Latest news with #Scranton-based
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Data center developer to buy mobile home park in Archbald
ARCHBALD — A developer intends to purchase a mobile home park on the Eynon Jermyn Road as part of a nearly 1-million-square-foot data center campus, leaving residents unsure where they will live. Earlier this month, residents of the Jermyn Mobile Home Village, also known as Valley View Estates, received letters dated July 26 informing them their community is being sold to Archbald Developer II LLC, with the anticipated transfer of ownership on April 15, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by The Times-Tribune. The sale agreement was signed May 21, according to the letter. Located at the bottom of the Eynon Jermyn Road just shy of the Jermyn border, the mobile home park is on the outskirts of a proposed data center campus known as Project Gravity, according to the project's subdivision/land development application form and concept plan obtained by The Times-Tribune in April via a Right to Know Law request. Project Gravity proposes to build at least six two-story data center buildings, each 135,000-square-feet per floor, across 186 acres between Business Route 6 on its western border and the Eynon Jermyn Road on its east, with entrances on both roads. The mobile home park would be just a few hundred feet from the closest data center building, with the main entrance to the data center campus paralleling the entrance to the park. Western Hospitality Partners—Jermyn LLC signed a memorandum of purchase and sale agreement Oct. 15 to buy the 186.21-acre parcel from property owner Five Up Realty LLC, 805 Enterprise St., Dickson City. James Marzolino signed on behalf of Five Up; Harry Bram signed for Western Hospitality. The agreement, which was recorded with the Lackawanna County recorder of deeds on Oct. 21, does not include a sale price. Marzolino is involved in two other data center projects in Archbald and Blakely; he is also the president of Scranton-based Kriger Construction. Less than half a mile up the Eynon Jermyn Road from Project Gravity, Marzolino purchased the Highway Auto Parts junkyard for $1,575,000 this month to build three more data centers for his Archbald Data & Energy Center, and he and co-developer Alpesh 'Al' Patel of Al's Quick Stop convenience stores asked Blakely to rezone land along Business Route 6 and Terrace Drive to build four data centers. For Project Gravity, a firm known as Archbald 25 Developer LLC initially filed with the Pennsylvania Department of State on Oct. 10 as Western Hospitality Partners—Jermyn LLC under a Denver-based law firm, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck LLP, which describes itself on its website as 'one of the nation's leading lobbying firms, offering a bipartisan team with full-service lobbying, public policy and legal representation that helps companies, associations, nonprofits and other organizations interpret federal government actions, solve challenges and seize opportunities.' That same law firm and one of its paralegals, Meredith Whatley, signed a certificate of organization for Archbald Developer II LLC on May 9, according to the Department of State filing obtained by The Times-Tribune. Check back for updates. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Carbondale City Hall foyer to get facelift, display donated historic items
Carbondale native Frank 'Chauncey' Zazzera donated four handmade models of historic Carbondale buildings to the city to honor his late best friend and share the history of his hometown. While the 81-year-old who now lives in Fell Twp. hoped the city would display the replicas — the former Carbondale viaduct, a Delaware and Hudson Gravity Railroad roundhouse that was once in the city, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church and the Pugliano building at Enterprise Drive and Dundaff Street — his donation inspired a renovation project to give Carbondale's 130-year-old-plus City Hall a revitalized foyer. The replicas were all handcrafted by fellow Carbondale native Harold Ort, and Zazzera donated them to the city in honor of his longtime best friend, Roy Miley of Carbondale, who died in 2023. 'I'd just like the people of Carbondale to really enjoy it. I just don't want them to stay in my attic. Who's going to see them up there?' Zazzera said. 