The former Burns Bros. Funeral Directors’ building is being transfomred into a multi-unit apartment complex complete with lofts along with a brewery and one or two future retail spaces will be completed in the fall of 2023.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Robert Bresnahan, Jr., left, proprietor of RPB Ventures developing, and his project manager, Jim Zarra, look over plans for the seven unit apartments housed in the former Burns building.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Robert Bresnahan, left, and Jim Zarra, discuss the progress of the framed out apartment at the Burns building project.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
Two thousand square feet of the former Burns building will house commercial space for a brewery. An additional 2,000 square feet of first floor will be designated for one business or two 1,000 square feet businesses.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
RPB Ventures proprietor Robert Bresnahan points to the original ceiling of the former lobby area of Fidelity Bank on the corner of Broad and Main Streets, Pittston.
Tony Callaio | For Sunday Dispatch
PITTSTON – It’s been 14 months since The Landmark building project got underway on the corner of Broad and Main streets and the over 160-year-old building has taken an incredible transformation by developer Robert Bresnahan, Jr. under RPB Ventures.
With Phase I complete in the upper three floors, Phase II is currently underway gutting the first floor where it had been most recently the home of previous owner, Fidelity Bank. The four-story building was purchased for $1.5 million.
The entire bank lobby has been cleared out and Bresnahan said the walls, floors and ceiling would be restored to original or as close to original as possible.
Two items that will remain are the bank vaults with one of them as old as the building. With the extreme weight of the vaults and doors, it would nearly be impossible to remove and cost prohibitive.
When gutting the bank area, Bresnahan and his crew discovered ornate architecture, marble and the ceiling had four layers that had to be brought down. They discovered mosaic tile that he estimates to be at least 100 years old as well as the original ceiling design.
“The most important part of the bank space was figuring out what was there and how to bring it back to its grandeur,” Bresnahan said. “We wanted to (see) what was there, what was covered up, the history that needed to be unearth so we could start to figure out a plan to appreciate the then to the now.”
The upper three floors are completely renovated with most of the building fully occupied.
The main floor will be utilized for commercial space, according to Bresnahan.
“We are very selective on who we work with and we want to work with entrepreneurs that share the excitement that we share in the spaces,” Bresnahan explained. “We take a lot of pride in the products and our brand, so it’s imperative that whomever we partner with to become a part of The Landmark family of properties share the same sentiments.”
The bank first floor will be ready for tenant build out within 30 days according to Bresnahan.
The Burns Project
In mid-2022, Bresnahan acquired the Burns Bros. Funeral Director’s building, adjacent to the Pittston City Fire Station on Kennedy Street. The two-story building needed to be completely gutted down to the bare walls, a huge indoor ramp had to be removed, and the structure secured soundly before any of the construction could begin.
Work started in late 2022 and four months into the job, many hurdles have been cleared and lumber and steel brought in and construction has been in full swing.
Miller Rosentel Associates Inc. was secured for the design and layout of the nine-apartment complex that will house a brewery on the ground level with the possibility of one 2,000-square-foot commercial space or two 1,000-square-foot commercial spaces.
“The living space at Burns was originally going to be 10 units but we scaled back the number of apartments because we wanted to make them bigger and capitalize on the windows with natural light,” Bresnahan said. “We are at seven apartments now with the brewery space that took a larger imprint on the first floor.”
“The Burns first floor is for commercial space for about $22 a square foot,” Bresnahan added. “We would work with the tenant to build out the space.
There will be approximately 30 spaces for parking at the Burns building.
Bresnahan said the Burns project is estimated to be $2.2 million project and is estimating it to be completed by the fall of 2023 for occupancy.
Both projects are privately owned funded by RPB Ventures.
