Luzerne County may seek expertise on repurposing vacant White Haven Center complex

Luzerne County may seek outside assistance on ways to repurpose the sprawling, state-owned White Haven Center property in Foster Township, according to Tuesday’s County Council work session agenda.

A former residential care facility for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, the 23-building property on nearly 183 acres off Interstate 80 has been vacant since 2023. The state has no use for the property and must spend approximately $4 million annually to maintain the complex and prevent further deterioration until ownership is transferred to another entity.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said state officials reached out and asked the county to assist in determining the property’s next use.

“It has been an important property for the entire county for decades, and we want to make sure it’s used in a positive way, particularly for the neighboring municipalities,” Crocamo said.

Crocamo emphasized the county is not looking to take ownership of the property.

The proposal up for discussion at Tuesday’s council work session would apply for expertise from the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia, a nonprofit research and education organization that works to solve community and real estate challenges.

The county administration is asking council to submit an application to ULI Philadelphia seeking a Technical Assistance Panel, or TAP, to assess the White Haven Center.

“County administration believes it is in the best interest of Luzerne County to seek an objective, multidisciplinary evaluation to help define realistic redevelopment scenarios of the property that will undoubtedly affect the citizens of Luzerne County,” the proposed resolution said.

The application process will cost $20,000, and Crocamo said she is optimistic the county will receive reimbursement.

ULI Philadelphia’s explanation of the TAP program said it provides expert advice to public agencies and nonprofits “facing complex land use and real estate issues” in areas of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

If approved, the nonprofit would assign a panel of up to 15 senior-level ULI members to an intensive two-day working session that includes touring the study area, interviewing stakeholders, and working as a group to produce preliminary findings and recommendations, followed by a complete and detailed report within two months.

Crocamo said she would invite officials in both Foster Township and White Haven to participate.

Applicants must provide key questions for the panel to address.

The county’s proposed questions include:

• What redevelopment and reuse scenarios are most feasible for the White Haven Center campus given its size, location, existing building stock, and current market conditions?

• What zoning, land use, or regulatory strategies should be considered to support flexible redevelopment while maintaining compatibility with surrounding uses?

• What implementation and governance strategies can Luzerne County pursue to help guide redevelopment outcomes following the Commonwealth’s disposition of the property?

The site is currently zoned for special-purpose institutional use. The state’s Department of General Services has completed initial steps to prepare the property for a competitive sale, the county said.

“To date, no comprehensive planning or feasibility analysis has been completed to evaluate reuse scenarios or long-term redevelopment impacts from a countywide or regional perspective,” the county’s proposed application says.

More than 100 White Haven area residents attended an April 2025 session hosted by state Sen. Dave Argall, R-Pottsville, and state Rep. Jamie Walsh, R-Ross Township, to seek public input on the property.

Citizen suggestions included using the complex for affordable housing, a medical facility, and trade schools. Some wanted to return the site to green space for recreation.

The nonprofit Valor Clinic Foundation expressed interest in occupying the site to provide affordable housing, vocational training, and other services for veterans. That plan should be self-sustaining but would require government funding assistance for implementation, Valor founder Mark Baylis had said at that session.

State legislators would have to authorize implementation of three options allowable under state law to change ownership: accept bids based on the appraised value, seek proposals screened and ranked by a review committee, or convey the property to a specific entity, the state said.

Tuesday’s council work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option will be posted in council’s online public meetings section at luzernecounty.org.

Council would have to vote at a subsequent meeting for the application authorization to take effect.

Voting meeting

Council is set to vote Tuesday on the new West Side Regional Police Department’s request for $300,000 in county funding.

If approved, the allocation would be used to demolish the vacant and blighted former St. Anthony’s Church campus at Jackson and Pace streets in Larksville to make way for the future headquarters of the regional police department, which was activated at the start of this year to cover Larksville and Edwardsville boroughs.

The county would use community development interest earnings to fund the earmark.

Two litigation settlements are also on the voting agenda.

The first settlement for $150,000, which includes all legal and filing fees, would close out litigation initiated in the county Court of Common Pleas by the estate of Michelle Lynn Shotwell. The resolution said Shotwell died of an accidental drug overdose while incarcerated at the county prison in June 2024, awaiting adjudication on a criminal matter.

In the second settlement, American Asphalt would pay the county $25,000 to end litigation the county had filed against the company over the May 2024 fire damage to the county’s Magisterial District Court office in Edwardsville. The agenda said the fire was “negligently caused by American Asphalt,” which was performing contracting work at that time.