WILKES-BARRE — Larry Newman, executive director at Diamond City Partnership, says that Downtown Wilkes-Barre is in the process of a significant transformation.
“Some of that change is due to the impact of the COVID pandemic — but much of it has been underway for decades,” Newman said. “Downtown is returning to its origins as a mixed-use neighborhood — where commercial uses share space with residents, educational and cultural institutions, and other functions. It’s shifting away from the pattern that took hold more than a century ago, when commerce began to dominate Downtown’s land use.”
Newman said diversification of activity is the key to Downtown’s future — because these days, more and more people want walkable, mixed-use places.
“They are choosing them as places to visit,” Newman said. “They are choosing them as places to live. They are choosing them as places to attend school. And they are choosing them as places to work and build businesses.”
Newman said he and Downton planners have seen that play out in Downtown Wilkes-Barre, which — thanks to the demand for downtown living — has enjoyed a 38% population increase between 2010 and 2020.
“At the same time, the rise of remote work has changed the way that people use office buildings, and ultimately it has reduced overall demand for office space,” Newman said.
With large employers like Berkshire Hathaway GUARD and Highmark seeing many of their employees working from home or remotely, Newman said the consequences for office-dominated neighborhoods have been profound.
“The total number of employee visits to Downtown Wilkes-Barre in 2023 was 56% of the 2019 total, and it’s unlikely that the office sector — here or anywhere else — will return to the way it was before,” Newman said.
”So, we’ve set a new course. We’re working to shape a downtown that people will visit because they want to be here — not because they are required to be here.”
That’s why Newman said DCP spends so much time working on curb appeal — making Downtown clean, safe, and attractive.
“It’s why we have introduced new events — such as the City’s Public Square concerts, and DCP’s monthly ‘Sunsets on South Main’ music series, or ‘Downtown Discoveries’ festival — to augment Downtown traditions like the Fine Arts Fiesta, Farmers Market, and the City’s holiday parades,” Newman said. “It’s why we’ve redoubled our efforts to market Downtown’s businesses, venues, and attractions.”
And, Newman said, it’s why DCP has been advocating for a more walkable public environment — one that supports, rather than detracts from, the Downtown’s broader development goals.
“Today, we’re starting to see the results of this work as recovery plays out at street level,” Newman said.
From 2007 through 2020, Newman said Downtown Wilkes-Barre enjoyed a net gain of 55 occupied storefronts. Then the pandemic hit, and for several years, vacancies mounted.
“Those trends have now reversed and are positive once again,” Newman said. “For example, during the first three months of 2024, six new storefront businesses have opened in the second block of South Main Street and the first block of East Northampton Street. Another new business is now on the way.”
Newman said it’s worth noting that these new businesses have chosen smaller lease spaces in older commercial buildings close to the Wilkes University campus, in a section of Downtown that still retains its historic character and is anchored by a lot of new residential development.
Those choices are deliberate, Newman said.
And many of Downtown’s newest businesses have been assisted by the SPARK program, which Mayor George Brown created to stimulate new business development throughout the City of Wilkes-Barre in the wake of COVID.
Newman said by providing money to help cover rent and other occupancy expenses, SPARK — which was administered by the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber — subsidized the start-up costs for participating businesses — which increases the chances of their sustainability over the long term.
“The program came along at a critical time for Downtown’s economy, and we’re grateful that the Mayor and City Council were willing to invest ARPA funds in a way that provided a direct stimulus to business district recovery,” Newman said. “Now, we’re moving into a new phase of economic development efforts, involving proactive work to recruit additional complementary businesses.”
For example, both Mayor Brown and Newman view a downtown grocery as a recruitment priority, because the growing population of downtown residents want to purchase items like fresh meat, dairy, produce, and more in their own neighborhood.
“But such a grocery wouldn’t just serve those who live here,” Newman said. “It would be patronized by employees, students, and visitors as well.”
