Luzerne County still awaiting closing on $2.42M sale of its Hazleton property

Luzerne County is still awaiting a closing on the $2.42 million sale of its downtown Hazleton building, which County Council unanimously approved in January.

YMSF Family Partnership LP submitted the sole offer to purchase the Broad Street Business Exchange, exceeding the county’s $2.1 million minimum bid based on the appraised value.

The company’s offer included a $125,000 deposit and an agreement that the property would be purchased as-is following a due diligence period to perform a detailed inspection.

A YMSF representative said Monday the prospective buyer is still performing due diligence and has been trying to work with Luzerne County Community College — an anchor tenant of the property for several years — to sign a long-term lease to continue occupying the West Broad Street building.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo said Monday she is aware that the buyer and the community college have had numerous ongoing conversations, but she is not privy to those discussions.

The college’s lease expires at the end of this month, and it has asked the county to extend it six months through the end of this year at a payment of $21,172 per month.

Council is set to vote on the college lease extension on Tuesday. Because ownership has not transferred, the county law office received permission from the prospective buyer to approve a six-month extension for the college, according to the agenda.

County Community College President John Yudichak said Monday the college had been interested in potentially acquiring the building, but it could not meet the minimum bid.

Councilman Jimmy Sabatino had asked his colleagues to consider halting the offer-seeking process last December, but a council majority did not want to stop midstream and cut off potential offers.

Sabatino had said at the time he was informed, after the county had already started seeking purchase offers, that a “seven-figure investment” had been pledged to the college from the Luzerne Foundation and other sources to expand degree programs at the Hazleton campus. That funding hinged on college ownership of the property, Sabatino had said.

Yudichak said Monday the county’s sale of the building made the college’s decision on how to proceed “more challenging.”

“We have to see what happens with the sale. Since the sale has not closed yet, it gives us the opportunity to continue conversations with all parties on what is in the best interest of the college and greater Hazleton community,” Yudichak said.

Yudichak said he sought the six-month lease extension to allow time for the college to “do more of its own due diligence with respect to its investment in the city of Hazleton.” He also wanted to ensure there was “no disruption” to students.

The college’s Hazleton campus has one of the highest enrollments of its eight locations in Northeast Pennsylvania, Yudichak said.

He pointed to the college’s new educational partnership with Commonwealth University and the Hazleton Area School District, which will allow students to earn an associate’s and a bachelor’s degree in education entirely in Hazleton at a total cost of $35,000.

“We really want to double down on our investment in the city,” Yudichak said, adding he will be working with the county and potential developers in the Hazleton area, “to determine the best fit for the college and students and the community.”

The county allocates more than $6 million to the college annually, and the council appoints members of the college Board of Trustees.

Purchase offers for the Broad Street Exchange were sought because county officials heard of potential buyer interest.

The four-story property, with an attached wing, was constructed in the 1930s and once housed the Deisroth department store.

The county had accepted ownership of the structure from the nonprofit Alliance to Revitalize Center City Hazleton in 2009, so it would not risk losing more than $1.8 million it had loaned to that entity.

Those loans remain attached to the property as liens, officials said.

While the county can recoup reimbursement for repairs it made to the structure, any remaining sale proceeds would have to go toward the liens, officials said. Hazleton also has a $290,000 lien on the property that must be repaid, according to past reporting.

Tuesday’s council meeting starts at 6 p.m. in the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. Instructions for the remote attendance option are posted in the council’s online meeting section at luzernecounty.org.

Work session

A PPL Electric Utilities right-of-way request to access county-owned property in Dorrance Township is up for discussion at Tuesday’s work session agenda, which follows the voting meeting.

Council had unanimously removed the PPL request from its voting agenda in December, in part because it had not received the requested follow-up information regarding the three county-owned parcels along Blue Ridge Trail in Dorrance Township.

Answers to some of the council’s questions about the project are included in the work session agenda at luzernecounty.org.

Several residents had urged caution when the request was last presented. A project representative said the work will enhance reliability for thousands of customers.

Council members had said they may consider the request in the future if approximately 50 other impacted property owners agree to grant the right-of-way.

A lease amendment for the Keystone Job Corps Center on county-owned property in Butler Township is also on the work session agenda.

The amendment would revise the wording that delineates federal government insurance reimbursements, the agenda said.

The federal educational and vocational program for youth and young adults is located on 123 acres leased from the county. The complex has 44 buildings, including dormitories, classrooms, and vocational education structures, a dining facility, and buildings linked to storage and utilities, according to a past description.

It is part of approximately 530 acres owned by the county, dating back to its operation of the Kis-Lyn work camp for juvenile delinquents from 1912 to 1965.

The county receives $1,000 per month from the Job Corps lease.