Help with South Main project (Scranton, Wilkes-Barre: 2009, lofts, condos)

[ace3]

Hi all. I have been reading this forum and realize that there are many knowledgable people here on the Wilkes Bare area and wanted to write asking for some help. I help manage a shopping plaza in south Wilkes Barre that was neglected for a long time. The new owner is trying to clean it up and make it a nice place for people to shop instead of the eye sore that it has been for a while. There are two vacant spots in the center and I was wondering what type of business you think that area needs? There is also one acre of land that could be developed at the center and any suggestions on a business the area could use to utilize this space would be appreciated. Thank for your help and happy new year!

[W-B proud]

I'd like to see a muscal instrument shop. You know, a place that sells guitars, drums ect. A good Italian restaurant (not another pizza place) would be nice.

[ace3]

Thanks for the suggestion. Do you think this type of business would have success in that part of town?

[W-B proud]

To be quite honest with you, that is a dumpy part of town, and that shopping center attracts druggies, alcoholics, and other undesirables. I wish you luck, but you need to get the scumbags from loitering around there drinking malt liquor, and dealing drugs all day before even investing a dime into that dump. I don't mean to sound so negative and blunt, but that shopping center has been attracting the worse of the worse for a long time now. It's in a poor part of town, I'd invest in a security guard to patrol it also. If you want to know the truth, another place the sells cigarette's, sleazy magazine's lottery tickets, malt liquor, and "joint rolling papers, blunts and crack pipes would probably do extremely well down there. I'm sorry, but it's true.

[ace3]

I appreciate your response and your honesty. I am not surprised by your post as I've seen this type of attitude from many in the area that I have seeked advice from including the chamber of commerce. Instead of embracing an effort to make a part of the town you claim to be proud of better all you can do is ridicule and criticize. That's OK; as I've said everybody else has doe the same thing. We have made the center better by increasing the lighting, re-surfacing part of the lot and installing 8 surveillance cameras around the property. We have also been very selective of whom to give space to and we did secure a 10,000sf grocery store which will be opening next month. We are investing lots of money in the place in an effort to make that part of town appealing instead of an eysore and waste of space. I would think that folks in the town would appreciate the effort and it surprises me a bit of the reaction we get.

Anyway, thanks for at least taking the time to offer something. I was interested in people knowledgeable of the area offering suggestions on business that were needed in the town so that maybe that area could start to turn around a little at a time. The tenants in the center have mentioned that it is getting better. But if all you could do is call the place a dump and a waste then I guess I came to the wrong place seeking help.

Thanks again.

[JCannon]

I agree a music store would be nice and would bring in a vast variety of people... How about a comic store or something else of that nature ?

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by ace3

I appreciate your response and your honesty. I am not surprised by your post as I've seen this type of attitude from many in the area that I have seeked advice from including the chamber of commerce. Instead of embracing an effort to make a part of the town you claim to be proud of better all you can do is ridicule and criticize. That's OK; as I've said everybody else has doe the same thing. We have made the center better by increasing the lighting, re-surfacing part of the lot and installing 8 surveillance cameras around the property. We have also been very selective of whom to give space to and we did secure a 10,000sf grocery store which will be opening next month. We are investing lots of money in the place in an effort to make that part of town appealing instead of an eysore and waste of space. I would think that folks in the town would appreciate the effort and it surprises me a bit of the reaction we get.

Anyway, thanks for at least taking the time to offer something. I was interested in people knowledgeable of the area offering suggestions on business that were needed in the town so that maybe that area could start to turn around a little at a time. The tenants in the center have mentioned that it is getting better. But if all you could do is call the place a dump and a waste then I guess I came to the wrong place seeking help.

Thanks again.

Look, I don't mean to sound negative. I am all for seeing improvement in the city I love and call home. I have seen improvements in that shopping center, and I enjoy the Crown Fried Chicken place, I am also looking forward to the food market that'll be opening there. I also want to thank you for taking a chance and investing in Wilkes-Barre. I'm not putting down the shopping center itself, the neighborhood surrounding that shopping center is known for crime and undesirable's. An 80 year old lady was murdered in her home by a crack addict looking for money to get a fix, literally right next door to that shopping center, and all day and night there are bums and alcoholics hanging out in and around it, they try to bum beer money off of you when you pass them ect. I have a personal story. I went to eat at the China Queen, when me and my wife left, a bum started begging us for money, he said he was out of gas and needed gas money for his car that was down the street, I immediately smelled booze on his breath and knew he was trying to get money for liquor, I kindly told him that I have no money, but Labor Ready was right next door, and that he should go there and get a job and work for his money like the rest of us have to do. He did not care for my noble advice and began cursing me out and making derogatory statements toward my wife! This is why I have such a negative view of that shopping center. If you really want to improve it. It wouldn't hurt to have a security guard stationed there to keep these people from loitering around, and bumming for beer money. Other then that, I'd like to see a B-B-Q restaraunt, a music store, a computer store. I'd also like to see a French Restaraunt, because this area doesn't have one. I honestly wish you luck, and hope you guys can make that area attractive and welcoming to shoppers again. People once doubted that S.main st, down town by the theater would ever be cleaned up. It used to be crawling with hookers and drug dealers, but the city has transformed that area into one of the busiest hot spots in the area, so it can be done.

