For more than 100 years, deaf students lived and learned on a 10-acre property in Scranton’s Green Ridge section. A decade after Marywood University took possession of it, the property will soon transform into a place where veterans and first responders can receive counseling, develop skills and take classes.
The Jarett Yoder Foundation plans to purchase the property next week and will develop a “Hero
es Resource Center.”
Diane Yoder founded the Berks County-based charity after her son Jarett died in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan in 2013, as he served the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.
The center, which will be open to active military, veterans and first responders, including firefighters, emergency medical service workers and police officers, will allow space for walking and reflection. Efforts to reach Diane Yoder were unsuccessful Friday.
Valhalla Veterans Services, located on Electric Street, will move to the building along North Washington Avenue and offer counseling services. The current office is too small to meet a growing need, said Ed Faatz, the agency’s founder and president.
“This will eventually be a one-stop shop for veterans,” he said. “Our counseling services have expanded so much.”
Marywood acquired the property, located in both Scranton and Dunmore, from the state in 2011 for $500,000, after the state gave control of the deaf school to the private Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. The deaf school became the Scranton School for Deaf & Hard-of-Hearing Children and moved to the former Lourdesmont campus in South Abington Twp.
Since Marywood listed the property in 2015, more than 300 potential buyers have shown interest, according to an article in the IHM newsletter. Recent proposals, including an artists’ apartment complex from a Los Angeles developer, and a plan for an art school and retreat center by the Elysian Sanctuary, fell through.
The property had a list price of $2.2 million last year. The closing is scheduled for early next week, and the parties have not disclosed a sales price. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for noon on Tuesday.
“It’s really going to tie into what we do here,” said Sister Mary Persico, I.H.M., Ed.D., president of Marywood.
For example, nutrition and dietetics students could help with cooking classes, and art therapy students could lead classes as well.
“They want to work with us, and it’s a perfect fit,” she said.
Neighbors in Green Ridge had expressed concerns about prior proposals for the property, raising concerns about parking, traffic and noise.
The Green Ridge Revitalization Committee “is continually committed to advocating for our neighbors and working together with businesses for community improvements, such as neighborhood safety, beatification and social activities,” said Samantha Maloney, president of the committee. “As such, we wish the Yoder Foundation the best of luck and look forward to their progress.”
Contact the writer: shofius@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9133; @hofiushallTT on Twitter.
