It’s been a couple years now that you can get a Starbucks coffee in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The real signs of the times in the Diamond City haven’t even happened yet. That includes the $25 million state-of-the-art intermodal facility that will centralize public transportation and provide more than 750 much-needed parking spaces for people coming to Public Square and Main Street for a movie, some drinks, or even that cup of coffee inside a spacious Barnes and Noble shared by King’s College and Wilkes University.
For years, going downtown wasn’t an attractive option, especially at night. That has changed for a variety of reasons, and businesses are taking notice. Philadelphia-based law firm Cozen O’Connor opened an office there and statewide environmental advocate Pennfuture did the same in the last year. As part of a migration of 2,000 overseas jobs, Sallie Mae added 600 jobs in the Hanover Township Industrial Park facility just outside Wilkes-Barre. Another big-time city employer, All One Health, continued to grow.
The city’s colleges are also growing. Downtown Wilkes is striding to the forefront of online teaching education and should have its new law school ready in 2010. College Misericordia in nearby Dallas earned a $2.75 million state grant that will expand its College of Health Sciences that will create 25 full-time jobs. The city is also prepping its satellite facility for The Commonwealth Medical College in Scranton.
The Innovation Center of Wilkes-Barre, a five year-old incubator is helping keep students from the area’s 12 colleges in the region by helping young companies like PepperJam and Solid Cactus gain a solid footing. The center is also rehabbing an old bank on Public Square for more incubator space.
The city is also the hub of the region’s burgeoning eco-tourism industry, as several organizations are reclaiming or rehabbing former coal mining land and designating it for a number of recreational activities. Planned riverfront expansion along the Susquehanna will also help.
While Wilkes-Barre is still shedding its identity as an old coal mining town, the city has never been better positioned to make real strides. By the time this year’s downtown Fine Arts Fiesta rolls around, the city will look and feel even more different.
Source: Keystone Edge
Writer: Joe Petrucci