'This way, everybody can see them and reminisce.' Models that were inspired by churches in Carbondale will be displayed in the foyer of Carbondale City Hall Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Built in 1892-1894, Carbondale City Hall at 1 N. Main St. is a Romanesque Revival-style brick and bluestone building that has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, according to a building study in January by Martina Bacarella Architect, a Scranton-based architecture studio. City Hall underwent a comprehensive renovation project in 1996 that included upgrading the fire-suppression system, redesigning the council chambers, installing an elevator and enclosing a staircase in the rear of the building for accessibility, but the improvements didn't touch the foyer aside from adding the current oak doors into City Hall, Mayor Michele Bannon said. The front of Carbondale City Hall Tuesday. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) When Zazzera approached her about donating his collection of replicas to display in City Hall, Bannon thought it would be the perfect opportunity to upgrade the foyer. 'When you walk into a grand building like City Hall … you want it to be beautiful. You want it to be opulent,' she said. 'I thought that'd be a great way to show off our history, but at the same time, make it an elegant piece of the building.' Now, work is underway to upgrade the foyer's interior, with Bannon hoping to finish the improvements by the end of the month using a $3,000 grant from the Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority. The city is also in the engineering phase of a project to upgrade its police station, which is in City Hall, including upgraded workstations for officers and enhanced security, she said. The police station project will use $300,000 in funds from the state's Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, or RACP, Bannon said. She hopes to complete the police station project this year, though it could spill over into 2026. A view of the interior of Carbondale City Hall Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) City Hall's foyer is currently being repainted, with other work including new furniture like railroad-style benches, displays for Zazzera's donations, revitalized tile flooring and potentially more lighting, said Bannon, who lauded the donated labor the city has received. For interior design, a local woman, Lynn Wallis, toured the foyer and gave the city suggestions for color palettes, furniture and displays. Adams Cable donated large, framed prints of historic Carbondale scenes to display; Councilman Walter Martzen refurbished and re-plastered a water-damaged wall; city zoning and code enforcement officer Doug Calzola, who is also a contractor, is overseeing the project; residents Margie Famularo and Marjanie Hellman provided technical assistance and support; and inmates from SCI Waymart are painting the interior, Bannon said. 'Everything is volunteer — the only thing we've paid for are materials,' she said. 'Every single person has donated their time, their treasures and their talent.' For Zazzera, displaying the replicas will showcase pieces of Carbondale's history that younger generations never got to see, especially regarding the D&H Railroad and its history. 'It's part of our history, and it's never going to go away,' Zazzera said. Zazzera recalled Ort, who he knew since the 1960s, building the models himself as part of a sprawling Lionel model train collection. Ort was a master electrician, Zazzera said. 'He was a very clever fellow,' he said, noting the viaduct and roundhouse were both made to scale. 'He had so many switches and components in that roundhouse that the actual turntable inside the roundhouse would turn.' After Ort died in 2018, Zazzera and his late best friend, Miley, approached Ort's wife to buy some of the buildings from his collection. When Miley passed away in 2023, Zazzera reached out to the Carbondale Historical Society about donating the items, but with the society tucked away on the third floor of City Hall, he hoped more people could see them, prompting him to contact Bannon. 'I want them someplace that people could see and appreciate what this is,' he said. The displays will be in memory of Miley while crediting Ort for making them, Zazzera said. In the future, Bannon wants to seek grant funding to address City Hall's exterior, with the largest expense being to replace its single-pane windows, which are original to the building. Several years ago, the city received an estimate that replacing the windows would cost nearly $1 million, she said. 'How can we expect developers and investors and existing business owners to make improvements in their properties if we're not willing to do them in ours?' Bannon said, emphasizing the need to use grants, donations and volunteerism to avoid overburdening taxpayers. 'I can't embellish enough how blessed we are to have so many people who want to see us thrive.'
