Save for a single remaining tenant — and it will be gone soon — Erie’s tallest building sits empty.
Owner Christian Siembieda doesn’t expect it will stay that way for long.
Interior demolition work already has begun on the 14-story, 160,000-square foot building at 10011 State St, known for years as the Renaissance Centre.
Gov. Josh Shapiro was in Erie on May 29 to ceremonially kick off the $60 million transformation of the former office building into what will become the Trust Hotel.
Although demolition is already underway, Shapiro offered his services punching holes in the plaster with a sledgehammer.
The Trust Hotel owner Christian Siembieda, center, flanked by Erie Insurance CEO Tim NeCastro, left, and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, right, describes plans for the former Renaissance Centre as it becomes a 195-room boutique hotel
Siembieda, a California-based investor who paid $2 million to purchase the building in 2023, is hopeful that the work will be done in two years.
The 195-room hotel is expected to employ 120 people.
Erie Insurance and Commonwealth are key investors
Shapiro and the people of Pennsylvania already have invested in the form of a $4.5 million from the state Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, $500,000 in historic tax credits and a $5 million loan from the state-authorized Erie City Revitalization & Improvement Zone or CRIZ Authority.
Shapiro, who spoke Friday before a crowd of about 100, said he feels good about the investment.
“I want you to know the Commonwealth is paying special attention to the needs of Erie and we are putting targeted supporting into these important projects,” Shapiro said.
“I believe this is going to be a game-changing project and I can’t wait to stay here,” he said.
A building with a history
Like many in the room, Mayor Daria Devlin had a history with the building. She remembers visiting her mother in her office at the Erie Community Foundation.
Erie Insurance CEO Tim NeCastro, whose company has pledged $11 million in loans to fund the project, remembers coming downtown as a kid to ride the escalator at the Boston Store and the elevators in what was then the G. Daniel Baldwin Building.
“I can just see what it’s going to look like and I can’t wait,” NeCastro said.
As he stood on the building’s second-floor mezzanine, surrounded by historic murals painted by Edward Trumbull, Siembieda talked about the community’s connection to the building and its history.
He noted that on this date 100 years ago that the building was framed to the 11th floor.
“I think nostalgia is a powerful force,” he said. “It connects us to our history and it creates emotion that help drive what we strive to do in the future.”
Trust Hotel aims at 4-star experience
Siembieda announced in July of the last year that the building would be known in the future as the Trust Hotel, a tie to the days when it was built as headquarters for the Erie Trust Co.
But where will that business fit into a community that already has plenty of hotels?
“What we are trying to build is an upper up-end hotel. We are not trying to build a Four Seasons here,” he said, a reference to the Canadian company that operates more than 100 luxury hotels and resorts around the world.
“We are building an extremely well-functioning hotel with fantastic amenities that’s very food forward,” Siembieda said.
This rendering shows what’s called a pre-function gathering area at the Trust Hotel.
He’s already enlisted Greenwood Hospitality, which operates a number of hotels and restaurants, including the Harrisburg Hilton and 1700 Degrees restaurant, to serve as the hotel and restaurant operator in Erie.
Food won’t be the only draw. Kate Philips, whose marketing firm represents Siembieda, said the hotel will also feature a gym, ballroom and spa.
“This will be not just for people in Erie but outside of Erie,” she said. “This is a four-star experience and it will attract people who are looking for that type of experience.”
Siembieda acknowledges that Erie has other good hotels that offer rooms at a similar price point.
The Trust Hotel owner Christian Siembieda plans a 195-room boutique hotel in the former Renaissance Centre building.
The goal, he said, is to create something Erie doesn’t have, a downtown spot to come for dinner, to hang out or attend a special event.
“It’s part of the amenity set for a city of a certain size,” he said. “We are that size. We should have that amenity set. You don’t need to have a 400 or 500-room hotel to create a big effect.”
More: Investment group buys Erie’s Renaissance Centre with plans to enhance downtown landmark
Siembieda said he’s hoping to create a fun space that can serve as a linchpin to downtown redevelopment while preserving the murals, arched windows and other details that make the building unique.
More: New bayfront hotel approved despite concerns about public access
None of this would be happening without the work of other investors, including Erie Insurance, the Erie Convention Center Authority and the Erie Downtown Development Corp.
“This is a continuation of that growth and those that came before us,” he said. “Had I come to Erie and not experienced the waterfront and not seen what EDDC has done at Perry Square, I probably would not have come here. We are walking on the bricks that have been laid by others.”
Contact Jim Martin at jmartin@timesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Gov. Josh Shapiro on hand for ceremony at what will be Trust Hotel