George Albert, consulting engineer for H & N Investments, stand at the podium and addresses the Zoning Hearing Board during Wednesday’s meeting. H & N Investments President Hysni (Sam) Syla, stands next to him.
Margaret Roarty | Times Leader
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WILKES-BARRE — Plans for a long-awaited hotel and conference center project in the city are moving forward following Wednesday’s zoning hearing meeting at which the board gave its approval to the developer to build a parking garage and lot on the proposed site.
H & N Investments, LLC was also approved for a variance to wave the required front yard setback from 10 feet to 3 feet, a variance to reduce setback distances for the proposed off-street parking area, and a variance to waive the required screening for parking areas abutting a nonresidential use or zoning district.
A proposed hotel and conference center is to sit at the corner of North River and Market streets, the site of the former Sterling Hotel, which was demolished in 2013.
The project, which has gone through several iterations over the past few years, is now comprised of a 80,000-square-foot hotel structure with a multi-use convention center.
According to George Albert, consulting engineer for H & N Investments, the hotel will have 110 rooms.
“It’s also gonna include a sizeable convention area for events including weddings, banquets, graduations and other social events that would be hosted downtown,” Albert said.
The development will also include off-street parking, the construction of a parking garage structure off of Franklin Street, which would be a future phase of the project, and the construction of a main access drive off of Market Street and in the rear of Franklin Street.
The project was approved for similar variances back in 2020, but Albert said the scope has changed since then due to high costs of construction, which has been a lingering problem since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thus, the hotel size has been reduced to 80,0000 square feet as opposed to the 100,000 square feet that was previously presented. The parking garage is also an additional feature.
Albert anticipates a groundbreaking to occur in March or April 2025.
President of H & N Investments Hysni (Sam) Syla, who owns Cafe Toscana and Diamond City Vault Bar & Grill thanked the board for their approval.
“We love the city. I’m gonna retire someday in this city. Thank you so much again. God bless you. Together, we can do it more,” he said.