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scranton-based treatment center faces eight lawsuits over data breach
A Scranton-based nonprofit addiction treatment organization faces eight class-action lawsuits regarding a data breach involving health and personal identification records of over 22,000 former and current patients. The separate, but similar, lawsuits filed from May 14 to May 23 in Lackawanna County Court each name as the defendant Drug and Alcohol Treatment Service of 441 Wyoming Ave. Claiming the agency negligently failed to safeguard its information technology network, the lawsuits are all potential class actions filed by prospective lead plaintiffs on behalf of themselves and all others similarly situated. The lawsuits seek court certification of the class and unspecified damages, fees, costs and interest. Certification, if approved, would be a key step in favor of the plaintiffs. Whether or how the court might consolidate the cases also remains to be seen. Efforts to reach the nonprofit company were unsuccessful. A 'Notification of Data Security Incident,' posted on the website of the organization, says it 'became aware of unauthorized activity' on its network around Oct. 6 and took immediate action to secure it and have outside specialists investigate. By April 15, the analysis determined that a limited amount of information may have been accessed between Oct. 5-6, and 'the potentially affected information included patient names, addresses, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, health insurance information, patient account numbers, medication information, diagnosis and treatment information, doctor names, and medical claims and billing information,' according to the notice. It added that DATS also implemented additional network security measures and reviewed its data protection policies and procedures. 'Although we have no evidence of misuse of information as a result of this incident, we encourage potentially impacted individuals to enroll in complimentary credit monitoring and identity protection services we are making available,' the notice said. One lawsuit described the treatment center's corrective actions as 'too little, too late,' because the victims of stolen data lost time in detecting and preventing identity theft and face an increased risk of it. The company notified a governmental agency about the data breach on April 24, listing 22,215 victims, but waited until May 2 to issue a public notice and begin sending out letters to those affected by the incident, according to one of the lawsuits. Some of the other claims in the lawsuits include: • The cybercriminals appear to be a notorious ransomware group, 'Interlock,' which claimed credit for the breach and transfer of at least 133 gigabytes of data. If the data has not already been published on the dark web, it likely would happen soon. • The breach was preventable through various ways, including encryption, training, spam filters, firewalls, anti-virus and malware programs, to name a few. The agency should have known it was at risk because cyber attacks targeting health care entities have become widespread. • Plaintiffs already have spent considerable time reviewing bank accounts, monitoring credit and changing passwords and have suffered fear, anxiety and stress. Victims now face years of constant monitoring of their financial and personal records. Fraudulent activity might not come to light for years, and there could be a time lag in detecting it. • The center failed to adhere to federal guidelines and industry standards and violated health information protection rules. • Some of the other counts include: breaches of implied contract, confidence and fiduciary duty; unjust enrichment; and invasion of privacy. Seven lawsuits each had one individual lead plaintiff, while the other one had two plaintiffs filing jointly. The suits listed six plaintiffs as former patients, but did not specify the other three. The dates of filings, number of prospective lead plaintiffs and law firms representing them include: May 14: One plaintiff represented by the Shub Johns & Holbrook law firm of Conshohocken and the Milberg Coleman Bryson Phillips Grossman firm of Washington, D.C. May 15: One plaintiff represented by the Kopelowitz Ostrow law firm of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and the Shamis & Gentile law firm of Miami. May 21: One plaintiff represented by the Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky law firm of Philadelphia and the Strauss Borelli firm of Chicago. May 21: One plaintiff represented by Saltz Mongeluzzi Bendesky and the Finkelstein, Blankinship, Frei-Pearson & Garber firm of White Plains, New York. May 21: One plaintiff represented by the Kopelowitz Ostrow law firm. May 21: One plaintiff represented by the Adhoot & Wolfson law firm of Radnor and the Siri & Glimstad firm of New York City. May 23: One plaintiff represented by the Shub Johns & Holbrook law firm of Conshohocken and the Clayeo Arnold firm of Sacramento, California. May 23: Two plaintiffs filing jointly represented by the Kimmel & Silverman firm of Ambler and the EKSM firm of Houston. According to the DATS website: the private, nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation was established in 1977 to provide outpatient treatment to residents of Lackawanna County suffering from drug and alcohol abuse; it grew over the years to become the state-designated provider for drug and alcohol counseling covering all of Lackawanna County and one of the largest outpatient service providers in the state; its roster has grown to 30 clinical staff members with an average monthly caseload of 700 patients; licensed by the state, the center is a provider for the Lackawanna-Susquehanna Office of Drug and Alcohol Programs. One of the lawsuits described the prospective class as 'nationwide.'
