Arner: Flagstaff parking lot would help Jim Thorpe issues

A developer says his latest proposal for Flagstaff Mountain could solve parking problems and give Jim Thorpe enough money to upgrade Flagstaff Road.

Jake Arner owns a large tract off Flagstaff Road, including the popular “100-mile view” which is open to the public, and will host a pop-up winery this summer.

Arner had proposed a residential development on the site for more than a decade. He recently abandoned that plan and is now proposing a campground with 275 lots for RVs, cabins and campsites on 359.69 acres.

Arner told Jim Thorpe Borough Council Thursday night that his new proposal for a campground atop the mountain could also include a parking lot capable of holding three times as many cars as the county-owned parking lot in the borough.

Arner said that the parking lot could solve the town’s current parking woes, and provide the borough with revenue to fix Flagstaff Road.

“My goal is to work with you and the borough so that we can improve the facilities, improve the parking, and decrease the traffic in the town,” Arner said.

Arner said he wants to include a parking lot with 1,000 spaces. He said he would give half of the profits to the borough. He suggested that the borough could use the money to upgrade Flagstaff Road.

Arner said people will pay to park in his proposed lot and “Uber vans” would shuttle them to downtown Jim Thorpe. If someone paid to park in the lot or rented a campsite, they would get a free Uber van ride downtown.

Arner said short-term rentals like Airbnb have pushed the town’s parking to the brink and his proposed lot would solve those issues as well.

“The short-term rentals would have a place to park their people and it would have Uber service as well,” he said.

Just across Flagstaff Road from Arner’s property, developer Andrew Roberts is proposing a 45-room hotel at the historic Flagstaff Ballroom, with a gondola transporting visitors downtown. Arner said he anticipates that on nice days, Roberts’ development could require some additional parking, which he could provide.

Roberts has obtained variances related to his project.

When Arner was proposing an 86-lot residential development he agreed to pay part of the cost to fix Flagstaff Road. In 2016, he asked council to modify the agreement so he could pay the borough back for the repairs, but council declined.

Council President Greg Strubinger said parking is “the $64,000 question” in the borough.

Arner plans to present his proposed development to the borough planning commission at its next meeting. The planning commission will meet at 6:30 on June 25 at Memorial Hall, 115 E. Tenth St., Jim Thorpe.