Now that obstacles have been cleared, Wilkes-Barre Mayor George Brown and other city officials met with representatives of Sphere International LLC to discuss their plans for a prominent downtown city site.
The meeting was prompted by Sphere’s recent purchase of the remaining South Main Street property needed to proceed with development.
Flemington, N.J.-based Sphere International already owned seven parcels at the site on the corner of Main and West Northampton streets.
On Jan. 31, Sphere purchased the remaining property at the center of the site that had been listed under the ownership of Barbara Coffee for $655,000, property records show. This structure, formerly known as the Engel Building, last housed the Place 1 at the Hollywood women’s clothing store.
Litigation filed against Sphere, Wilkes-Barre and a contractor over alleged demolition-related damage to the Coffee property also was discontinued on Thursday, according to county prothonotary’s office records.
Brown said before Friday’s meeting he wanted to learn more about Sphere’s plans for the site.
Sphere broke ground in May 2021 for an $8 million project anchored by a five-story, 102-room Avid Hotel on the site of the former Frank Clark Jeweler property next to the Coffee property. A second phase of construction would involved residential housing on the property facing West Northampton Street.
The litigation essentially stopped work at the site, officials have said.
City Administrator Charles McCormick and City Attorney Tim Henry participated in Friday’s meeting with the mayor and Sphere and said the company indicated it is still proceeding with the hotel project and that moving ahead with the hotel is a high priority. The second-phase residential project also remains in the plans, they said.
Sphere representatives promised to keep city officials in the loop about all project updates going forward, McCormick and Henry said.
The city officials also emphasized all aspects of the litigation related to the Place One property are “completely finished.”
Hitesh Patel, one of the owners of Sphere International, could not immediately be reached for comment on the plans.
Since Sphere’s project was first announced, two other plans for downtown Wilkes-Barre hotels have come to the forefront.
Luzerne County Council approved a $3 million earmark toward H&N Investment’s $37 million, 112-room Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center on a 2.1-acre lot at River and Market streets where the landmark Hotel Sterling once stood.
On Public Square, Bloxton Investment Group is set to create a 105-room “Tribute by Marriott brand” boutique hotel inside the Luzerne Bank Building, which it owns.