It was an ordinary day. Reading in my morning newspaper about the historic Swan Hotel, which sits on the corner of South Queen and East Vine Streets in downtown Lancaster, becoming a nine-room boutique hotel with a speakeasy under a Lancaster City builder's proposal. A friend from high school and his wife had owned the Swan for many years and finally decided to sell the business and property and retire. The historic Swan Hotel in downtown would become a nine-room boutique hotel with a speakeasy under a Lancaster city builder's proposal. Earlier this week, the Lancaster Convention Center Authority, which owns the building at 101 S. Queen St., across Vine Street from the Swan, selected Brentwood Builder to purchase and develop the 200-year-old hotel. The developer submitted the high bid of $508,643 in a public sale that attracted three offers. The developer told the authority it plans to spend an additional $2.7 million to renovate the three-story, 4,800-square-foot building. Hostetter said, "We see the Swan renovation as an opportunity to provide a unique travel experience in downtown Lancaster. The sale of the Swan is contingent on the two sides negotiating a contract with more specific details. The Convention Center authority would have to approve the agreement before transferring the property to Brentwood. The project would end uncertainty over the fourth corner of one of downtown's major intersections, South Queen and Vine Street, which is located immediately south of the Lancaster County Convention Center, and one block south of Penn Square. The other three corners are already slated to host developments. Lancaster History is scheduled to open a museum next year inside Thaddeus Stevens home and law office. Willow Valley plans to begin construction on Mosaic, the county's tallest building, later this year; and the Southern Market has ben revived as a food hall. Brentwood's proposed renovation would be in line with the vision the convention center authority laid out in its request for proposals for the public sale. The authority said it envisioned a project serving conventioneers and other downtown visitors, combining lodging and entertainment that would help revitalize the cover of South Queen and Vine Streets. Under Brentwood's conceptual plans, two suites would be located on the first floor, three on the second floor, and four on the third. The speakeasy would have a seven-seat bar and two small tables. The convention center authority would get priority on room bookings. The Swan, which was built in 1824 as a hospital and converted into a hotel and tavern, last operated as a bar in 1995 and has sat vacant since then, with at least two failed renovation plans. Last fall the authority held another public sale for the building, along with the rights to develop the air rights of the neighboring property at 10 E. Vine St. The only bid was rejected because it didn't include lodging, or plans for air rights, which would have allowed the developer to create a structure that left most of the surface lot available for parking. I'm sure that all of Lancaster is awaiting the start of development on the old Swan Hotel. It is a beautiful old building and it would be nice to keep it intact, but that might be tough to do. Time will tell. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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| The Historic Swan Hotel in downtown Lancaster, PA |
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