NEPA Upcoming Projects Thread (Scranton, Butler: cul-de-sac, real estate, condominium)

[SteelCityRising]

Since I've recently learned how to capture images from Microsoft Virtual Earth I thought this might be a good time to start a new thread regarding planned projects in our region.

I'll be posting detailed separate replies below for each project discussed, and I hope this becomes a credible source to get the latest scoop on what is coming in the future for NEPA!

[bloominscranton]

Awesome...I like knowing what changes will be going on in my new area!

[SteelCityRising]

Local developer John Giambra of JMG Construction revealed plans last week regarding his proposal for a 156-unit condominium project that will be targeted towards senior citizens. The units would be priced in the range of $140,000-$160,000, and construction could begin as early as Spring 2009 pending approval from the Old Forge Planning Commission and borough council. JMG Construction also developed Horizon Estates in Pittston Township, which I believe is its most recent project besides this one.

Mr. Giambra sought to have 16 acres of land between Forge and Howard Streets rezoned from an E-1 environmental zone to R-2 residential. The property sits on abandoned mining land along the Lackawanna River. The parcel can be seen in this snapshot I took courtesy of Microsoft Virtual Earth:



As a reference point you can see Lonesome Road in Old Forge along the lower-left-hand corner of the image. The development will probably have an entrance and exit from the ends of existing Forge & Howard Streets and then wind around onto the mine-scared land in the center of the image. It's quite possible that Forge Street will become a one-way eastbound into the subdivision with Howard Street becoming a one-way westbound out of the development or vice-versa since these streets are both rather narrow and may not be sufficiently wide enough to accomodate two-way traffic from an additional 156 units.

“We’re looking to provide an upscale community for seniors,” said engineer George Albert, of G & Albert Consultants, of Pittston. “The need for senior housing in this area is strong.”

“The property now generates about $3,000 to $3,500 a year. If the senior housing goes through, it will generate $550,000 a year in taxes for the borough,” he said.

The article stated that this proposed new senior condo community would "border an existing residential development," even though that is false as there are no other subdivisions in that immediate area.

Some planning commission members expressed concern over increased traffic flow on narrow Forge and Howard Streets, but Mr. Albert assuaged those fears by adding that senior citizen-oriented communities spawn less daily trips via vehicle than typical subdivisions.

[SteelCityRising]

The former Transfiguration of our Lord Byzantine Catholic Church at the intersection of Routes 6 & 11 and Gravel Pond Road in Glenburn Township, near Dalton, is likely to be transformed into a bank. People's National Bank wants to establish a branch at this location to serve residents of the Abingtons, and it has pledged to retain as much of the church's character as possible, even including a stained glass window above the bank's entrance. A new drive-thru area will be added. Otherwise the remainder of the property will remain largely intact. The parcel includes seven acres, only about 1.5 acres of which is currently developed to house the structure and parking lot.

People's National Bank bought the church for $575,000. The bank will spend $375,000 to renovate the church's interior and another $125,000 to further landscape the property.

Marilyn Costa, who lives on Old State Road, said she considers the bank “a positive, quiet neighbor,” particularly as opposed to a dense housing development that might have been allowed on the lot.

Another neighbor, Bernadette Menendez, agreed. “I think it’s going to be a good asset to our community,” she said.

Here is a satellite image of the property, which is located near Dalton. The building in question sits at the lower-left-hand corner of the intersection of routes 6 & 11 and Gravel Pond Road:

[SteelCityRising]

The Scranton School District, as part of its continued restructuring, is planning to close the aging John Marshall Elementary School in favor of building a new school to house 850 students at the intersection of Dorothy Street and North Everett Avenue in the city's Tripps Park neighborhood.

Here is an image of this general area with the school being built just to the left of where the "Scranton" name tag is. Parts of the newer Village at Tripps Park subdivision are featured in the upper-right-hand corner of the image.



