide on hearing request for proposed Plains Twp. project