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<p>Not even the most poetic of real estate agents could make Luzerne County&#8217;s former juvenile detention center sound like a sweet investment.</p><p>The nearly 70-year-old structure has the curb appeal of the &#8220;Addams Family&#8221; homestead, lacks a decent furnace, and reportedly will require asbestos remediation. Despite those and other faults, however, the property merits the county government&#8217;s recently announced effort to shop it around before &#8211; with any luck &#8211; unloading it.</p><p>One potential buyer expressed interest in the place this spring, according to county Manager C. David Pedri. Other would-be owners are being asked to submit purchase offers within the next two weeks. Offers must be received by 4 p.m. July 19, according to <a href="http://www.luzernecounty.org/uploads/images/assets/county/RFP/2016/June/Juvenile_Detention_Center_RFP.pdf" target="_blank">information on the county&#8217;s website</a>.</p><p>The nearly two-acre parcel in Wilkes-Barre might appeal to certain buyers because of its unusual location &#8211; adjacent to the county prison.</p><p>Although a turn-off for the typical buyer, the neighborhood distinction conceivably could suit particular uses: law offices, for example, or even an addiction treatment center. (Provided zoning would allow for it, of course.)</p><p>A walk-through of the three-story building has been scheduled for July 12.</p><p>Originally used as a women&#8217;s prison, the place later served as a juvenile detention center. It closed under controversial circumstances &#8211; by order of one of the two Luzerne County judges now serving federal prison sentences for their respective roles in the county&#8217;s 2009 juvenile justice scandal &#8211; and was never repurposed.</p><p>Today, the county administration estimates that demolition of the center would cost about $400,000.</p><p>A buyer, if one steps forward, will be responsible for the cost of subdividing the parcel from the prison property. The buyer also would need to look beyond this partial list of other shortcomings: a steep driveway, limited parking spaces, a choppy layout, no elevator and, arguably, bad karma.</p><p>Rather than a housewarming party, the winning bidder might want to consider holding a purification ceremony.</p><p>But no matter who ultimately gets the site, it&#8217;ll be good to see the hilltop property again in routine use &#8211; and off of the county&#8217;s plate.</p><style>
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Our Opinion: Former juvenile detention center in Luzerne County might attract unconventional buyer