By Joseph Deinlein
The Daily Item
LEWISBURG — Good cooperation between Bucknell University and the commercial tenants of the DeWitt Building the school owns has led to improvements being made to the stores while renovations happen to the rest of the Market Street edifice.
Purity Candy and Music ‘n More are receiving new paint jobs and other improvements, said Jim Hostetler, director of construction and design at Bucknell.
“Our original intention was to do the work without disrupting the retailers,” he said. “But we’ve had fantastic cooperation.”
In fact, Purity is temporarily closed for two months while work is done on the store at 422 Market St. Music ‘n More is shifting around in the space while work is ongoing, Hostetler said.
Mensch Agency Real Estate moved out to make way for the work, he said.
The upper floors of the building are being remodeled to eventually hold a business incubator, run by the school. The work is one of three downtown renovation projects the university is working on, including the Campus Theatre and the post office building. All told, those projects total about $16 million.
The most visible work is at the DeWitt Building, where scaffolding covers the front of the structure as workers clean, repoint and repaint the masonry. Inside, the upper floors have been gutted and insulation is being installed, bringing the building up to modern energy standards.
The floor joists are being reinforced to handle the predicted heavier loads. Previously, the upper floors were apartments. The business incubator — a location provided to help startup companies — likely will have heavier items such as filing cabinets, Hostetler said.
A small addition is being added to the back of the building to contain an elevator shaft and additional staircase, helping the building meet modern building codes, as well as making it more compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Though the project was scheduled to be complete by the end of the year, Hostetler said it likely will not be done until February.
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The DeWitt Building in Lewisburg. Matthew Harris/The Daily Item
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