New Upscale Housing Coming to Downtown Scranton (Reading, Wilkes-Barre: city hall, rent)

[blip]

I walk down this stretch fairly often, and am always curious about all the recently demo'd lots.

Originally Posted by weluvpa

They will never be constructed, why does he have funds for this and not for the gaping hole on the corner of Linden and Penn?

Been wondering, what was above that gaping hole before?

Originally Posted by weluvpa

They tore down the Markowitz building, the bakery, the Pub and everything else on linden for nothing.

Was that the one at the southeast corner of Wyoming and Linden? That was recently demo'd, too, no?

Thanks for the bkgd info.

I have only a vague recollection of that stretch, so not sure what kind of repair these buildings were in, but the lack of preservation here is saddening. (The 500 block being a welcome counter-example to me.)

The development, which will start within weeks, illustrates expanding demand for upscale downtown housing.

We'll see, hope it does start in weeks and get filled by August. If they really have commitments on the apts, seems like it should be finance-able. I do wonder how much of a market there is here for $1500 2-br apts..

So, is this behind that white building with the porch, which has the restaurant and one or 2 other shops?

This seems like one of the most promising areas downtown for apts to me. It's got a few bars and restaurants right there, a fairly big apt building already which will help draw ammenities, a grocery store relatively close, the med school coming a few blocks up, 5m drive to DC shops, and the rest of downtown an easy walk...

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by go phillies

The Sterling and the Murray Complex....none of us may live to see anything happen to those places. Lots of pie-in-the-sky promises around here, and nothing becomes of them.

Sure sell your your piece of land with a view and a nice house to move into the downtown of Scranton or Wilkes-barre....Sure thats exactly what will happen.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by blip

I walk down this stretch fairly often, and am always curious about all the recently demo'd lots.



Been wondering, what was above that gaping hole before?



Was that the one at the southeast corner of Wyoming and Linden? That was recently demo'd, too, no?

Thanks for the bkgd info.

I have only a vague recollection of that stretch, so not sure what kind of repair these buildings were in, but the lack of preservation here is saddening. (The 500 block being a welcome counter-example to me.)

We'll see, hope it does start in weeks and get filled by August. If they really have commitments on the apts, seems like it should be finance-able. I do wonder how much of a market there is here for $1500 2-br apts..

So, is this behind that white building with the porch, which has the restaurant and one or 2 other shops?

This seems like one of the most promising areas downtown for apts to me. It's got a few bars and restaurants right there, a fairly big apt building already which will help draw ammenities, a grocery store relatively close, the med school coming a few blocks up, 5m drive to DC shops, and the rest of downtown an easy walk...

The hole on the corner of penn and linden was a diner and a strip bar, the hole on linden and wyoming was markowitz smoke shop, Abe's deli, Kreegons(sp?) floral shop and something else.......

The apt building your refering to is The Forum and I only know of a few that live there that are under the age of 60. The hole on the corner of Linden and Penn was where Mr. Joyce was supposed to be building a HUGE project St Peters Square that would have underground parking, retail shops and luxury apartments but went belly up when he realized that he didn't have the funds and wasn't going to get much from the gov't.

Construction is slated to start in a few weeks

Thats funny because the election just happens to be in a few weeks as well.

Like I said he cannot even get the renovations on the former Penguin Lounge done and that place is an existing structure and yet it has taken a few years to get it done.


The city/Mayor likes to use demolition of buildings as a way to show progress here in the city, kind of like removing the old to make way for the new. The problem is that they never build the new, they just tear down the old and make a big deal about it in the news....

Wait this election year so wait till you see the amount of demolition projects that will be happening across the city and each and every one of them will make the paper in one way or another to promote progress..

Blip is this your first election year in the city of Scranton?

You'll never be able to comprehend the BS propaganda that will be displayed in the Times between now and November.

[blip]

Thanks for the info-- Ah, I remember the Markowitz bldg now (b/c of Abe's).. And just found the old plans for St. Peter's Sq, woah..

Yep, first election year here.

BS filter on alert..

[JD CSummit]

Well, weluvpa, I hope you're wrong for the sake of the firm building the structure. Did you catch the tidbit in the article about it being prefabricated? For construction to begin, chances are it has. That thought would imply that a building permit was issued too. I have a feeling this is a very real building. Think about it. Maybe I'm wrong though, who knows.

[weluvpa]

The prefabricated structure will fulfill Mr. Joyce’s original plans for an apartment complex at the rear of an industrial laundry at 317 Linden St.,
, the 30,000-square-foot two-story rear segment was heavily damaged in January 2008 when a spark from a welding torch ignited a fire that took more than five hours to extinguish.

All it said was that they were going to use a prefab structure, not that they ordered it. Permits???? Your kidding right....Obviously you don't live in Scranton....

There is no structure on order and I will be extremely surprised if this gets anywhere.....Election year propaganda.

[bloominscranton]

I would not pay 1500 to live ANYWHERE IN downtown Scranton...and yes thankfully I could afford it.

[NYRangers 2008]

This is another downtown joke. Just who is going to inhabit these "upscale" apartments? And why would anyone want to pay that kind of money to live in a ghost town? Another example of this city so desperately trying to be Soho or TriBeca. There are still so many empty storefronts downtown, so what will entice people to move there? This is another Doherty publicity stunt during an election year to make it seem like progress is being made in the city. The only thing in Scranton that is progressing is the debt. I wish the city would fix the roads, something that I drive on everyday, instead of making apartment complexes that will sit empty because no one in their right mind would move into them.

[JD CSummit]

Ok, ill give up all the info I can. Weluvpa, you are the prototypical townie in NEPA, nothing good, everything bad. To even suggest this is propaganda is not only foolish but its just childish and sad. Ill gladly admit that mr joyce hasn't always delivered as promised but this is the real deal. The building is, and has been, on order since early april. Signature building systems was given a deposit 3 weeks ago for the structure and they currently have it in production. I think you should tell the 120 local people that work at SBS that they are building something that is never going to be built. In this economy, building is a tough career and mr joyce has made a lot of things possible for this company and these LOCAL workers. Thanks for the confidence, support, and I hope you like the building when its finished.

[NYRangers 2008]

I'll have to agree with Dan on this one. We have seen this all too often in this city. All these grand plans that never come to fruition. And what do you know, it's an election year. Make it seem like something is going on, when in reality nothing is to get votes. They may be able to pull the wool over some of the sheep's eyes, but not all. This may get built, but it will sit empty, just like the Southern Union building.