Some residents of this KOZ status tax-free community complained that plans for a new softball field were too close to their backyards, but city planner Don King said that the district's proposed 40-foot buffer zone between the field and the residential property lines more than exceeded the city's requirements of just 8 feet of 15 feet if lighting is included.

A new cul-de-sac will jut up from the intersection of Dorothy Avenue and North Everett Avenue with a four-way stop sign. The school will be built there with a road running around the building for student drop-off, parking, and to access the proposed recreational areas.

[SteelCityRising]

A 245-acre parcel of land off of Red Oak Drive in Ransom Township, which is adjacent to Falling Springs Reservoir at the top of West Mountain, will soon be home to a multi-phase residential project. The first phase will consist of 27
single-family residential building lots averaging two acres each. The Ransom Township Board of Supervisors gave conditional approval to the developer, Falling Springs Development, pending approval from Lackawanna County.

“It’s going to be a first class development,” board Chairman Joe Esposito said. “There’s supposed to be $500,000 houses up there.”

Judging by the name of the development firm, I'd have to guess that the subdivision will be called "Falling Springs." Here is an aerial image of the property, which is in a rather rural location. To the left is the Susquehanna River. The large body of water on top of the mountain is Falling Springs Reservoir, which will serve as the focal point of this new subdivision. On the top-center you can barely make out Red Oak Lane, which juts off of Ransom Road and will be used to access the subdivision.

[SteelCityRising]

A half-dozen businesses opened in the downtown area of Tunkhannock in 2007, and if developers get their way yet another will be coming in 2008. Community Bank & Trust wants to build a drive-through bank branch office in the borough. The description of the location is very vague and just mentions East Tioga Street in the borough, but it also mentions that the planning commission has concerns over a flood plain location nearby. As such I snapped a photo of the entire segment of the street in question from along East Tioga Street between Routes 29 and 92. The article mentions that six on-street parking spots will be lost, but the bank has promised to set aside twelve spots in its lot for community usage to help counterbalance that since they know parking can sometimes be an issue downtown.



In general I'm not a fan of drive-through banks being located in historic downtown business districts, but if they design and construct an esthetically-pleasing building that conforms rather well with the community's rural atmosphere, then I say bring on the bank.

[SteelCityRising]

A developer has been hitting his head against a proverbial brick wall since 2002 in his quest to bring a commercial development to the intersection of Fairview Road @ Edella Road/Maggie's Road in rapidly-growing South Abington Township. His first submission would have included a 6,600-square-foot plaza with a convenience store, gas pumps, car wash, self-storage units, and a laundromat. Township supervisors rejected that proposal because some of those uses were not permitted in a commercial zone.

In order to prevent the developer from bringing a business venture to that intersection, supervisors motioned to have the property rezoned to R-1 (single-family residential). The developer, Warren Raker, appealed both the rezoning and the denial of his project, and a court sided with him. He now has two outstanding lawsuits against the township for holding up his project. Nearby residents, as can be expected in the Abingtons, are very NIMBY towards anything other than McMansions being built near them. Supervisors have continued to reject further proposals from the developer with the most recent one being just a 5,625-square-foot convenience store.

Here's an image of the property in question:

[Retired Law 08]

This is outstanding dwight! alot of good info here

[SteelCityRising]

The Pittston Area School District continues to be a sprawling real estate "hot spot," and Stauffer Pointe, a tax-free residential development currently under construction on the Pittston Township/Pittston City border, is evidence of that. 25.0 of the 41.2 acres in the project and most of the 180 proposed townhomes lie within Pittston Township's jurisdiction. Blasting is already underway, and the developer hopes to have the first phase available for purchase at some point in late-Spring 2008. The units are expected to sell from $275,000 to $350,000 each, which is typical for newer high-end townhomes being built in the Pittston Area School District.

Here is an aerial image of where the subdivision will be located. There will be entrances from Butler Street and from Grandview Drive in the adjacent Stauffer Heights subdivision in Pittston Township, and a right-hand exit/right-hand entry only exit will be located near the top of William Street.