First Posted: 2/21/2013
W ILKES-BARRE – The small Enterprise Rent-A-Car operation on Kidder Street will soon be replaced by a larger Enterprise facility on an adjoining property. That new operation will lease and sell vehicles in addition to renting them.
Work began in December and should wrap up at the end of April, said Earl Fearnbaugh, construction superintendent for the project, which was developed by Flynn Group and constructed by RMI. He said the new building, which will be “T” shaped, will include a 5,000-square-foot office space and a 5,500-square-foot area for maintenance and vehicle washing.
The property, which once housed a Mark II Restaurant and a Red Carpet Inn, also will include a sales and parking lot.
The Mark II closed in 2006 and the Red Carpet Inn caught fire in 2009.
Jack Williams and his daughter Jennifer own the land and are leasing it to Enterprise, according to Fearnbaugh. Once the new center is complete, the older, smaller building will be vacated and will be available for rental by another business.
There are fewer than a half-dozen workers at the current business; Fearnbaugh said he expects that number to double once the new facility opens. He said job interviews already have begun.
Enterprise has 15 facilities throughout the region, including those in Edwardsville, Wilkes-Barre, Hazleton, Moosic, Tunkhannock, Scranton and at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Pittston Township.