WAYNE COUNTY, Pa. — The former White Mills Hotel along Route 6 near Hawley has sat empty for nearly a decade.
"The White Mills Hotel is a historic building, thriving in its day in the canal time period," said Justin Genzlinger, the CEO of Settlers Hospitality.
Genzlinger says the company has owned the building for more than a year. The plan is to revitalize the former hotel into living space for hospitality workers.
"We're thinking of it as essentially a workforce haven, but it won't just be for our employees. It would be open to any employed people in the area who need long-term housing. This is not short-term housing."
Settlers Hospitality plans to convert the building into 16 apartments. They say affordable housing is hard to come by in this area.
"For what folks make in a tourism market who are in the biz and what they can afford for rent don't match up with what the rents cost because we have post-COVID so many people are second homeowners and visitors that want to use those same pieces of real estate," Genzlinger said.
Their group employs hundreds of workers across its properties during peak tourism times. They say by helping provide affordable housing, they're filling a major need to keep those workers in the area.
"If that goes to increased rent, does the employee actually have extra disposable income to be able to live and play in this area? And so the idea is to try to level set that issue," Genzlinger explained.
Settlers Hospitality plans to start renovations once it gets approved by Texas Township.