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Senior housing projects progress in Dunmore, roughly $21 million investment
Two senior housing projects will add nearly 90 apartments and personal care units to Dunmore Corners, representing an estimated $21 million investment into Dunmore's downtown. Construction of the four-story Bucktown Center at East Drinker and South Apple streets is nearly complete, creating 37 one-bedroom apartments — each about 800 square feet — and three two-bedroom apartments, said Marty Fotta, chief operating officer of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The Bucktown Center, which also has 5,500 square feet of first-floor commercial space currently available to lease or buy, is set to begin moving in residents by the end of June, said UNC President and CEO Lisa Durkin. On going construction at the Bucktown Center senior apartment complex in Dunmore on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) A block away, the Dunmore Personal Care Residence at Chestnut and Calvin streets is set to break ground by July to construct a 48-unit personal care home that is scheduled to be completed in fall 2026 under a 14-month construction timeline, said Dunmore native Michael Kelly, president of Scranton-based Senior Health Care Solutions. While United Neighborhood Centers will operate the nearby Bucktown Center, Kelly is also the developer behind that project. The Bucktown Center is an estimated $12 million project, and the Dunmore Personal Care Residence is about a $9 million project, he said. * A lot on the corner of Chestnut and Calvin St. that developer Mike Kelly plans on constructing a 48-unit personal care facility in Dunmore on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) * A rendering of the Dunmore Personal Care Residence at Chestnut and Calvin streets. Construction is set to begin this summer, wrapping up in the fall of 2026. (Courtesy of Michael Kelly, president of Senior Health Care Solutions) * A rendering of the Dunmore Personal Care Residence at Chestnut and Calvin streets. Construction is set to begin this summer, wrapping up in the fall of 2026. (Courtesy of Michael Kelly, president of Senior Health Care Solutions) Show Caption 1 of 3 A lot on the corner of Chestnut and Calvin St. that developer Mike Kelly plans on constructing a 48-unit personal care facility in Dunmore on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER) Expand Earlier this month, Kelly held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for his Tunkhannock Rehabilitation and Health Care Center at 27 West St., Tunkhannock, opening a 52-bed 'state-of-the-art center' to provide long-term care in Wyoming County, according to Kelly. His Tunkhannock facility will have hotel-like amenities with private rooms and baths, common and private meeting rooms, a bistro cafe, recreational activity rooms, a physical therapy gym, a media center, dining areas and an interactive nursing station, according to Kelly. Kelly's firm, Senior Health Care Solutions, has developed 25 facilities across Northeast and Central Pennsylvania, including about 13 in Lackawanna County. Though he has since sold them, Kelly previously operated facilities in Blakely, Dunmore, Jessup, Old Forge, Scranton and Throop. Both Kelly and Fotta noted the demand for senior housing in the Dunmore area. United Neighborhood Centers opened applications for the Bucktown Center at the beginning of the year, and so far, they have received more than 150 applications, Fotta said. Kelly expects to open applications for his nearby personal care residence in early spring 2026. The developments cater to baby boomers, Kelly said, pointing to the demand for private accommodations. 'Our parents, grandparents, they were used to sharing bathrooms and rooms,' he said. 'Everybody wants private accommodations anymore. … You don't want to dine at a table with 30 people, you want to live personally within yourself.' At the Bucktown Center, where rent will be around $900 to $1,000 per month including all utilities, apartments will have a living room, a kitchen and dining room area, a bedroom and washer and dryer hookups, Fotta said. The units are also accessible with amenities like easy-to-enter showers and grab bars 'to make it really comfortable for the seniors who are going to live there,' he said. Tenants must be 62 or older. Although they are private, independent-living apartments, there will be shared community spaces like balconies overlooking Drinker Street and a large community room, Durkin added. At the Dunmore Personal Care Residence, residents will have access to a bistro cafe and bar, a recreational activity room, a physical therapy gym, a media center and multiple dining areas, Kelly said. Outdoors, there will be a patio and a wheelchair-accessible garden. The residence will be staffed by licensed practical nurses and aides, and it will offer on-site doctor's visits, in addition to providing transportation to off-site medical visits, medication administration and access to therapists and social work, among other services, Kelly said. 