Progress

September 8, 2009

CityVest hopeful for hotel project

Search continues for developer of Sterling restoration despite economy.

By Bill O'Boyle boboyle@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – While the Hotel Sterling sits vacant and untouched, Alex Rogers of CityVest continues to search for a developer to restore the luster to the once-grand building.

“We now have it mothballed for development,” Rogers said Friday. “Finding that developer has been a real challenge.”

Rogers said the recent economic downtown has caused much hesitation from financial institutions to get involved with projects the magnitude of the Sterling. Rogers said he can’t provide a timetable for the start of the $100 million effort but said numerous potential developers have toured the gutted building during the last several months.

“It’s a huge project,” Rogers said. “We’re responding to every inquiry we received. We supply site drawings, we give site tours. Potential developers don’t want any publicity, so the public doesn’t see what is going on behind the scenes.”

Rogers said that when he meets with potential developers he gives them a complete rundown on the building. He tells them much of the tough preparation work is completed – the environmental cleanup of the building, the neighboring acquisition and the preliminary demolition have all been completed.

“And the beautiful River Common park is complete and that adds great promise to the downtown,” Rogers said. “The building is poised for redevelopment.”

Rogers said there is a renewed appeal of living in the city’s downtown. He said the Sterling offers a prime opportunity to establish a mixed-use residential and commercial property.

“We remain hopeful that a developer with experience in this type of project will share our enthusiasm for the site and its potential,” Rogers said. “We are interested in partnering with a developer that shares that vision.”

Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton said he is confident a developer will be found and the Sterling will become a centerpiece for downtown development.

“This is an exciting project,” he said. “The key is to get affordable housing downtown.”

Bill O’Boyle, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7218.

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