By Christina Tatu
Pocono Record Writer

The Wine & Spirits store on Main Street in downtown Stroudsburg is under contract to be purchased by Dein Properties, developer of the former Carlton House property.

The single-story building at 761 Main Street is owned by Kenton Harris and Jane Harris of Miami, Fla., and is located next to the vacant lot formerly occupied by the Carlton House on the corner of Eighth and Main streets.

The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board has rented the space for many years.

“We will demolish that building and are working with the State Liquor Control Board to hopefully relocate the liquor store and make them a tenant in the new building on Main Street,” said George Strunk, General Manager of Dein Properties.

Dein Properties hopes to officially close on the liquor store building by the end of the month, Strunk said. The building was purchased for $375,000 at the end of December.

Because it’s still early in the process, Strunk was unsure how long it may be before the liquor store is demolished.

Stacy Kriederman, a spokeswoman for the State Liquor Control Board, said on Monday the state has a contract to lease the building until June 30, 2016 and plans to stay at the Main Street location until the lease is up.

Dein Properties plans to build a five-story building on the two lots, featuring a mix of retail space on the first floor, office space on the second and third floors and apartments on the fifth and sixth floors.

Now that Dein has acquired the liquor store, they are working to incorporate the additional square footage into their plans, Strunk said.

He was unsure, however, exactly how much additional square footage the new parcel would add.

It’s likely the additional space would allow Dein to construct a building that “isn’t as deep,” or does not infringe in Cherry Alley as much as previously envisioned, Strunk said.

Cherry Alley runs directly behind the liquor store and former Carlton House property.

Dein Properties has also approached Joseph Shay, owner of 759 Main Street, another single-story building next door to the liquor store which houses Bridal Creations, Strunk said.

Dein Properties and Shay could not agree on a price however, and Dein has stopped pursing that property at this time, Strunk said.

Shay did not immediately return a phone call for comment Monday.

In addition to the liquor store, Dein Properties also recently acquired 16 South Eighth Street.

That building is located directly behind the former Carlton House property on the other side of Cherry Alley.

At this time there are no plans for how that property may be incorporated into the project.

Strunk declined to comment on how much that parcel was purchased for, but according to a real estate listing, the 3,040-square-foot building had been listed for $199,900.

Dein Properties bought the Carlton House for $195,000 at an auction in May 2012. The building had sat vacant since 2009 when it was damaged by fire.

On Monday, Jane Harris confirmed that she was under contract to sell 761 Main Street.

The Harris family was first approached by Dein Properties about a year ago, she said.

According to property records Kenton Harris and Jane Harris purchased the building for $450,000 in October 2008.

“Honestly, I was tired of managing the building. It’s so old. It was getting really costly because it was always leaking,” Harris said on Monday. “It wasn’t particularly lucrative.”

 

Source (http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20150105/NEWS/150109767)