In addition to voting on purchasing the historic train station in downtown Wilkes-Barre Tuesday, Luzerne County Council is set to discuss court leasing of a Kingston property to house Domestic Relations and revocation of $3 million allocated toward a new hotel at the former Hotel Sterling property due to that project’s relocation.
The county is interested in purchasing the 154-year-old station on Wilkes-Barre Boulevard because it has housed the county tourism office, Visit Luzerne County, since February 2022.
If authorized, the $615,000 purchase would be funded with miscellaneous county community development office funds, the administration said.
County council had approved the leasing of 2,100 square feet inside the station for the county tourism office in April 2021, agreeing to pay $32,400 annually for five years, with the option to renew for two additional three-year terms.
A purchase could “stabilize the county’s long-term occupancy costs and prevent potential relocation disruptions,” the administration said.
Market Square Properties Development LLC listed the 4,000-square-foot station for sale at $625,000.
Market Square bought the 6.36-acre station complex in June 2016 for $1.2 million from the county Redevelopment Authority, which had purchased the property in 2006 from businessman Thom Greco for $5.8 million. Prior county commissioners had authorized federal community development funds for the county Redevelopment Authority purchase. With no funds to develop the site, the authority sold the property to Market Square.
Market Square recently completed a subdivision that allows the renovated train station portion to be sold separately. The station parcel includes adjoining parking.
Since the county would be purchasing the building outright, county Budget/Finance Division Head Mary Roselle has said the $2,700 the tourism office pays in rent could be shifted to cover other expenses. The tourism office is funded with revenue from the hotel tax and other outside sources — not the county’s general fund.
Court lease
The proposed 15-year court lease is with JDP Realty Inc. for its property at 310 Market St. and would run from August 2025 through June 2040, the agenda said.
County court administration would pay $25,783 per month for approximately 11,900 square feet of office space, or $309,396 annually.
After June 2040, the county would have the option to extend the lease for two additional five-year terms and one final term of four years and 11 months, with rent increasing at a rate of 4% per term, the agenda said.
County Court of Common Pleas President Judge Stefanie J. Salavantis had discussed the reasoning behind a relocation when she was chosen for the leadership post in December.
Salavantis had said she would oversee completion of a plan initiated by prior president judge Michael T. Vough to relocate Domestic Relations from the first and second floors of the Bernard C. Brominski Building on North Street in Wilkes-Barre, which is adjacent to the courthouse, so all three family court judges and courtrooms can be housed in the Brominski building. One of the three judges is currently stationed in the courthouse due to a lack of space at the Brominski building.
A PFA office and waiting areas also would be added at the Brominski building, including a playroom waiting area for children with toys so they don’t have to sit in a hallway waiting to be interviewed in a case between their parents or for other matters, she had said.
Family court adjudicates cases related to divorces, child/spousal support, domestic situations, alleged abuse and neglect, truancy and juvenile detention and delinquency.
With the current two-location layout, families are often confused about where their proceedings are being held, Salavantis had said. Keeping family court under one roof also will eliminate confusion for families already in stressful situations, she had said.
The council-adopted capital plan had earmarked $1.5 million for the project.
Domestic Relations, which provides child and spousal support collection services to county residents, is largely funded with federal money allocated through the state, officials said.
County Court Administrator Paul Hindmarsh said Friday the court is compiling a complete breakdown so both council and the public will understand the need and how the project will be funded.
The proposed lease indicates Daniel DelBalso is president of JDP Realty, while Patrick DelBalso is secretary.
Sterling
Officials announced last week that new hotel project slated for the vacant Sterling site at the corner of North River and West Market streets in Wilkes-Barre would be completed on nearby Public Square instead.
The work session agenda said council will discuss a resolution rescinding its $3 million earmark, resulting in de-obligation of the funds allocated to H&N Investments LLC.
This resolution said H&N Investments publicly announced the location change, and the original county grant authorization was “specifically tied to redevelopment of the Hotel Sterling site, which is a site of high public interest and long-standing strategic importance to downtown Wilkes-Barre.”
“Luzerne County Council has a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that public funds are allocated in alignment with their original intent and for the benefit of priority sites and community needs,” the resolution said.
The county earmark was from community development funds that had been set aside in case the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development follows through with a $6 million penalty threatened a decade ago over a lack of development at the Sterling site when it was owned by the nonprofit CityVest.
The public learned in 2011 that CityVest, the property’s nonprofit owner at the time, was out of funds and couldn’t fulfill its mission of attracting a developer to renovate the former hotel into a premier residential and retail complex. The structure was condemned and demolished in 2013.
CityVest was unable to repay a $6 million Luzerne County community development loan largely used to make the parcel larger, pay a consultant, tear down an attached hotel structure and remove hazardous material. Critics had questioned that approach, saying the funds should have been invested on roof repairs and mothballing to stop leaks and prevent further deterioration.
The vacant site was placed under city ownership. H&N Investments LLC purchased the property from the city in 2018 and later announced plans to construct a Gateway Hyatt Place Hotel and Conference Center there.
H&N has not yet announced what it intends to do with the Sterling site, which could include a different project and/or a sale.
Meeting details
The train station purchase is on the voting session, which starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre.
Both the court lease and Sterling site funding withdrawal are on the work session agenda, which means they must be approved at a future meeting to take effect.
Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted under council’s online public meetings section at luzernecounty.org.