[ace3]

Thanks again for your response; I really appreciate your time and views. The passion that posters have shown in this forum was the reason I asked for input. I don't mind anybody being negative but find value in suggestions form locals like you on ways to make it better. Putting in businesses that the area needs and is desirable I believe is a good place to start.

I do realize there are many problems with that area in general and the plaza in particular. Some of the problems we are trying to correct but others will take some time. The source of the booze we can't do anything about; for now. When the time comes that problem will be taken care of.

Anyway please make any other suggestions or recommendations if you think of them. We will continue to do the best we can to turn the place around. We are passionate about doing our part in making that area a nice place to shop.

I have faith in the area. We used to work in Jamaica, Queens. South W-B is a walk in the park compared to that place. When we started we could buy all of Jamaica for a million bucks. Now you can't find anything to buy there. It can happen.

[ScranBarre]

Hello Ace, and thanks for investing in the Diamond City!

After many decades of hearing everyone say "Eww! Wilkes-Barre is a dump!" it's nice to finally see people who think it does have a chance to make a comeback again. I'm a college student up on the north end of town at King's, and many here on my own campus have noticed the changes around us recently and are very encouraged. I myself want to plant roots here to establish my family, rehabilitate an older home, and potentially open my own business (which I hope to have opened in Downtown Wilkes-Barre or Downtown Scranton by the time I'm 30).

There was no need to get so personally offended by what W-B Proud said, especially since he is our forum's most prolific Wilkes-Barre booster along with myself, Karnak, and Chefkey.. He's absolutely right. Image is everything, and most people think of the area around South Main & Academy to be "seedy," whether that is warranted or not. I personally think that once the units all fill up at the University Square complex (near the theater), that the sky is the limit for how far down South Main Street this revitalization can continue. If this is the same shopping center that used to house the Bi-Lo grocery store years back, then I can attest to the fact that there ARE some "issues" there that need to be addressed. One of my former managers was a manager at the Bi-Lo (a very nice man and a veteran, by the way), and he had all sorts of "horror stories" from his years of working there. Granted that was probably back in the late-1990s to around 2001 when he worked there so things might have improved since then, but once again that "image" is still imprinted in people's minds of "it's not safe to shop there."

What would I personally like to see in this plaza?

• Grocery Store: I'm glad to hear you're bringing one here, but this is a "chicken and the egg" sort of concept. People WILL be moving downtown as early as late-2009 into new lofts and condos, and they WILL be demanding a grocery store. As more and more amenities continue to spring up, more and more people will consider living downtown. However, at the same time, any business of that nature opening in the near-future can expect to be very slow initially until those new residents DO arrive downtown to help fill their cash registers.
• French Restaurant: Downtown Wilkes-Barre currently has a great Italian place (Cafe Toscana), a tasty Thai restaurant (Thai Thai), a solid Hibachi (Katana), and a Chinese buffet along East Market Street. There's also several pizzerias (Jannuzzi's just up the block comes to mind), and plenty of bars/clubs (Bart & Urby's, Rodano's, Big Ugly's, Hardware Bar, Bourbon Street Saloon, Club Luna, The Mines, etc.) I can't think of any decent French restaurants in the entire metropolitan area (think 500,000+ people to draw from), and if well-marketed a French restaurant could really do rather well. Everyone thought the other ethnic restaurants downtown would fail miserably when they first opened as well, but now they are all doing very well. I love eating downtown!
• Niche Retailers: I myself am looking to open my own store catering to running enthusiasts, which will be known as "Strideway" in the coming years. It will feature a wide selection of formidable running shoes, socks, water bottles, supplements, outings for runners, bottled water, etc.---essentially everything a serious runner would need all under one roof. I am looking to develop this, as I said, in a local downtown, and it would cater obviously to a specific niche market. Since I don't know of any store similar to this venture in our metro area, and I know of MANY recreational runners who would patronize a store like mine, I should be able to turn a profit. Downtown Scranton has a niche retailer called "Lavish" that sells primarily all sorts of skin care products. What you may want to attract would be a Wilkes-Barre branch of the Edible Arrangements franchise---fruit baskets arranged to like like floral bouquets. The Scranton location does very well, but they generally don't deliver to most of the Wyoming Valley, which means there is a very under served market here. Essentially think of something the Wyoming Valley is missing, and then seek someone out with enough start-up capital to give it a go. That's what I'll be doing with my running store.
• Krispy Kreme: With a Dunkin' Donuts, Curry Donuts, and Donut Connection already having presences in Wilkes-Barre I'm not sure if there would be enough of a market to support another donut shop, but who honestly doesn't love Krispy Kreme?! The nearest outlet is in Lackawanna County. Who is going to drive from, per se, Dallas, all the way up to Scranton just to buy a dozen Krispy Kremes? They'll drive to Wilkes-Barre though.

I'll add more ideas as I think of them. Once again, thanks for investing in an area where 99% of the residents do nothing but whine about how much it "sucks to live here."

[ace3]

ScranBarre,

Thanks for such a thoughtful response. I really like all the suggestions given to me and appreciate you all taking the time to post.