Pashinski applauds approval of additional $500,000 RACP grant for Gateway Center Hotel Project

HARRISBURG, June 22 – State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Luzerne, recently announced the approval of a Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grant totaling $500,000 to the Greater Wilkes-Barre Industrial Fund for the Gateway Project 3.0 following April’s $2 million grant announcement for the project.

“With the help of Governor Wolf and the approval of this grant, we’re proud to share we’ve helped secure $7 million in RACP funding for the Gateway project since 2019,” Pashinski said. “These dollars are critical to completing the revitalization of River Street into a dynamic and welcoming thoroughfare for residents and visitors alike. Once completed, the city of Wilkes-Barre will be an even more lively, shoppable, and livable place to live, work and visit.”

Pashinski said the funding will be used to help create a mixed-use, five-story, urban development center complete with a 110-room hotel, rooftop bar and restaurant, breakfast cafe, and conference space. The center will showcase a panoramic view of the river, mountains and city skyline from the rooftop bar and restaurant. The conference center will also provide flexible, technologically advanced meeting space, including a balcony and terrace overlooking the Susquehanna River. The center will also feature a ground-level breakfast and lunch café, allowing outdoor seating on the corner of River and Market streets.

“I truly appreciate Governor Wolf’s consistent support for this project and many more in Northeast Pennsylvania,” Pashinski said. “I thank him for approving this funding and can’t wait to see the completed project attracting conferences and visitors to our most vibrant downtown for decades to come.”

The Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program is a commonwealth grant program administered by the Office of the Budget for the acquisition and construction of regional economic, cultural, civic, recreational and historical improvement projects. RACP projects are authorized in the Redevelopment Assistance section of a Capital Budget Itemization Act, have a regional or multi-jurisdictional impact, and generate substantial increases or maintain current levels of employment, tax revenues or other measures of economic activity.