Northeastern PennsylvaniaScranton, Wilkes-Barre, Pocono area
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I am looking for a rental in the wilkes barre area and can't seem to find anything online. I noticed your pics you took and admired them. I was orginally looking for a loft to rent but couldn't find anything. I am a single professional and want a really nice place to rent. Any suggestions?
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"Pittsburgh: America's Most Livable City"
(set 23 days ago)
Location: Polish Hill, Pittsburgh, PA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sisterstreams
I am looking for a rental in the wilkes barre area and can't seem to find anything online. I noticed your pics you took and admired them. I was orginally looking for a loft to rent but couldn't find anything. I am a single professional and want a really nice place to rent. Any suggestions?
Unfortunately Wilkes-Barre (and Scranton) were not forward-thinking enough to latch onto the coattails of the urban condo/loft boom until it was too late and the economy started turning sour. Information regarding the lofts I pictured along South Main Street can be found here:
The downside? Downtown Wilkes-Barre is still a "transitional" area as far as being a neighborhood is concerned. South Main Street has come a long way from being the decrepit armpit it was in the early-2000s, but even now it is still nowhere near being a "desirable" address. From these lofts you could walk easily to Boscov's (department store), Barnes & Noble, Starbuck's, F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, the YMCA, many restaurants, the movie theater, houses of worship, both college campuses (King's & Wilkes), the riverfront park, and several other points of interest. However, Downtown still seriously lacks retail. You won't be within walking distance of any grocery stores (although the weekly farmers' markets on the square are nice in the warmer months).
Sadly there isn't really a "magnet" place for single professionals in the Wilkes-Barre area. I know a lot of younger educated people live in Kingston, just across the river from Downtown Wilkes-Barre, so I suppose you could give Green Acres (apartments) a shot. There are also still a few of the Dorranceton Townhomes left (NYC-style Brownstones along Rutter Avenue in a pleasant neighborhood). Kingston has an inner-suburban atmosphere and is mostly flat, has lots of sidewalks and shade trees, and has numerous businesses.
Kingston is one of the region's best-kept secrets. It is also rather odd in that while nearly every Kingston resident I know is liberal-leaning Republicans dominate the community. You may want to check out my Kingston Photo Tour .
Downtown Wilkes-Barre sure looks better than downtown Scranton.
That's because Downtown Wilkes-Barre is more compact, walkable, and well-defined, in my opinion. The Diamond City is bounded on the north by "North Street", on the south by "South Street", on the west by the new riverfront park, and on the east by the wide Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. The epicenter is Public Square, which hosts the annual Fine Arts Fiesta, weekly farmers' markets, and other fine events and is also slated for a facelift with additional parking. King's College and Wilkes University bookend the downtown. A resident of the new lofts has the following at their fingertips within a half-mile's walk:
-Cinema 14
-F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
-YMCA
-Barnes & Noble/Starbuck's
-Boscov's
-Cafe Toscana
-Bart & Urby's
-Hardware Bar
-Thai Thai
-Katana
-Rodano's
-Banks
-Major White-Collar Employers (Guard Insurance, Blue Cross of NEPA, ParenteRandolph, Frontier, PNC, state labor workers, etc.)
-Arts YOUniverse
-Osterhout Library
-Houses of Worship
-Irem Temple (Proposed Museum)
-River Commons
-Kirby Park
-Coal Street Park (A stretch, but it's still accessible via foot)
-More Dining/Shopping on the Way
Hell, if Downtown Wilkes-Barre were to land a Trader Joe's, Dean & DeLuca, Harris Teeter, or a Whole Foods you'd likely see interest in downtown living truly boom. It always amazes me how critical everyone is of Mayor Leighton when he's done more for Wilkes-Barre's impending revival than Mayor Doherty has done for Scranton in twice as long in office. Are people in Wilkes-Barre just bitter?
What I'd like to see long-term?
-Once the Wachovia Arena eventually becomes obsolete (it's already 11 years old, so give it another 15-20 years) I'd like to see a new arena built at the foot of Coal Street on the large vacant tract of land along Wilkes-Barre Boulevard (potentially also razing the Jewelcor Building for an attached parking garage with street-level leasable space for bars/restaurants/shops). Doing this would help to give a big boost to the city.
