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And just like that — poof! — it was gone.
The rather abrupt demolition of the Engel Building on South Main Street this week was hailed as a big step forward, and we hope it is. But believing that requires us to ignore years of history for the site.
First, let’s be clear about one thing: The distinctive facade of the venerable edifice had been obscured for decades by a rather lazy cover-up, presumably intended to make it look “modern.” Many people likely passed it daily for years without appreciating the ornate carvings at risk.
Second, other buildings that sat on either side of the Engel were declared a hazard and knocked down 11 years ago. The longer this one stood unattended the more likely destruction became. You can only leave man-made structures vacant without maintenance so long before they decay beyond salvation.
But the efforts to paint the demolition as nothing but a major plus sound a tad hollow when a fuller history is considered.
It has been more than 11 years since Wilkes-Barre condemned and razed neighboring buildings. In January of 2014, the city put out a request for proposals for development of the properties stretching from 61 to 75 S. Main St.
But hopes for new use of the corner properties actually go back at least to 2009, when they were collectively granted tax-exempt status under the state Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) program. When the original designation expired, the city extended that status to 2025.
When the city did raze the neighboring building in 2013, the facade of the Engel Building was spared and the city made a point of requiring that it be maintained as part of any new development. The Diamond City Partnership offered to assist with preservation and restoration of the Engel front through its Facade Grant Program.
In 2015, a project was announced for the site: A 10-story building to contain a hotel, banquet, retail and residential space. Start dates were announced and passed with nothing to show.
In 2020, more demolition began for the proposed $28 million development, with another promise to save the facades of the Engel Building (well, technically, half of it that remained) and the Frank Clark Jeweler store that sat next to it. The Clark building was later razed.
In 2021 the developer “broke ground” for an $8 million, five-story, 102-room Avid Hotel where the Clark Jeweler property had been, with promise of a second phase of construction. Then this week happened, and the last bit of the Engel building went down, with the developer promising a $30 milion, six-story mixed-use replacement.
So forgive us if we sound jaded when others insist this demolition paves the way for better things to come. We’ve been hearing promises of a new, impressive multi-use edifice for about a decade, and we were told repeatedly that any new structure would incorporate some of the historic facades. Yet the last of those facades is now history.
Once again, we see destruction where preservation had been suggested, if not promised. Here’s hoping for the best in a bright future for the prime real estate spot of the Diamond City’s downtown. But we take any promise with a well deserved block of salt. This property has been in “transition” from old to whatever new arrives for more than a decade.