Shakira Martindale, representative of the Scranton Redevelopment Authority, told City Council members during a public caucus that the authority is pursuing a conservatorship for a blighted house at 25 New York Avenue and is advancing several ARPA-funded programs to remediate blight citywide.

Martindale said the authority's solicitor "is presently drafting affidavits to present to Lackawanna County Court for that 25 New York Avenue parcel" and described the property as overgrown, difficult to access and potentially a fire hazard. She said title work showed the parcel has two active mortgages held by Wells Fargo, and the authority is seeking written confirmation from the bank that it will allow the Scranton Redevelopment Authority to serve as conservator; that consent, Martindale said, “strengthens our case.”

The conservatorship is being advanced as a pilot rather than using eminent domain, which Martindale and council members described as costly and legally risky. She said the authority is also preparing for a committee meeting to weigh conservatorship versus eminent domain; eminent-domain meetings would need public notice and an advertised process. Martindale proposed several Monday meeting dates through Oct. 9 for the vacant-property review committee to decide next steps.

Why it matters: conservatorship would give the authority legal site control to assess whether to rehabilitate or demolish and to direct remediation work. Martindale framed the pilot as a way to create a replicable process for other problematic parcels.

Most immediate funding and program details

Martindale reported that the redevelopment authority is holding about $625,000 in ARPA funds. She said roughly $250,000 of that is earmarked for imminent preservation projects in North Scranton and that the city previously allocated $400,000 for blight abatement. She identified several allocations and pass-throughs discussed in the caucus:
- $125,000 anticipated for an ACE Group rehabilitation on Wayne Avenue (listed by Martindale as a $125k allocation).
- $52,000 to United Neighborhood Centers (UNC) to carry out an Elm Street designation in North Scranton (Martindale said she is finalizing an MOU with UNC).
- $125,000 to NeighborWorks to administer an aging-in-place housing rehabilitation program for North Scranton residents.
- $200,000 that the SRA will pass through on behalf of the City of Scranton for the Hilltop Heights project; Martindale said SRA will act as a pass-through and that final project paperwork was still awaited from the developer’s solicitor and PHFA (Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency) approvals.

Martindale said packaging smaller vacant parcels with larger developable lots is part of the SRA's strategy to attract developers. She noted the minimum lot size for a legal structure is 3,000 square feet and that many scattered parcels in North Scranton are narrow or small, so the authority plans to bundle lots to improve feasibility.

Elm Street designation and timeline

On the North Scranton plan, Martindale described the Elm Street designation as a central tool to coordinate streetscape, facade, economic development and housing-rehab work. She said the authority is finalizing an MOU with United Neighborhood Centers and expects an Elm Street application process to take about six months to a year before funding from the designation would begin to flow, and that the application work is targeted to be submitted before October.

Property inventory, disposition and other projects

Martindale said the SRA holds roughly 53 parcels, many of them narrow sliver lots or utility/right-of-way parcels that are not readily developable; she said two SRA-held properties were sold in the last three years (one on Lackawanna Avenue and one on Lloyd Street). Council members urged the authority to reach out to adjacent property owners who might want to purchase small lots to remove blight and return parcels to the tax rolls. Martindale said the authority will consider outreach and use marketing approaches similar to the zoning board’s public notices.

On property disposition, council members noted pending legislation to convey a small parcel at 110 West Market Street to the Redevelopment Authority; Martindale said she intends to post the parcel for disposition and expects two adjacent businesses have shown interest. The authority discussed using a local realtor to market that parcel once city access is granted.

Other items mentioned

- The Grossman parcel remains tied up in an incomplete eminent-domain action dating to 2007; the solicitor is working to “close the loop” on that case.
- A property at 1506 Vine Street was under contract earlier this year but the deal fell through after the zoning board withheld approvals; Martindale said the developer still owes the SRA $5,000 and the authority will decide whether pursuing collection is cost-effective.
- The SRA has two bonds and, according to Martindale, debt service on those bonds is being handled by the City of Scranton’s business administrator; the authority is not delinquent on payments.

Discussion versus decisions

All conservatorship and disposition steps described by Martindale were presented as in progress. No formal council vote or final SRA decision on conservatorship, eminent domain, or the disposition of specific parcels was recorded during the caucus. Martindale said the solicitor is drafting the conservatorship affidavits and that bank consent from Wells Fargo is being sought; those are prerequisites to filing in Lackawanna County Court.

Next steps and outlook

Martindale said the vacant-property review committee will meet in the near term to choose whether to pursue conservatorship or eminent domain for pilot parcels. She provided council members with a brief presentation and agreed to supply the SRA’s audited financial statements and annual budget on request. Martindale characterized the SRA's work in North Scranton as focused on community engagement alongside targeted funding to help aging residents remain in their homes and to pursue scattered-site redevelopment where feasible.

Quotation highlights

“I’m happy to say that actually our solicitor for the Square and Redevelopment Authority is presently drafting affidavits to present to Lackawanna County Court for that 25 New York Avenue parcel,” Martindale said. “So currently, the SRA is holding $625,000 in ARPA funds.”

Ending

Council members urged the SRA to accelerate the vacant-property review committee and to begin outreach to adjacent homeowners for small lots; Martindale said she will forward her presentation and work with staff to schedule the committee meeting and to provide requested financial documents.