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WILKES-BARRE — There are new developments regarding the future of the Irem Temple building on North Franklin Street, moving the possibility of the renovation of the architectural gem a little closer to reality.
Christian Wielage, CEO of Plan Guru, a business budgeting, forecasting and performance review software company, and owner of Harvey Guitars on Public Square, has been leading an effort to raise the necessary funds to repair the Irem Temple. Wielage and a group of others established the Irem Temple Restoration and Preservation Fund with the Luzerne Foundation.
On Thursday, Wielage said he met with officials at the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce to review five proposals received from companies interested in providing cost estimates for the stabilization and preservation of the building. Wielage said two finalists were selected to be considered for the contract. He declined to name the final two contenders, but said the selection will be announced by the end of the year.
On June 1, the chamber sent out a Request For Proposals to contractors, design professionals and others with appropriate experience and/or knowledge in the mothballing, stabilization and securing of historic buildings. Twelve proposals were returned to the chamber by July 15.
“Our group (the Irem Temple Restoration Project) will work with the chamber to make the final selection,” Wielage said. “We need to raise $100,000 by the first quarter of 2017.”
To donate to the fund, Wielage said to go to the website — http://luzfdn.org/funds/irem-temple-restoration-preservation-fund/ — for more information.
Wielage said the funding is needed to assess the scope of the needed repairs, and to get the technical specifications — the detailed instructions for the construction company — necessary to preserve the building and to make immediate repairs to the building.
“If we see a viable way forward, our group will form a nonprofit corporation that will take control of the building to do the repairs,” Wielage said. “The Chamber has pledged to help us if we all agree on the path forward.”
Wielage said if the results of the assessment are positive, the nonprofit entity will be formed to take possession of the building and do the repairs. However, Wielage cautioned the possibility exists that a conclusion could be reached that repairing the building may not be possible or financially feasible.
“We came into this with our eyes wide open,” Wielage said. “We really don’t know what we will uncover once we get in there. If there are serious problems, we may determine the project would be impossible to fund.”
Wielage said “a lot of smart people” have toured the building and the feedback received to date — for instance, the roof is in good shape — has been positive.
The RFP noted: “The building is historically and visually significant; it is one of the nation’s leading examples of Moorish Revival architecture, featuring four minarets, a large dome, colorful terra cotta units and other elements. The building is a contributing structure within the River Street National Historic District.”
The RFP also noted there is “strong sentiment in the community to preserve and/or adapt the building for a new use.”
