It’s been over a year and a half since plans were revealed for a riverfront hotel in downtown Warren.

And the project is treading water.

That’s requiring local officials to start to look at some outside-the-box possibilities.

One of the options is a streetscape project on Pennsylvania Ave. between Liberty St. and Market St.

“Streetscape on that portion of Pennsylvania Avenue is our backup,” Freenock said. “(We) don’t want to lose $3.5 million in grant funding.”

She said that the city is “still trying to determine if the hotelier is interested.”

The proposed parcel for a hotel was the vacant strip between Clark St. and the parking garage.

“The original location won’t work because of sewer mains,” Freenock said. “(We are) getting near the end of that conquest.”

There is another parcel in that area that could house a hotel — Breeze Point Landing.

The cost would be the elimination of the restroom, pavilion, or both. There’s also an undeveloped parcel in the area that may also factor into this equation.

Freenock noted that Breeze Point is an “attractive and beautiful park,” but isn’t well-utilized. And any hotel development there would include reserved space for a public riverside trail.

There would be space for a couple of different hotel models but Freenock noted there have been delays in completing surveying on the property.

The hotelier, as a result, can’t proceed without knowing what space he has to work with.

“At some point, (we are) going to need public input,” she added, noting that the state has “been very generous” as the city works through this process.

Freenock noted that Warren City Council has directed that the engineering work for a streetscape project proceed.

“It is on our minds,” she said of the project.