Southern Union Fiasco (Scranton, Pittston, Penn: home, go bankrupt, per square foot)

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

I DON'T GET WHAT....I think you have "read" your agenda into my innocuous statement. I do not know the politics in Scranton enough to voice an opinion.W hich I do not recall doing?

You must excuse W-B Proud. He gets irritated because so many people always focus on Scranton while ignoring Wilkes-Barre. I think both cities have great potential, and when (or now I'm thinking more along the lines of "if") I move back I'd consider living in the city proper of either community.

[blip]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

From what I have read the Southern Union debaucle cost $30,000,000.00 . I am curious if anyone knows the square footage of the project?

Not sure how accurate this is, but this page quotes an old article about the plan to build a $10M, 40k sq ft building: Southern Union Building

[scrantonluna]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

You must excuse W-B Proud. He gets irritated because so many people always focus on Scranton while ignoring Wilkes-Barre. I think both cities have great potential, and when (or now I'm thinking more along the lines of "if") I move back I'd consider living in the city proper of either community.

Who's ignoring vilkes-berrie?


YouTube - Rocky and Bulwinkle

[W-B proud]

Originally Posted by ScranBarre

You must excuse W-B Proud. He gets irritated because so many people always focus on Scranton while ignoring Wilkes-Barre. I think both cities have great potential, and when (or now I'm thinking more along the lines of "if") I move back I'd consider living in the city proper of either community.

That's not true. Wilkes-Barre has been THEE focus of all our local media outlets for the entire year. I wish W-B was being ignored sometimes. Between all the scandals at the courthouse, the crooked judges, and the crime rate, we can't seem to get out of the local spotlight! Look, I am in favor of development projects, but SMART development projects that make sense and will serve a vast amount of people (like the medical college). Sometimes it seems like Scranton just wants to build these wild unnecessary projects, just to say "look what we have created!" The sad truth is that we all get stuck paying the bill for them even when they go belly up. I think the argument can be made that Scranton didn't need a $30 million dollar EMPTY office building, when it has tons and tons of vacant office space throughout it's downtown. And as far as that train to NYC goes Don't get me started on that! Maybe we can build a scenic train ride from Scraton that will travel past the W-B Inflatable Dam and end at the Hazleton Cargo Airport

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

Sometimes it seems like Scranton just wants to build these wild unnecessary projects, just to say "look what we have created!" The sad truth is that we all get stuck paying the bill for them even when they go belly up. I think the argument can be made that Scranton didn't need a $30 million dollar EMPTY office building, when it has tons and tons of vacant office space throughout it's downtown.

Its not Scranton nor is it scrantonians.....Its one man and only one man doing all this uneeded building and wasteful spending..

And that man is Mayor Chris Doherty. He has to go or we will never get this city and its finances under some sort of control before we go belly up...

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by blip

Not sure how accurate this is, but this page quotes an old article about the plan to build a $10M, 40k sq ft building: Southern Union Building

Thanks for the information. If the 40,000 square foot number is accurate....than the building was $750.00 per square foot.....I think that would be well above the going rate to build office space in Scranton.....In Sarasota it maxes out at about $200.00 per square foot. Seems very overpriced.....I would say a RIP-OFF!!!!!!!!Somebody should check out where the money disasppeared.

[blip]

Originally Posted by PITTSTON2SARASOTA

Thanks for the information. If the 40,000 square foot number is accurate....than the building was $750.00 per square foot.....I think that would be well above the going rate to build office space in Scranton.....In Sarasota it maxes out at about $200.00 per square foot. Seems very overpriced.....I would say a RIP-OFF!!!!!!!!Somebody should check out where the money disasppeared.

where'd you get the $30m number?

[PITTSTON2SARASOTA]

Originally Posted by blip

where'd you get the $30m number?

From other forum threads and sold for $20,000,000.00.....are these figures incorrect??????Also in Scranton city's homepage, it states 30 million for Southern Union.

[W-B proud]

I don't live in Scranton so my views don't mean much, but Chris Doherty comes off as very snobbish, and he spends like a drunken sailor. I understand a mayor wanting to see progress in his city, but some of the ideas and very outlandish and unnecessary for a city the size of Scranton that continues to shrink, the 18 million dollar library in South Side is a good example! Why does Scranton need an 18 million dollar library? I'd think you'd be hard pressed to find an 18 million dollar library in some of the largest cities in America, plus with so many people having internet access these days, is more then one library even necessary? Doherty acts like he, and his city are better then everyone else, and i just don't see it. I think the real gems in NEPA are our natural area's, and small quaint towns. I don't think many people find our old, rust belt, "has been" cities very appealing. That doesn't only apply to Scranton, but Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton also. Doherty seems to make a very big deal out of Scranton, and what it has to offer, but the people that are moving here or visiting here are more often then not from REAL cities, major metro's, and I don't think they are very impressed with Scranton as a "progressive city". If you were moving or visiting here from NYC, would you be impressed with Scranton? That's not to say that I don't support progress, I do, but it has to be smart progress that makes sense. I don't think an $18 million dollar library makes sense for a small city, nor do I think a very, very expensive train to NYC is smart, or necessary.

[weluvpa]

Originally Posted by W-B proud

some of the ideas and very outlandish and unnecessary for a city the size of Scranton that continues to shrink, the 18 million dollar library in South Side is a good example! Why does Scranton need an 18 million dollar library? I'd think you'd be hard pressed to find an 18 million dollar library in some of the largest cities in America

The library is for one reason and one reason alone.......The Albright Library on N. Washington and Vine was deeded to the city to be used as a library forever soooooooooooo..............

LJC and the Med Scholl will need to have a campus library right there won't they? The Albright Library fits the bill as long as it stays a library and the public can access it it is still allowed to be sold and used by the schools for their library.............

Build the new one in Southside using the Federal Elm st project monies and sell the Albright Library to the med school, easy enough. Gatelli gets developement in Southside, Doherty gives the med school(Mellow) what they want and the residents get screwed out of a downtown library.

Kind of like selling the Southside Complex to Da U if you see what I mean.