Mayor George Brown this week will ask City Council to authorize city officials to move forward with the sale of 59-63 Public Square — the long-vacant former First National Bank Building.
Times Leader file photo
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WILKES-BARRE — After tabling the sale of the former First National Bank Building on Public Square during last month’s city council meeting, council will once again consider the item on their agenda this week.
During last month’s meeting, several council members, including Councilman Tony Brooks and Councilman Mike Belusko, voiced concerns over voting without answers to questions they had prepared for the buyers.
As previously reported by the Times Leader, the former bank was built in 1906 and had been vacant for years before the city bought it for $225,000 at a Luzerne County delinquent-tax sale in 2004.
In September, Michael Bloxton, founder and CEO of the Bloxton Investment Group and a principal of Big Public Square, sought council’s approval for the city to apply for a $500,000 state gaming grant to assist with the renovations of the adjacent Luzerne Bank building, which Bloxton hopes to turn into a hotel aptly named the “Bloxton Hotel.”
Bloxton, who purchased that building just over a year ago, says the hotel will feature 105 rooms, and he hopes to add a restaurant/bar in the lobby, as well as meeting rooms and fitness and business centers. According to him, the entire project will take just about two years to complete.
The former First National Bank Building will only enhance this project, as the building will be remodeled to incorporate a restaurant inside that can serve up to 150 guests.
According to Bloxton, the project will supply the equivalent of 60 full-time hotel/restaurant jobs and more than $1.8 million in local, state and federal tax revenue annually.
The sale, which will once again be presented to council during the work session on Tuesday, will bring in $450,000 of profit to the city.
As reported Saturday, Bloxton Investment Group has requested $2 million in county funding to aid in the purchase and project. That request will need to be approved by Luzerne County Council to proceed. That request will be discussed during Luzerne County Council’s work session, which is also set for this Tuesday evening.
Also during the meeting, council will discuss:
• Reappointing Elliot Silkowski to the Board of Health
• Reappointing Andrew Reno to the Parking Authority
• Reappointing Edward Katarsky to the Parking Authority
• Appointing Patricia Unvarsky to the Parking Authority to replace former member John Marconi (whose term was expired)
• Appointing Robert Sliker to the Parking Authority to fill the unexpired term of Kevin Kundratic
The Wilkes-Barre City Council work session will begin on Tuesday at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers on the fourth floor of City Hall.