Newman says the key to downtown Wilkes-Barre’s future does not lie in positioning it solely as a retail center, or as an office center, or as an entertainment center, or even as a residential center.
“It lies in shaping a place that supports all of those activities,” Newman said. “A dense, mixed-use neighborhood where people simultaneously work, live, shop, visit, and learn.”
Newman said a downtown that’s busy at different times of the day for different uses and different reasons is a downtown that’s more economically resilient — and a far more compelling place for everyone.
“As we attract a mix of residents, workers, students, and visitors, and we craft a comfortable, walkable public environment that prioritizes people over cars and embraces incredible assets like our historic architecture, the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, Public Square, and the River Common, Downtown Wilkes-Barre will continue to rebound,” Newman said.
Will we ever see the multiple hotel complexes as promised?
Newman said he would defer to the developers behind each of Downtown Wilkes-Barre’s proposed hotels regarding their progress and timelines.
But he did want to talk about why DCP supports the addition of new hotels to the downtown market.
“At the present time, Downtown Wilkes-Barre has one hotel with 72 rooms,” Newman said. “That means that Downtown Wilkes-Barre can’t currently host the larger conferences that rotate between other Pennsylvania cities. It also means that most Downtown visitors stay elsewhere.”
Newman said event bookers increasingly look for walkable downtowns offering options for lodging, dining, and recreation. He said Downtown Wilkes-Barre fits the bill when it comes to walkability, dining, and amenities — but Downtown doesn’t have the room count.
“An expansion in Downtown’s hotel offerings will increase foot traffic, bring new customers to Downtown businesses, and create new synergies with downtown attractions and venues,” Newman said
During 2023, Newman said visitation of all kinds to Downtown Wilkes-Barre reached 88% of 2019 levels. That figure, which encompasses everyone who came here to shop, dine, and attend shows and events, is well above Downtown’s return-to-office numbers.
“But if we had more hotel rooms, it would be even higher,” Newman said. “There’s an economic term called ‘induced demand,’ and what it means in this case is that when you add new hotels to an under-served sub-market, you grow room-nights for everyone.”
In fact, Newman said an expanded Downtown Wilkes-Barre hospitality market will facilitate the recovery of Downtown’s overall economy — data from across the United States shows that downtowns with higher percentages of employment in leisure and hospitality also have the highest overall pandemic recovery rates.
“The more that we can do to facilitate the growth of the downtown hospitality sector, the better it will be for Downtown in general,” Newman said.
Diamond City Partnership at work
Newman said DCP’s work can be summarized as:
• Ensuring that Downtown Wilkes-Barre is consistently clean, safe, and attractive.
• Helping Downtown’s existing businesses and venues.
• Improving the product by creating lively, interesting, high-quality places.
• Marketing those places to the people we wish to attract.
• Planting the seeds for new economic growth.
“Putting it another way, DCP is simultaneously working to improve Downtown’s environment, Downtown’s image, and Downtown’s economy,” Newman said.
That work, Newman said, is guided by the following goals — based on Downtown’s existing assets and strengths — which form the basis of DCP’sr Downtown plan:
• Downtown will be the region’s “walk-to-everything” urban neighborhood of choice.
• Downtown will be the region’s college neighborhood.
• Downtown will be a regional center of arts, culture, dining, and entertainment.
• Downtown will be the region’s “Innovation District” — its hub for startup activity and entrepreneurship.
• Downtown’s historic architecture, walkability, riverfront, and colleges will be the cornerstones of its enhanced visitor experience.
“We don’t do this by ourselves,” Newman said. “It’s a collaborative effort involving partners such as the City of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania; the businesses and property owners that support the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Improvement District; our corporate and foundation sponsors and funders; economic development organizations such as the Greater Wyoming Valley Chamber and the Wilkes SBDC; the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association and the Downtown Residents Association; and the DCP board members, volunteers and stakeholders who help us undertake our initiatives.”