"Wall Street West" in NEPA - Where is it being built? (Scranton: middle-class, real estate)

[Suzer]

Does anyone know with certainty where "Wall Street West" is being built? I've read multiple blurbs/articles, and I read about different locations,

Any recent sources are much appreciated.

[geoffs]

It seems to be a regional plan, here's their website;

http://www.wallstreetwest.org/

[ScranBarre]

There's been rumors that Wall Street West will extend as far west as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area. I was in contact several months ago with Rob Mericle, whose commercial real estate company is currently developing the massive "Center Point" commerce park near my home in Pittston Township. While the first three tenants thus far are in no way related to Wall Street West (Lowe's Distribution Center, FedEx, and Men's Wearhouse Distribution Center), he told me that upcoming structures his company plans to build on the property and lease to interested parties will be targeted towards NYC financial firms. Imagine how fortunate I could be to be living just under a mile from a potential internship and/or career at a place like PricewaterhouseCoopers or Deloitte & Touche!

Other than Pittston Township, the other areas I've heard mentioned have all been in Monroe County (Stroudsburg Area). Last year, WNEP showed officials from various NYC financial firms being taken on tours via helicopter around Monroe County to look at potential sites and other points of interest in the region before being "wooed" at an after-tour reception. I think much of the focus for Wall Street West has been on North Jersey, but Northeastern PA is also becoming increasingly-attractive for new campuses because it's decidedly less expensive to do business here than it is in a place like Bergen or Hudson Counties.

We'll just have to wait and see. I think Schuylkill County could truly use a boost as well. I just heard on WNEP yesterday that more than 2,400 people applied for hourly jobs at a new WAL-MART near Tamaqua! If people down there are clamoring to work for $7/hr., then they truly need all the help they can get from Manhattan!

[Suzer]

Actually, Pittstown Township is the location I've read about most frequently. Is New Jersey on the same power grid?

[ScranBarre]

I'm actually not sure about that one. I know that NEPA fits the bill of being "more than 60 but less than 125 miles from Manhattan," and since we're the cheapest metropolitan area out of the others that fit the bill (Lehigh Valley, Hudson Valley, Connecticut, Bucks County, etc.), I think we stand a pretty good chance of seeing a lot of future growth from Wall Street West.

P.S. I just realized I forgot to e-mail you the link to the Milford photos! Sorry! Here it is: http://www.city-data.com/forum/penns...hoto-tour.html

[bldginpa]

Timing is everything....maybe there will be a WallStreetWest job for me in a few years. 25 years of administrative/clerical experience will hopefully count for something!

[weluvpa]

Don't hold your breath.. The train is only going to a garbage train for NJ&NY they will be bringing the municipal waste from there to here by train and that is why Mr. DeNaples is so strongly supporting the trains. The commute time will be 2x as long as the drive and it will not serve that purpose well. The Poconos and western NJ like the Blairstown area and Clinton will most likely see that Wall St west long before we do. This is not the answer to any of our problems here in NEPA. They will undoubtly bring people here from there to fill the positions at least in management. This is not our answer but it will protect the financial industry. I feel that it will not happen.

[ScranBarre]

Originally Posted by weluvpa

Don't hold your breath.. The train is only going to a garbage train for NJ&NY they will be bringing the municipal waste from there to here by train and that is why Mr. DeNaples is so strongly supporting the trains. The commute time will be 2x as long as the drive and it will not serve that purpose well. The Poconos and western NJ like the Blairstown area and Clinton will most likely see that Wall St west long before we do. This is not the answer to any of our problems here in NEPA. They will undoubtly bring people here from there to fill the positions at least in management. This is not our answer but it will protect the financial industry. I feel that it will not happen.

I certainly hope you're mistaken, Daniel. The prospect of having to drive daily to seek employment in North Jersey or NYC isn't an attractive one for me. I'm hoping that Mr. Mericle was being honest with me when he said he already had one NYC financial firm lined up for Center Point here near Pittston. We're in for rough times ahead, as a region, if we do not attract more white-collar, professional, college-level employment options to NEPA. Upper-middle-class people are going to continue to move to NEPA from NYC/NJ seeking the "lower cost-of-living" we have to offer, and they'll be driving up our cost-of-living, in the long-run, as a result (look at Monroe County). If locals continue to cheer for jobs at Wal-Mart, it will someday be impossible for most natives to afford to live here. This is why we NEED NYC firms to locate satellite offices in our region. We're importing residents from NYC/NJ, but we're not importing any family-sustaining jobs. I'm seeing a definite "squeeze-play" of sorts occurring in the future if our cost-of-living increases outpace rises in local wages.

[weluvpa]

Paul look at RCN they just laid off like 300 people. WE cannot sustain those types of business's here not yet. The train is not a option for our area for commuting so we are out on that one. Mr. DeNaples has been behind the trains so he can have the waste that is brought in on trucks be moved by rail at a huge savings to him. The train to Scranton is a by product of the garbage train, its here so we have to tie in so we can market this area but in reality there is no way that it will a viable commuting platform from here. Its too long of a ride, probably close to 3 hrs maybe a bit less but after the stops and transfers it will be useless from here. It sucks but the powers to be are over selling our area and not looking at this with a resonable outlook. We do not have the people or area right now to support those types of business's yet.

[MermanMike]

I didn't realize the train would be used for bringing in additional garbage. Of course this makes a lot of sense now that you say it. When money is one's god, it's a logical maneuver. I hate the idea of that big garbage dump growing and growing every day.