Greensburg woos developers for downtown hotel project

Greensburg officials have long wanted a downtown hotel, and they’re done waiting for developers to come to them.

The city and the Greensburg Community Development Corp. are directly reaching out to developers, with a request for proposals for a hotel on Pennsylvania Avenue.

The city was recently in talks with an unidentified developer interested in building a hotel on South Pennsylvania, but that plan fell through, city Planning Director Barb Ciampini said.

The city’s hope for the RFP is for a new developer to take up the reins, renovating that location into a small “boutique” hotel.

“It’s certainly better to use an existing building, rather than to use a whole new one,” GCDC Director Ashley Kertes said.

The city estimates it would take about $9 million to turn the building into a hotel.

The proprety at 225 S. Pennsylvania Ave. has long been vacant. It’s owned by Anthony Bucciero, president of Guardian Construction.

It’s been on the brink of development several times in the past, Ciampini said. Seton Hill once proposed turning it into an arts center before opting to build along West Otterman Street.

“We’ve looked at the building for student housing; we’ve looked at that building for office space,” Ciampini said.

The city envisions a developer demolishing the adjacent building at 205 S. Pennsylvania Ave., which GCDC owns, to make room for an entryway and valet parking service, although that depends on the final design of the developer.

Hotel parking would most likely be on nearby city-owned spaces, according to the RFP.

GCDC highlights a slew of possible perks in its pitch to developers, including a tax break and possible state, city and county grants to cover part of the demolition and construction costs.

A downtown hotel has been in the city’s strategic plan since 2005.

“Now is finally the time for Greensburg to seize this development opportunity, which will ensure that our city will remain a center of entertainment and commerce,” Mayor Robert Bell said in a statement.

In 2017, the city and the GCDC hired Pittsburgh consultant Tripp Umbach to do a feasibility study, which found a hotel with 60-80 rooms would be profitable downtown, thanks to the tourism driven by the Palace Theatre, Westmoreland Museum of American Art and Seton Hill University.

Ciampini said a hotel would lead to the development of new businesses.

“It can only enhance the business and the retail corridor, along with all of our businesses in downtown Greensburg,” she said.

The GCDC will accept proposals until March 1. After that, it will likely take officials a month or two to review the proposals, and construction may not begin until late 2019 or early 2020, Ciampini said.

Jacob Tierney is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jacob at 724-836-6646, jtierney@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Soolseem.