'You move into here, and all your needs are met, and if you have some physical maladies, we take care of that for you,' Kelly said. 'It's peace of mind for your kids, it's peace of mind for yourself that you're safe.' Residents at the personal care home will be able to come and go as they please, he said. Though it depends on need, the average room will be about $3,500 to $4,000 per month, which is all inclusive, including food, beverages, care and laundry, he said. 'I think it's low for the industry,' Kelly said of the rate. 'We'd like to be as affordable as possible for the elderly.' Dunmore Mayor Max Conway lauded the 'tremendous development' happening in Dunmore Corners in recent years, including the senior housing projects. 'This is real money we're talking about,' he said. 'These aren't some smaller investments that are being made.' Conway believes the new housing will provide a boost to nearby businesses with new clientele from not just the incoming residents, but also their visiting family and friends. 'We're only going to see more development up there,' he said. Because of the requirements for the Bucktown Center under the Pennsylvania State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program, United Neighborhood Centers will have to quickly move residents in in June when the facility is complete, Durkin said. As a result, she asked the Dunmore community for some patience if there are any traffic holdups from moving trucks. 'In the long run, this is going to be a community asset that really contributes to the neighborhood and the vibrancy of the beautiful town of Dunmore,' Durkin said. Anyone interested in applying to live at the Bucktown Center can email housing and property manager Debra Reese at dreese@ and any businesses interested in occupying the first floor can contact Joy Hubshman, the director of community housing development, at 570-346-0759 or jhubshman@
Yahoo
27-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
INNOVATION: Scranton-based developer invests millions into Wilkes-Barre
Apr. 27—Buildings talk. Well, to John Basalyga they do. The Scranton-based developer, who recently invested millions of dollars into Wilkes-Barre, believes that the buildings he takes on speak for themselves. All he has to do is listen. "It might sound weird or whatever, but I let the building tell me what it needs to be. I'll go out, I'll spend time in front of it, I'll walk through, and I'll get a good feeling for it," he explained. Basalyga is in the process of redeveloping the former First National Bank Building on Public Square. He also purchased both the Fredrick and Mary Stegmaier Mansions late last year, the latter of which is gearing up to open with a new restaurant sometime in May. All three structures, built in the early 20th century, are architecture marvels and preserving that history was something Basalyga was especially passionate about. "You simply cannot afford to build the way that they used to build," he said. "It's incredible. The craftsmanship is always great. I mean, I fixed things that people begged me to rip down." Although several renovations have taken place at the Mary Stegmaier Mansion since he purchased it, Basalyga was adamant about keeping the look and feel of the area's past alive within its walls. "You're gonna walk in there and it's like you're going into a time capsule, and that's exactly what I want," he said. Basalyga's projects, as well as others, including the Sterling Hotel site project, will no doubt bring value to the city. While many business owners and residents are still recovering from the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Basalyga said reinvigorating the downtown area is key to moving NEPA in the right direction again, both culturally and economically. "Phase one is getting people to live downtown again," he explained. "Phase two is little stores open up. Then, if phase one and phase two are successful, phase three will start getting anchor tenants downtown." Along with increasing foot traffic, taking care of buildings that people care about is equally important. "When you take an old building that used to have life and you re-inject life into it, people are attached to those buildings. So, when you take that building that people are tied to and you reinvigorate it with life, it's just an awesome thing. And I think that's what we do best," he explained. As he continues to invest in properties around Luzerne County, Basalyga said the response he's gotten from local officials and residents has been very welcoming. "I really appreciate the support. It's certainly great to see that you accepted. I know there's always been a Mason Dixon line between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, but you know, hopefully we could start breaking that down and work together more and share our successes." All it takes, Basalyga said, is commitment from passionate individuals. "If you have that, you can do anything."
