Prime potential in Easton

One of the amenities that the city says it needs is a high-quality hotel, and with its proximity to the spot where the Lehigh and Delaware rivers join, this property could be the one.

While the city already has a Day’s Inn across the street, formerly the Quality Inn, it doesn’t have capacity for banquet or meeting and conference space. The city also has the Lafayette Inn, which can have overnight stays, and The Grand Eastonian Hotel & Suites, which is largely comprised of hotel rooms and suites.

One meeting room in the Grand Eastonian called the Gold Room can accommodate about 100 people for an event and about 50 for a conference meeting, said Mayor Sal Panto.

“We like the idea of the high-end apartments but we are considering a hotel,” Panto said. “We need a good hotel with conference room space. We are getting a lot of requests to hold events in the city. Other than the Eastonian, we don’t have a lot of places to put it.”

Though city officials are still determining what they think would be the best use of the shuttered building, it’s good to see some movement on that vacant property.

The property, across from the new Easton Intermodal Center and City Hall on South Third Street, offers potential for another gateway property to the city with new retail below.

Whether it be apartments or a new hotel, it would be vital to the continuation of the city’s revival and a nice complement to the municipal facility to redevelop the property.