(rshsdepot) Scranton News

["Jim Guthrie" <jguthrie_@_pipeline.com>]

The University of Scranton said Wednesday it is considering buying the
landmark Radisson at Lackawanna Station hotel after being approached
recently by the former train station's current owners.

Gerry Zaboski, a university spokesman, declined to say what the college
would do with the hotel if such a deal was made or provide the asking price
of the hotel by owner DanMar Hotel Inc.


"As we have done several times over the years when approached in a similar
fashion, we are taking a closer look at the facility," said Zaboski.

Officials from DanMar, whose principals run Danella Companies of Plymouth
Meeting, Pa., declined to comment on the matter. Danella operates a variety
of businesses, ranging from utility construction to real estate management
and development.

Kelly Ranieli, acting general manager of the Radisson, said she was given no
information on the possible sale of the 145-room hotel.
While this was the first time the university was approached with an offer
from the current owners, other owners have discussed a possible sale to the
school, Zaboski said.

"Previously, we have not been able to identify a suitable university use for
the building. We are reviewing it carefully because of its connection to our
campus, our admiration for the structure and our respect for its importance
to the city of Scranton," he said.

The university considered using the Lackawanna Avenue site for dorm rooms,
with two students per room, when former owners were facing bankruptcy about
15 years ago, said Glenn Pellino, a former director of planning at the
university and now Lackawanna County's economic development director.

"At that time, the university was looking at the building as an alternative
to building on-campus dormitories," Pellino said. "While we found the cost
of acquiring the building to be attractive, it would have been an
inefficient use of space with all the open non-dormitory space. The net cost
per bed to us would have made it unattractive."

The university has since constructed several on-campus dorms, he said.
Pellino said rumors of a university purchase of the Radisson site have been
floated since he started working at the school in 1980, including its use as
a law school. That idea was never considered by the university, he said.

The historic site dates back to 1908, when the Delaware, Lackawanna &
Western Railroad opened Lackawanna Station. The building, which is built
with Indiana limestone and features 70-foot columns and Tiffany glass, cost
$500,000. The station operated untouched until 1970, when the last passenger
train stopped at the station.

The building sat vacant for nearly a decade before an arm of the Greater
Scranton Chamber of Commerce raised $13 million to restore the building into
a hotel. On Dec. 31, 1983, the Hilton at Lackawanna Station opened, and
local officials often point to that date as the start of downtown Scranton's
revitalization.

After a short stint as the Royce Hotel in 1989, DanMar purchased the hotel
for $4 million in 1993, the same year the Mall at Steamtown opened.
The company made $1.5 million in renovations and converted it to a Radisson.

The Radisson served as the only upscale hotel in downtown Scranton until
2003, when the Hilton Scranton and Conference Center opened just a block
away. Instead of the competition boosting incoming business for both hotels,
occupancy at the Radisson has dropped, and the Hilton has failed to find it
footing in the Scranton landscape.

While the university's plans are not clear, it is increasingly common for
colleges to own hotels, using the space as a conference center or converting
it for classroom or dormitory space.
Hospitality and higher education have been growing closer in recent years,
said Greg Birch of the Nevada Hotel and Lodging Association.

Colleges with hospitality management programs often operate their own
facilities as training laboratories for students, he said. Even schools with
no hospitality program see value in operating a hotel - or having a
third-party operate it as a branded facility.

Universities such as Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., for example, have
hotels on campus operated by major chains.

"Schools have a steady flow of special events, visiting dignitaries, alumni,
parents and students," he said. "Particularly if the hotel is on campus or
within walking distance, operating a facility gives a school a lot of
flexibility."

Converting the building to an educational use could be prohibitively
expensive, said John Cognetti, president of Hinerfeld Realty Co., which
neighbors the Lackawanna Station.

"Whoever owns that building has an obligation to preserve it," he said.

Austin Burke, president of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, said he
would like to see the Radisson remain a hotel. But if it came down to being
vacant or sold, he would like to see the University of Scranton as the
buyer.

"Colleges maintain and protect facilities very well. If anyone were to take
(the Radisson) for non-hotel use, I think the university would be the
strongest entity to protect it and keep it a focal point of that our
community can be proud of," he said.



ŠThe Citizens Voice 2004


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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org

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End of RSHSDepot Digest V1 #1046
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The Railroad Station Historical Society maintains a database of existing
railroad structures at: http://www.rrshs.org