Is there a need for Condos in NEPA? Any thoughts? (Scranton: cul-de-sac, low income)

[WilkesBarreAdvocate]

Just wondering what thoughts you may have about a need for Condos in NEPA, especially Wilkes-Barre and surrounds. Is there a need and if you were looking what might you want to see there (ie. location, amenities, etc.)?

As I'm not crazy about urban sprawl into the rural fringe, I would prefer to see some existing structures re-developed in the more urban areas within walking distance to schools, shopping, and dining. I'm not a fan of cookie-cutter homes/developments in the area.

I do know that some condo projects are on the way for Wilkes-Barre such as the Hotel Sterling and Murray Complex. Do you know of others?

That's it for now, let me know what you think. Thanks for your input (in advance!).

[I LOVE PA!]

I personally have some retired family, sets of Aunts and Uncles, just Aunts on their own as well as my parents and they have all reached the point where managing a home is just too much for them. Assisted living is certainly not an option, most of them are not ready to give up their own kitchens and living rooms, and assisted living facilities are definitely out as far as the finincial aspect goes. Most charge arround $3,000. a month for a small apartment in addition to other fees. I think what this area needs is small 1 bedroom condos or apartments for seniors. There are some arround, but they are for low income people. None of my family members meet that requirement.

[SteelCityRising]

Personally, I'd love to live in the heart of one of our local living, breathing cities to be within walking distance of anything I could ever want or need, and I think Wilkes-Barre could greatly benefit from more urban living options. After sauntering around South Wilkes-Barre, the Wilkes University campus, and Center City last week for my most recent photo tour, I truly felt inspired by the city, and I feel as if it's making a connection with me. I still think Scranton's Hill Section has the slight edge for my future partner and myself, as the thought of the levee being topped at some point in Wilkes-Barre and turning it into the next New Orleans is still worrisome, (especially since this happened in 1972 and could happen again).

What Wilkes-Barre DOES need to do is to hire even more police to aggressively patrol the streets, even if property taxes have to be raised slightly in the process. My father works downtown on Public Square, my mother travels around the city for work, and I attend college in Center City at King's and work near to the city limits, and the biggest gripes the three of us all hear from others about the city is the "horrific crime rate." If more suburbanites saw police tooling around the square or riding on bicycles down seedy alleyways while they were on their lunch breaks, perhaps that would instill a sense of safety into their minds and encourage them to ponder relocating back into the city, as the OTHER major gripe we all hear about are the lengthy commutes that many currently have from their cul-de-sac enclaves in the Back Mountain or Mountain Top. It seems like a no-brainer that many young professionals, empty-nesters, retirees, artists, and middle-aged couples would gladly trade in a lengthy commute for a brief walk to conveniences IF crime was largely eradicated in the city. While I AM a large supporter of the Diamond City's rebirth, I still must admit that crime is a problem, especially since Wilkes-Barre has a worse violent crime rate than Scranton, which has twice the population. Clean up the drug-dealing rifraff scumbags from NYC and NJ, and you'll see suburbanites gladly heading back into Wilkes-Barre again.

I liken most of Wilkes-Barre to Scranton's Hill Section in the mid-1990s. After intense police saturation patrols, increased vigilance from neighbors and crime watches, and major media attention, the lowlifes fled out of the Hill Section like bats out of hell, and now the Hill Section is seeing its own rebirth of young professionals, retirees, middle-aged couples, empty-nesters, artists, etc., the SAME targets that Wilkes-Barre needs to capture. If Mayor Leighton would just make fighting crime a larger priority, then Wilkes-Barre's revitalization efforts would be moving along twice as quickly. As you could see from my first photo tour of Wilkes-Barre, the city truly is breathtaking architecturally, and I know many people, including myself, would love to live in some of those neighborhoods, if the crime situation is brought under control. Just some food for thought---King's College recently sent out mass e-mails to the student body warning returning students about an increase in crime in our part of the city and to offer "escorts" to vehicles if requested. An elderly woman was mugged the other day on North Franklin Street, and the assailant fled towards my college campus. I was threatened by a drunken homeless man along East Jackson Street last semester, and I fled because I thought he had a gun! THIS is NOT a good way to "win over" the hearts of suburbanites. Why doesn't Mayor Leighton have the same type of "NO B.S." approach to crime that Mayor Doherty and the Scranton PD seem to have, which has largely helped to clean up the Electric City? I would NOT move to a city where I'd have to carry mace around with me, as is the case in the heavily-blighted neighborhood immediately east of King's College, near my commuter parking lot. Clean up the crime, and new residents will flood into town.