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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The only setback George Albert was concerned about Wednesday dealt with the zoning application for the new hotel proposed for the site of the Hotel Sterling.
				Albert, consulting engineer for H & N Investments LLC that wants to build the downtown project, received the approval he sought to move the building five feet closer to West Market Street than the 10 foot setback called for in the city&rsquo;s zoning ordinance.
				The Wilkes-Barre Zoning Hearing Board also approved other requests including a parking lot and a waiver for fencing on certain areas of the lot.
				The location at one of the city&rsquo;s gateways, the unsuccessful attempt by the non-profit CityVest to develop the landmark Hotel Sterling that deteriorated and was demolished in 2013 and replacing it with a structure fit for the spot combined to heighten the expectations placed on the developer to deliver.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re proposing a 107-room hotel with some additional luxury condominiums and conference space at this location,&rdquo; Albert told the board. &ldquo;The building will be five stories high and located right at the intersection of West Market and North River street.&rdquo;
				Albert reluctantly touched on funding at the urging of board chairman attorney Rodney Kaiser, who acknowledged a question about it from an audience member was not relevant to the zoning application.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;ve been working on this project for many years as you know. Our team is in place. If perhaps it wasn&rsquo;t for the COVID situation, we would probably have building permits in hand today. So we&rsquo;re very aggressively seeking to start this project this year and I&rsquo;ll leave it at that,&rdquo; Albert responded. &ldquo;As far as our funding goes, that&rsquo;s at this point a private matter.&rdquo;
				But Jason Carr, a city landlord, persisted in his questioning.
				&ldquo;Does the potential still exist that the building does not happen?&rdquo; Carr asked.
				&ldquo;I&rsquo;d say it&rsquo;s highly unlikely that it will not happen,&rdquo; Albert said.
				Previously Albert estimated the project&rsquo;s cost at $28 million with &ldquo;a good chunk&rdquo; of it in place. Last year the state awarded a $2 million grant from its Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program and as much as $13 million more could be available from the $15 million contained in the state&rsquo;s 2017-2018 capital budget. The site also has been designated a Keystone Opportunity Zone that provides tax relief until 2024.
				Downtown resident Anita Frank switched topics to the setback distance and was concerned it would be too close to the street without room for landscaping.
				&ldquo;That&rsquo;s a main gateway into the city and I think it really affects your view of the city when you come in over the magnificent bridge and you see a building. I think it would be nice if you could address nature a little bit more,&rdquo; Frank said.
				Albert pointed out the rendering showed cherry blossom trees on the West Market Street border. But, in order to fit the L-shaped building on the irregular shaped property that has more than 10 access easements for existing properties they had to ask for zoning variances.
				The property owners, including Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania at 31 W. Market St., would continue to have access, Albert said.
				Attorney Gertrude McGowan, the association&rsquo;s CEO, said that she believed the project would affect the value of the association&rsquo;s property.
				&ldquo;We believe it&rsquo;s going to shadow over the buildings that are there and we do believe the parking behind increases the risk of crime, causes concern for our employees and for our clients,&rdquo; McGowan replied to a question from her attorney Kevin Walsh Jr. of Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn in Kingston.
				Albert noted the area in question has been used for parking for years.
				&ldquo;Can you name a property in Wilkes-Barre that has a hotel and parking where the parking has increased crime in that particular area,&rdquo; Albert asked McGowan.
				&ldquo;No, I can&rsquo;t. But I think the increased traffic flow that I&rsquo;ve noted in terms of the fumes and the lights and the potential for increased, people from out of town is a concern that there might be a potential for increased crime,&rdquo; McGowan said.
				The board approved the three other items on the agenda:&nbsp;
				&#8226; Wags Indoor Dog Park LLC for a dog park, dog daycare, kennel and pet grooming facility in the Wet Paint Printing & Graphic Design building at 152 Horton St.
				&#8226; Nick Cave to construct on open-air structure similar to a carport at 238 New Elizabeth St.
				&#8226; Kellen Rivera to install an above-ground swimming pool and a stairway at 313 New Grant St.

New hotel for site of Hotel Sterling gets Wilkes-Barre zoning approval