Kohl’s coming downtown
By R.A. WALKER - rwalker@sungazette.comArticle Photos
Fact Box
The Kohl's announcement: What was said and what went on• Mayor Gabriel J. Campana said more “big” announcements were yet to come, including two $6 million projects in the city’s West End. He offered no specifics but when asked if one involved the site of the former Kennedy King housing project, he did not say no.
• Not all the details of what will transpire as the new Kohl’s store is built were announced Tuesday and refinements are likely as the project unfolds.
However, city officials confirmed William Street, south of West Third Street, likely will be closed and will become part of the parking area for the new department store, the existing Wegmans store and other nearby businesses.
•Sophia Daskalakis, owner of The Olive Tree restaurant at West Third and William streets confirmed she will sell her property to the city in connection with the project. Daskalakis operated her restaurant at the same location for 33 years and said she will continue a catering service but has not decided whether she will reopen the restaurant at a new location.
• It is unknown whether other buildings in the area of the service center and Olive Tree will be absorbed, but city officials said they have no plans for additional purchases beyond the restaurant and school district’s properties.
• Other projects pending in the same area include “phase two” of the Trade and Transit Centre, which will include replacement of the oldest and smallest downtown decks and more bus terminals.
• The Williamsport Parking Authority plans to move forward with plans for the Church Street Transportation Center deck on Church Street, as well as a bump-up, two-level deck across from the new multi-plex movie theater.
In all, parking authority officials predict up to a 1,000 new parking spaces will be added in the downtown over the next few years.
• Special quest at Tuesday’s announcement were state forestry official and Scranton area television personality Manny Gordon, who is now in his 90s and gave the audience a sampling if his television appearances to promote Pennsylvania’s outdoors — “Enjoy! Enjoy!,” he said.
• The ceremony also was possibly the first with a guest musical artist. Local singer-songwriter Johnny J. Blair opened and closed the ceremony and performed a song he penned about life in the city.
Mayor Gabriel J. Campana signed a letter of intent with the Kohl’s department store chain Tuesday morning during a City Hall ceremony observed by a standing-room-only crowd in the City Council meeting room.
The actual construction of the new department store is contingent on the school district relocating its service center and moving from 201 W. Third St., so the current service center can be demolished and the land cleared and made ready by the city for Kohl’s to begin construction next May on a 64,000-square-foot store.
Campana said the city will purchase the site from the school district and sell the construction-ready site to Kohl’s chain.
According to William Nichols, city director of administration, the city will pay the school district a yet-undetermined amount for the service center property based on the property’s appraised value, and Kohl’s has agreed to pay the city at least $2.4 million toward acquisition costs and another $1.4 toward site preparation costs.
“There would be some additional costs above that,” he added, to be covered by redevelopment assistance and other funding available for the downtown revitalization initiative.
Tuesday, Campana shared center stage surrounded by a large supporting cast during his official announcement of the project, which he said was made possible largely because of the “vision” of a city resident — Dr. Anthony Cipolla, who has a dental practice in the downtown and lives on nearby West Edwin Street.
Cipolla was credited with first pitching the idea of a downtown store to the national chain and getting corporate officials interested and was among those standing with the mayor during the announcement.
Campana also praised state Rep. Steven W. Cappelli, R-Williamsport, who helped secure state funding for the downtown revitalization project, some of which will help make the project a “tax-revenue neutral” undertaking.
Cappelli said the turning point in the road to Tuesday’s announcement was Nov. 9, the day after last year’s general election, when he, Campana, Cipolla, Cappelli’s aide Jason Fitzgerald, Williamsport Parking Authority member Ray Thompson and Nichols flew to Milwaukee and met with Kohl’s officials.
Since then, he said, there have “been (many) intricate discussions,” but Kohl’s officials were interested from the beginning in the downtown and in the success of the Wegmans store located near the site on which it will build.
“This will be a major economic boost,” Cappelli predicted, praising the spirit of “cooperation” by everyone involved.
Others introduced included Williamsport Parking Authority members Ray Thompson, David Abernathy, Joseph Laver and Richard Fenstamaker. The parking authority was a key player behind the scenes during negotiations with the Kohl’s people, and Thompson noted the letter of intent signed by the mayor already has been signed by Kohl’s officials, though none attended Tuesday’s event. The authority plans to add 1,000 spaces downtown in coming years to support center city developments.
Dr. Kathleen Kelley, superintendent of the school district, also was present.
She said the district was “excited about working with the city” and confirmed negotiations had been under way “behind the scenes for months.”
The superintendent said it is key to keeping the project going forward as planned for the school district to find a new service center site.
She said no site has been chosen but revealed the district is looking at several in the downtown area “because that seems to work best for a district service center.”
She also expressed confidence a new home for the center can be found and the building made available in time to meet the site preparation and construction schedules.
City officials and parking authority members stressed there should be no tax revenue needed for the project and that, once completed, a tax-exempt property would be occupied by a tax paying business and employer.
Those closest to the negotiations with Kohl’s praised Campana’s enthusiasm for the project.
For example, Thompson said when Kohl’s officials visited the city, the mayor arranged to have “every (City Hall) player they needed to talk to sitting in the room” to answer their questions.
Cipolla noted that when city officials met with Kohl’s corporate officials in November it was quickly apparent they were interested in the downtown.
“It took about 20 minutes to realize it was ours to lose,” he said.
