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WILKES-BARRE &mdash; The plan to restore one of downtown Wilkes-Barre&rsquo;s most iconic buildings got one step closer to fruition on Monday, with the Irem Temple Restoration Project officially kicking off its capital campaign.
				Promising to &ldquo;restore the grandeur&rdquo; to the long-neglected building, the Irem Temple Restoration Program&rsquo;s chairman, Christian Wielage, distributed informational packets regarding the future plans for the site and how the public can get involved in getting the project off the ground.
				The organization, according to Wielage, has already raised $1.4 million, after receiving a state grant totaling $1 million last year, along with an additional $400,000 in Local Share Access and Keystone Historic Preservation grants.
				Some of that money has already been earmarked for the roof restoration, which is being done by Dunmore Roofing who successfully won their bid to complete the roofing project after undercutting competitors by a wide margin during bidding in August; roofers were doing some work on the building on Monday.
				But Wielage said that more will need to be done to bring the building to its former glory.
				&ldquo;We&rsquo;re in a really great place here; the building is in remarkably good shape, all things considered,&rdquo; Wielage said. &ldquo;So now what do we have to do? We have to ask the community for help.
				&ldquo;We did a great job raising money for the feasibility study, but now it&rsquo;s time to raise the real money it&rsquo;s gonna take to save this building,&rdquo; Wielage went on.
				Wielage pointed to a variety of donation levels those interested in getting involved could pledge, ranging from as low as $10 a month to as much as a cool $3 million for naming rights of the redesigned concert venue space.
				Tiered donors will have access to a variety of benefits, public-radio-pledge-drive-style, coming with swag like lapel pins and even concert tickets for once concerts are possible in the building. Higher pledge levels get access to better benefits.
				Wielage was joined by Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, who encouraged the public to get involved with the restoration of the building.
				&ldquo;It&rsquo;s part of our history, and it creates a sense of where we came from and where we can go,&rdquo; Pashinski said.
				Pashinski, who performed on the Irem Temple stage back in his musical days, said the stage was once and will be the best stage in the area, due to its large size and the acoustics of the room.
				When completed, the concert hall area will look quite different from how it once did. The rows and rows of seats will be ripped out in favor of a large dance floor, meaning the Irem Temple could conceivably market itself to different acts from those who might visit the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts or the Mohegan Sun Arena.
				The large, open area could also make the venue suitable for weddings, conventions or other large-scale events.
				Additionally, the building will also feature a museum, focusing on the history of the Wyoming Valley in a bid to increase heritage tourism, or tourism based around history, to the area.
				Wielage and other members of the board took members of the media into the Irem Temple to get an idea of what the building will look like once it is completely restored.
				While it is far from that point, the weight of both history and potential was palpable in the room. You could practically already hear the bands playing on that massive stage.
				If you&rsquo;d like to get involved, you can find more information on IremTempleRestorationProject.com.

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Irem Temple Restoration Project kicks off capital campaign