Settlers Hospitality plans to rehabilitate historic White Mills Hotel for worker housing

Lake Region Development, Inc., led by Justin Genzlinger, CEO of Settlers Hospitality, which has numerous lodging and dining establishments in the Wayne/Pike County area, has plans for the historic White Mills Hotel in downtown White Mills.

The proposal is to use the building to provide affordable apartments for Settlers Hospitality employees. Genzlinger did not say what the rent would be.

A crowd gathered at the Texas Township municipal building on March 19, where Genzlinger explained the plans at a conditional use zoning hearing. The supervisors have yet to issue a ruling which can apply conditions on the operation.

The White Mills Hotel on Main Street (Route 6) sits at the corner with Elizabeth Street, across which is the Dorflinger Factory Museum. The hotel dates to 1901 when hotelier Thomas Gill enlarged a restaurant. For some years, the village landmark has been left vacant.

Mitch Jacobs, engineer and principal of Kiley Associates, said the proposed use is the same as before, and will have a maximum of nine boarding rooms accommodating up to 16 people.

There are four bathrooms and a small common area.

Ten off-street parking spaces would be provided out back, meeting zoning requirements. Presently there are only four spaces.

There will be no changes to the building dimensions, and no need for a land development plan. If conditional use is approved, the next step will be to acquire a building permit, ensuring renovations meet the state code.

Jacobs affirmed for purposes of the application that the project meets a "community need" for housing and provides no detriment to neighborhood character or traffic.

Ben Krempasky with Beach Lake Sprinkler testified that according to the International Building Code, the required sprinkler system limits occupancy to 16.

Attorney Thomas Farley, representing the applicant, said his client will have a lot of work to rehabilitate the property, which Farley said is deteriorating. "Some of the rooms are deplorable," Farley said, and some bathrooms do not work. Krempasky estimated that the cost of the sprinkler system alone will be approximately $20,000 to $50,000. Genzlinger, in his testimony, stated that the required renovations will cost "in the six figures."

Farley stated that when it was last open as a boarding house, the code was not in effect, and the building had no sprinklers.

Farley clarified that this hearing is not about the tenants who would rent there, but about the use of the property which is in the Commercial-1 zoning district. Nevertheless, he brought on testimony from Genzlinger to explain the intended operation to a curious public.

Genzlinger stated that he is CEO of both Settlers Hospitality and Settlers Holdings, which includes Lake Region Development and a few other real estate companies. "We employ over 500 people in four different counties... all in the hospitality industry, and we own and operate with a large group of other investors, that are part of 500,000 square feet of real estate that is predominantly in Wayne and Pike counties."

Locally, they operate Settlers Inn, Ledges Hotel, Silver Birches Resort and Runaway Train, as well as Hawley Silk Mill, Hawley Medical Center, and Lake Region Deli. They have about 40 residential units, vacation rentals on Lake Wallenpaupack and long-term rentals for their hospitality employees, mostly in Wayne County.

That same afternoon, Palmyra Township (Pike County) approved a conditional use for a new urgent care facility near the border with Wayne, owned by these business investors.

This White Mills project, Genzlinger said, helps meet a community need in that the hospitality employees have a challenging time paying rent. He said rents have nearly doubled in Hawley. "The intent for this project and others that we are doing is to accommodate people who are gainfully employed on a long-term basis that need rents they can afford for hourly jobs," he said.

He stated that four years ago they doubled their entry-level wage to $15 an hour.

"That comes out to 30 grand a year. However, when you are commuting 40 minutes to get to work, a lot of that goes away," he said, "because a thousand bucks a month for a one-bedroom apartment in Hawley, that used to be 500 or 600."

He stressed that he knows their staff can fill the White Mills Hotel, but if there is a vacancy, rooms will be available to anyone legally employed. Employment is required by the lease; if they lose employment they have to leave within due process.

A contact person, available 24/7, will be listed with the township in case there are any problems, he said.

He made clear this is not a short-term rental. "We try not to hire people to work for a week," he said. Furthermore, he stated this project is not for subsidized housing.

A neighbor to the hotel, Tori Barone, asked, "Who and where are these people from? Are these legal citizens who will be there?"

Genzlinger said he is not concerned where they are from originally. "I require them to be legal and to have a job," he said.

Barone rephrased, "Will these people be legal American citizens?"

Genzlinger said he would not knowingly lease to an "illegal immigrant" but added he does hire "international people who are legal to work in the United States with proper identification."

Related: Migrants are not being housed in Honesdale-area hotels, officials say

Another neighbor, Bridget Irwin, asked how this project benefits the community. Genzlinger mentioned several points. He stated that taking a vacant building, "borderline blighted," and rehabilitating it to rent to workers poses less community risk.

Tenants will also benefit the town, he said, by patronizing local businesses.

Irwin expressed concern about whether there will be space for tenants' guests, or if they will be parking on the street, in the church lot across the street or blocking the school bus stop. Jacobs, the engineer, replied that guest parking is not required in the ordinance but realistically they could park on the grass on the hotel property.

Bridget Irwin added that she hopes no sex offenders would be housed there. Another resident, Mary Irwin, said she hopes no animals will be allowed.

For more information about Settlers Holdings and Settlers Hospitality, visit settlershospitality.com/settlers-holdings.

Peter Becker has worked at the Tri-County Independent or its predecessor publications since 1994. Reach him at pbecker@tricountyindependent.com or 570-253-3055 ext. 1588.

This article originally appeared on Tri-County Independent: Housing planned for Settlers Hospitality workers at White Mills Hotel