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Penn Foster donates to McAuley Center

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Meet the new guys: Penn State turns to second-team linebackers

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; A settlement is in the works over the city allegedly taking more than agreed-to property from Interfaith Heights Apartments to widen Coal Street.</p><p>Tim Henry, attorney for the city of Wilkes-Barre, Wednesday said the parties have the &#8220;framework of a settlement&#8221; in place. He declined to disclose the terms.</p><p>&#8220;It is heading in that direction. It should be a matter of getting the paperwork together and getting it signed,&#8221; Henry said.</p><p>The dispute stems from the more than $20 million construction project, completed in 2013, to widen and straighten Coal Street from Wilkes-Barre Township Boulevard at the top to Wilkes-Barre Boulevard at the bottom. The mile-long stretch of roadway was expanded to five lanes and included the addition of new sidewalks, curbing, storm and sanitary sewer lines, street lights and traffic lights.</p><p>In order to construct the new roadway, the city filed a declaration of taking in 2009 to take property from the apartment complex, Henry explained. Five years later, Interfaith Heights Associates LP filed an inverse condemnation, alleging the city took more than it initially said it would. A trial began Monday in Luzerne County Court, ending in the settlement.</p><p>Still to be determined is when the second phase of the project will begin and whether the city can get the support of the county and the Wilkes-Barre Area School District to create a new Tax Incremental Financing program to fund it.</p><p>The TIF program allows taxing bodies to relinquish tax revenues and apply them to infrastructure improvements.</p><p>The city wants to extend Coal Street from Wilkes-Barre Boulevard to Union Street. PennDOT has agreed to fund 80 percent of the work and has placed it on its long range transportation plan for the 2021 to 2016 funding cycle.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">The city of Wilkes-Barre and the owner of the Interfaith Heights apartment complex have agreed to a settlement stemming from taking land for the widening of Coal Street. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/web1_TTL112914coalstreet1.jpg</photo0><caption0>The city of Wilkes-Barre and the owner of the Interfaith Heights apartment complex have agreed to a settlement stemming from taking land for the widening of Coal Street. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger file photo | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Settlement between Wilkes-Barre city and Interfaith Heights in progress