For Immediate Release
Contact: Wendy Hinton
Director of Advancement Communications
(570) 208-8130
wendyhinton@kings.edu
Wilkes-Barre, Pa., December 9, 2021 – On December 6, 2021, King’s College was awarded a $2 million grant from the Pennsylvania Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program (RACP) for the Times Leader Building Project located on North Main Street in Downtown Wilkes-Barre. The grant was among those announced by State Senator John Yudichak, State Representative Eddie Day Pashinski, and Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf.
This latest funding cumulatively marks $3.5 million in RACP funds awarded to King’s in support of the College’s plans to rehabilitate and bring to life the building in the heart of the downtown. Previously, a $1.5 million RACP grant was allocated in support of the project, which is estimated to cost approximately $8 million when completed. The project has also received a separate $400,000 grant under Pennsylvania’s Industrial Sites Reuse Program (ISRP) to remediate the building of asbestos and other hazards.
“King’s College is extremely grateful for this crucial RACP grant award for the renovation of the former Times Leader Building and the support shown to us by our elected officials, including State Senator Yudichak, State Representative Pashinski, Governor Wolf, and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Brown,” remarked King’s College President Rev. Thomas P. Looney, C.S.C. “We are proud of our expanding campus footprint as we work to provide state-of-the-art educational facilities for our students as well as academic programs that meet the needs of our region and beyond,” he said.
As the College works towards renovating the facility into a vibrant academic center in the heart of our city, the extensive project includes abatement of hazardous materials, upgrades to the HVAC, electrical, and plumbing systems, and improvements to the facility’s flooring, elevator, roof, façade, and other site work. The project, once completed, will ultimately convert the building into a facility to prepare career-ready candidates for high-paying in-demand professions in the health sciences. This facility will work in cooperation with the already-established Dr. Richard Abbas Alley Center for Health Sciences, which houses the College’s competitive Physician Assistant, Exercise Science, Nursing, Athletic Training, and Nutrition Science programs and provides residential housing for students directly on Public Square. The Times Leader building is located directly across the street from the Alley Center and plans are already underway for additional academic programs that will utilize the space.
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. RACP projects are state-funded projects that cannot obtain primary funding under other state programs.