Greensburg Community Development Corp. extends deadline for hotel proposals

The Greensburg Community Development Corp. is giving developers another month to make their pitch for a downtown hotel.

The group issued a request for proposals last month in the hopes of attracting hotel development.

The original deadline for proposals was March 1.

“We had a few interested developers who say they needed more time to submit a quality proposal,” corporation Director Ashley Kertes said.

The new deadline is April 1. Kertes said she’s hopeful the group will have proposals to consider by then.

The Community Development Corp. started working with the city on this initiative when talks with an unidentified hotel developer fell through last year.

Officials want a new developer to pick up where the last one left off, building a 60- 80-room hotel at 225 S. Pennsylvania Ave. The long-vacant building is owned by Anthony Bucciero, president of Guardian Construction.

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

A developer would be eligible for tax breaks 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.

The request for proposals was a joint project between the corporation and the city planning department.

Greensburg is currently without a planning director. City council fired previous director Barbara Ciampini last month. The city has not disclosed the reasons she was fired.

Kertes said this will not slow down the hotel proposal selection process.