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Around town: A wonderful night in the Back Mountain

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Penn State’s 2020 season opens with mind-blowing 36-35 loss at Indiana

The developer of the former Valley Crest nursing home site in Plains Township is still working to redevelop the tract, according to a recent project update for the Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority.
				Valley Crest Real Estate LP purchased the former nursing home from the county for $2.075 million in 2015 with plans to tear down the asbestos-filled structures to construct a retail, hotel and apartment complex called Valley Crest Commons. The site is accessible from a road off Route 315 that also services the adjacent VA Medical Center.
				However, the state won&rsquo;t issue a highway occupancy permit for the project unless congestion is addressed along the stretch of Route 315 and Business Route 309 (Kidder Street) between Mundy Street and the Cross Valley Expressway, officials have said.
				Faced with the cost of this off-site burden, project developer Robert Tamburro was at the authority&rsquo;s meeting to request its submission of a $1 million state grant application on its behalf.
				If awarded, the Local Share Account, or LSA, funds from casino gambling would be used to help fund the public road and signalization improvements.
				The authority board voted to seek the grant.
				Tamburro said he is putting the finishing touches on a traffic study and has come up with a highway improvement plan that he believes will be approved by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
				This plan has been simplified so it won&rsquo;t require a substantial number of easements and right-of-ways, he said.
				Tamburro said he already has secured $3.3 million in state multimodal grants for the public highway work that require an additional 30% in matches, or approximately $1 million, to be paid by his company.
				Another $3.7 million state transportation grant has been requested, which would require an additional $1.2 million match from his company if it is awarded.
				He also is awaiting a state announcement on whether he will receive another $1 million LSA grant the authority had requested on his behalf last year.
				&ldquo;We are putting a significant amount of our own money towards these public road system projects,&rdquo; Tamburro said, stressing the highway work will benefit all motorists &mdash; not only those accessing his site.
				The Kidder-Mundy crossroads is in a busy commercial area and has &ldquo;long been recognized&rdquo; as one of the most congested intersections in the region, one of his grant applications said.
				Valley Crest Real Estate is &ldquo;trying to harvest&rdquo; all grants possible to fund the highway project, and more will be needed, he told the authority.
				In a follow-up interview, Tamburro urged state legislators and officials to rally behind the project and address the highway traffic concerns, saying it is a &ldquo;regional problem.&rdquo;
				Development on his site will create jobs, boost the tax base and improve the quality of life, he said.
				&ldquo;I can&rsquo;t fight this battle on my own. I need some allies,&rdquo; Tamburro said.
				The developer does not plan to seek a tax diversion to fund highway work at this time because that request was not advanced by the Wilkes-Barre Area School Board, Tamburro said.
				The company had proposed a Tax Incremental Financing diversion, or TIF. Under this program, Valley Crest Real Estate would have paid real estate taxes on the new construction as usual. But instead of keeping that revenue, taxing bodies agree to temporarily use the money to repay a portion of the infrastructure loan needed for the highway improvements.
				Plains Township officials had approved the TIF. The request did not come before county council because that typically does not occur unless both other taxing bodies have granted approval.
				Demolition
				With the highway plans advancing, Tamburro told the authority he now plans to focus on removing asbestos and other hazardous materials from the former nursing home &mdash; abatement required to proceed with demolition.
				Valley Crest Real Estate is in the process of seeking multiple proposals for this abatement work and should start the interior structure clean-up this winter, he said.
				The company recently purchased an additional approximately 15 acres adjacent to the site, bringing the total tract to about 77 acres, he said.
				Tamburro hasn&rsquo;t been marketing the site because those initially interested around his 2015 purchase period wanted a concrete estimate of when they could proceed with plans &mdash; an answer he cannot until the public highway solution and funding are cemented.
				&ldquo;We had a decent amount of interest,&rdquo; he said of initial feedback from prospective tenants.
				Tamburro is affiliated with several family-owned companies, including the one that developed and owns the Arena Hub Plaza in Wilkes-Barre Township.
				He knew the Valley Crest Commons project would &ldquo;take time&rdquo; and require problem-solving but said his company was committed to investing locally to revitalize a site vacant for more than a decade.
				&ldquo;I think long-term, the property has a lot of promise, which is why we decided to take it on as one of our priorities,&rdquo; Tamburro told the authority.
				The site has broad zoning, he said. While Tamburro wants to target some retailers not yet in this region, he is open to a mix of commercial and residential uses.

Development of former Valley Crest Nursing Home site still in the works