-Revamp Market Street Square. Raze the disgusting current one-story strip mall. Restore the old train station into a visitors' center (and/or a spur to New York City via Scranton if and when the commuter rail line is ever re-established).
-Convert the Irem Temple into a children's science center, serving as a regional draw.
-This was W-B Proud's idea, but adorn the cornices and roof-lines of the buildings comprising the downtown skyline with color-changing fiber-optic lighting, similar to Downtown Richmond, Virginia (or the Firefighters' Memorial Bridge in Pittston as an example).
-Bring added emphasis to the river. Host an annual regatta race, kayaking excursions, and other fun events. Moving the fireworks from Kirby Park to the River Commons would be nice as well.
-Continue to bring more housing downtown. More downtown residents means more foot traffic to deter crime, boost businesses, spur new economic development, and lead to rising property values that will radiate to adjacent neighborhoods.
That's because Downtown Wilkes-Barre is more compact, walkable, and well-defined, in my opinion. The Diamond City is bounded on the north by "North Street", on the south by "South Street", on the west by the new riverfront park, and on the east by the wide Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. The epicenter is Public Square, which hosts the annual Fine Arts Fiesta, weekly farmers' markets, and other fine events and is also slated for a facelift with additional parking. King's College and Wilkes University bookend the downtown. A resident of the new lofts has the following at their fingertips within a half-mile's walk:
-Cinema 14
-F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts
-YMCA
-Barnes & Noble/Starbuck's
-Boscov's
-Cafe Toscana
-Bart & Urby's
-Hardware Bar
-Thai Thai
-Katana
-Rodano's
-Banks
-Major White-Collar Employers (Guard Insurance, Blue Cross of NEPA, ParenteRandolph, Frontier, PNC, state labor workers, etc.)
-Arts YOUniverse
-Osterhout Library
-Houses of Worship
-Irem Temple (Proposed Museum)
-River Commons
-Kirby Park
-Coal Street Park (A stretch, but it's still accessible via foot)
-More Dining/Shopping on the Way
Hell, if Downtown Wilkes-Barre were to land a Trader Joe's, Dean & DeLuca, Harris Teeter, or a Whole Foods you'd likely see interest in downtown living truly boom. It always amazes me how critical everyone is of Mayor Leighton when he's done more for Wilkes-Barre's impending revival than Mayor Doherty has done for Scranton in twice as long in office. Are people in Wilkes-Barre just bitter?
What I'd like to see long-term?
-Once the Wachovia Arena eventually becomes obsolete (it's already 11 years old, so give it another 15-20 years) I'd like to see a new arena built at the foot of Coal Street on the large vacant tract of land along Wilkes-Barre Boulevard (potentially also razing the Jewelcor Building for an attached parking garage with street-level leasable space for bars/restaurants/shops). Doing this would help to give a big boost to the city.
-Revamp Market Street Square. Raze the disgusting current one-story strip mall. Restore the old train station into a visitors' center (and/or a spur to New York City via Scranton if and when the commuter rail line is ever re-established).
-Convert the Irem Temple into a children's science center, serving as a regional draw.
-This was W-B Proud's idea, but adorn the cornices and roof-lines of the buildings comprising the downtown skyline with color-changing fiber-optic lighting, similar to Downtown Richmond, Virginia (or the Firefighters' Memorial Bridge in Pittston as an example).
-Bring added emphasis to the river. Host an annual regatta race, kayaking excursions, and other fun events. Moving the fireworks from Kirby Park to the River Commons would be nice as well.
-Continue to bring more housing downtown. More downtown residents means more foot traffic to deter crime, boost businesses, spur new economic development, and lead to rising property values that will radiate to adjacent neighborhoods.
I think downtown W-B would benefit greatly from an "Urban Marketplace" like Reading Terminal Market › Home it would be unique to the region and would be a keystone of the downtown revitalization efforts. it would serve W-B's 14,000 strong downtown workforce, the college students, and the future downtown residents. I think an ideal location for it would be the ground floor of the future Hotel Sterling parking garage. That would place it right across the street from the River Common, right between King's and Wilkes, and right in the heart of downtown W-B's office buildings. It would be like a big, expanded, indoor farmers market. I imagine it could run all week, and on Thursdays they could just move in to Public Square like they currently do.
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