The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority on Tuesday approved an exclusive listing contract with Hinerfeld Realty to market the Market Street Square property, seen here along Wilkes-Barre Boulevard. The authority also discussed an appraisal from businessman Thom Greco as part of his request to buy part of a lot near the McDonald’s on his property so the fast food restaurant could rebuild and add additional drive-through lanes.
WEST PITTSTON — The Luzerne County Redevelopment Authority took another step Tuesday in trying to sell the Market Street Square property in downtown Wilkes-Barre.
Authority board members approved an exclusive listing contract with Hinerfeld Realty, Scranton, to market the vacant, rundown former train station that in recent years housed a nightclub.
In addition to the New Jersey Central train station, which was built in 1868 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the property at East Market Street and Wilkes-Barre Boulevard includes a strip mall, vacant land and a parking lot. The listing price is $1.88 million, with a 6 percent broker fee.
Businessman Thom Greco, the former owner of the property and whose company, TGRG LLP owns the nearby McDonald’s and Citizens Bank — and still has easement access to the lots — has been seeking to buy a strip of the parking lot behind the McDonald’s so the restaurant could rebuild to create a bigger building with additional drive-through lanes.
The authority board discussed an appraisal Greco had done that valued the strip at $3,100. The board met in a brief closed-door executive session to discuss the real estate issue, but took no action on the matter during the public meeting.
Greco, reached on Wednesday, said he started discussions with the authority two years ago to purchase the 40-foot-by-130-foot strip of land.
“Nothing has occurred yet because they weren’t sure what they wanted to do with the property,” Greco said.
Attempts to reach McDonald’s franchise owner and operator Patricia Stella, president of QSC Enterprises Inc., Kingston, were unsuccessful on Wednesday.
As for the Market Street Square property, Griff Keefer of Hinerfeld told the authority last month that developing the parcel would require creating a group of stakeholders with a vested interest in Wilkes-Barre. As a condition of the exclusive contract, the board voted Tuesday that it would appoint one of its members to represent the authority as a stakeholder. It also included conditions that the authority be advised of other stakeholders and receive bimonthly reports.
The authority bought the station in 2006 for $5.8 million in community development money. An outside appraiser last year estimated the property as worth $1.88 million.
Blight study
Members also discussed board member Mark Rabo’s suggestion to do a blight study of Luzerne County in order to rank the conditions of blighted properties and assess the costs and best course of action with the help of state or federal programs.
Rabo also suggested a county blight registry in coordination with the county to list on the authority website so tax sale authorities would be aware of property owners who do not fix up properties.
He also suggested the authority explore establishing a Transit Revitalization Investment District with the county and city, using Market Street Square as the centerpiece of development and revitalization.
