King’s College Moves Forward with Ramada Project

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King’s College Moves Forward with Ramada Project

King's reveals plans for Ramada renovation. Photo Credit: wnep.com

King’s reveals plans for Ramada renovation. Photo Credit: wnep.com

Construction is underway at the former site of the Ramada hotel in downtown Wilkes-Barre. The site, at 20 Public Square will soon be the home of the King’s College physician assistant, exercise science, and athletic training programs. It will also provide additional housing for King’s students. College officials say the project should be complete in time for the Fall 2014 semester.

King’s purchased the property for $2.7 million last November. The entire cost of the project is expected to reach $ 16 million. According to earlier local media reports, the college will be raising funds both privately and publicly to help offset the costs.

Two Wilkes-Barre companies will be overseeing the design and construction of the new building. Panzitta Enterprises will be handling the construction, while Williams Kinsman Lewis Architecture P.C. is in charge of architecture and engineering.

Panzitta Enterprises recently completed construction of the Luzerne County Community College Health Sciences building in downtown Nanticoke, which was formerly the Kanjorski building. They have also remodeled several area apartment buildings.

King’s has worked with Williams Kinsman Lewis Architecture in the past. The company is responsible for the design of the O’Hara Hall multi-use building. WKL has also done work for Misericordia University and the Geisinger Health System.

King’s officials and Wilkes-Barre Mayor Tom Leighton believe the project will create about 20 new jobs in the area, as well as additional revenue to the towns’ downtown business district.

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Power To Save: Solar Panels Powering Part Of King’s College

WILKES-BARRE: The holidays plus the colder weather mean a lot of us will see higher energy bills.

When it comes to winter time in northeastern and central Pennsylvania, many people think of snow and cloudy weather, but the president of Endless Mountain Solar says we see more sunshine overall than some countries that rely on power from the sun.

“On average in northeast Pennsylvania, there’s about 4.18 hours of sunlight per day. In Germany, which over 40 percent of the country is run on solar electricity, they get about 3.5 hours per sunlight a day. So we actually get more sunlight then Germany,” said Mike Pitcavage, Endless Mountain Solar.

Panzitta Enterprises Inc. is the contractor that transformed the Ramada Hotel into King’s on the Square. Panzitta is donating a solar system to the college and installing it on the roof.

The 214 solar panels on the roof are expected to generate about $500,000 of electricity over their 20-year lifespan. That means King’s College will save a lot of money on its utility bills.

“It is the same as generating electricity from natural gas, coal, you name it. It’s actually come down quite a bit in price.”

Pitcavage says investments in solar power have become more affordable. If the panels generate extra energy when the college is closed during the summer, Pitcavage says King’s could actually make money by selling the electricity and sending it to the nationwide power grid.

Power To Save: Solar Panels Powering Part Of King’s College


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