Marcellus Shale - Gas Wells

October 29, 2010

Drilling spurs plans for 2 hotels

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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The economic effects of drilling into the Marcellus Shale for natural gas apparently are expanding in Northeastern Pennsylvania, as evidenced by plans to construct two new hotels in Wyoming County.

Tunkhannock Mayor Norman Ball confirmed Tuesday that the owners of a Hampton Inn franchise plan to build a hotel in the eastern section of the borough later this summer.

And Eaton Township Supervisor Chairman Randy Ehrenzeller confirmed that former U.S. Rep. Don Sherwood and his brother, Arthur Sherwood, owners of Sherwood Chevrolet in Tunkhannock, plan to build a Comfort Inn and Suites near the bridge that connects Tunkhannock with the township.

Don Sherwood has an unlisted home phone number and a message left for him at the car dealership on Wednesday was not returned. An attempt to reach his brother also was unsuccessful.

A message left for Millett Real Estate, the Clarks Summit-based, family-owned real estate development company seeking zoning approval for the Hampton Inn, was not returned.

Ehrenzeller said one could surmise that gas company employees and contractors would be the targeted market for the hotels.

Ball agreed, saying, “It’s probably because of the gas people looking for places to stay,” when asked why he thought two new hotels were to be built. “And they say demand (for hotel rooms) will get much greater as drilling moves into Wyoming County.”

The state Department of Environmental Protection has issued 21 gas well permits for sites in Wyoming County this year, compared to 107 in Susquehanna County and 414 in Bradford County.

Ehrenzeller said the demand for hotel rooms in and around Towanda in Bradford County, a 40-mile drive to the northwest where drilling activity is centered, is “pretty high, and (the developers) might want to capitalize on that.”

Ball said apartments in Tunkhannock that were renting for $400 to $450 a year ago are now being rented for $800. He attributes the rise in rental costs to the influx of out-of-town employees working in the gas drilling industry.

“Housing here is very scarce,” he said.

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