Wilkes-Barre mayoral candidate says college may be interested in long-vacant Irem Temple mosque

WILKES-BARRE — Already a property owner on the block, King’s College expressed interest in the long-vacant Irem Temple mosque on North Franklin Street, city mayoral candidate Tony George said.

George, a King’s graduate, city councilman and the Democratic candidate in the Nov. 3 general election, said the topic came up during a discussion with the Rev. John Ryan, president of the school.

“When I was talking to Father Ryan he mentioned they might be interested,” George said Thursday. They met a couple weeks ago, George said, “to see what their plans were and what my plans were” if he was elected mayor.

John McAndrew, a spokesman for King’s College, offered a “no comment.”

The mosque — with distinctive minarets are part of the downtown skyline — is located next door to the former Spring Brook Water Co. building purchased by King’s from Luzerne County earlier this year for $125,000. The school said it plans to renovate the four-story building into labs and classrooms.

The Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce, owner of the mosque, has some feasibility studies underway to determine a viable use for the property built in 1907, said Wico van Genderen, president and chief executive officer of the chamber.

He said the chamber is looking at the property from a “college perspective” as well as business, mixed-use, and multi-media perspectives. But he added “it’s still too early to say” what will happen.

Funding for restoration continues to be an issue. “It’s a big space and it’s going to take a fair amount of money to fix that,” van Genderen said.

A building analysis done for the chamber put a $15 million price tag on returning the structure to its original state. In 2013 the chamber’s request for $2.4 million in Local Share Account grant funds from Mohegan Sun Pocono casino’s gambling revenues was rejected.

The chamber purchased the vacant property for $992,000 in 2005 from Irem Temple A.A.O.N.M.S. to place it in safekeeping until it could be put to a new use and the funding was in place to meet that goal. The chamber spent $120,000 to repair a leaky roof and prevent further damage to the interior.

Wilkes-Barre mayoral candidate Tony George said the Rev. John Ryan, president of King’s College, expressed some interest in the Irem Temple mosque on North Franklin Street during a recent discussion between them.

https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/web1_IremTemplemosque1.jpg.optimal.jpgWilkes-Barre mayoral candidate Tony George said the Rev. John Ryan, president of King’s College, expressed some interest in the Irem Temple mosque on North Franklin Street during a recent discussion between them.