The former Wiest's department store at 14 West Market Street in downtown York could soon house up to 50 apartments, as a local developer moves to close on the historic building this week. The four-story store building was built in 1895.
According to the York Daily Record, Royal Square Development & Construction is creating a future for the largely empty building, with the sale expected to close on October 15, according to Abby Shank, the company's manager for development. The report outlines the company's plan to convert the former department store into residential units.
A Department Store's Long Road From Dover
Wiest's traces its roots to 1843, when Peter Wiest opened a general store in Dover. After a fire and a snowstorm, the business relocated to downtown York. P. Wiest's Sons built its four-story final home in 1895 on the south side of West Market Street near Continental Square, according to Yorkblog.
The building eventually transitioned away from retail altogether. The first floor is currently occupied by the York County Community Foundation.
Royal Square's Downtown York Projects
This isn't Royal Square's first swing at reviving the first block of West Market Street, once known as Department Store Row. The company previously completed a $14 million revitalization there, rehabilitating 57,000 square feet across three deteriorating buildings into 33 apartments and eight retail storefronts, according to Finanta, a community development financial institution that has tracked the firm's work.
Founded in 2009 by U.S. Army veteran Josh Hankey, the York-based firm is led alongside President and CEO Z. Dylan Bauer and specializes in historic restoration paired with community-focused adaptive reuse. In a 2018 interview, company leadership noted that historic conversion projects in York often cost more than their eventual market value, making state subsidies such as Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program grants and historic tax credits essential to making the numbers work, per WPMT FOX43.
That state support has continued recently. Pennsylvania's RACP program awarded $1.8 million to Royal Square for its Northern Gateway Station House project on North George Street, reflecting ongoing state investment in the company's downtown York redevelopments, according to the Central Penn Business Journal.
Other Projects in Downtown York
The Tassia apartments are another historic-building project in York.
