State asks if Luzerne County authority interested in vacant SCI Retreat, White Haven Center

The state has asked if Luzerne County’s Redevelopment Authority is interested in moving forward with any projects at two vacant state sites — the State Correctional Institution at Retreat in Newport Township and the White Haven Center.

Authority members discussed the outreach during their Tuesday meeting, concluding they are not in a position to launch a project at either location but are willing to assist any other governmental entities that may be interested in exploring reuse.

SCI Retreat closed in June 2021. The White Haven Center, which provides residential care to those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, has been vacant since 2023.

During Tuesday’s meeting, authority Executive Director Margie Thomas provided board members with a packet of information about SCI Retreat from the state Department of General Services Bureau of Real Estate’s acquisitions and dispositions division.

“The Bureau of Real Estate is working through the due diligence process and plans to draft legislation in the near future in order to get authorization to market and sell the property. Please understand we do not have legislative authorization to sell the property yet, and this correspondence is hypothetical and for information purposes only,” the state communication said.

Accessible by a steel bridge off Route 11, the 264-acre SCI Retreat property also falls in Union and Hunlock townships, the state information said. There are 23 structures totaling 303,900 square feet, including a maintenance garage, boiler plant, superintendent’s residence, farmhouse, paint and carpentry shops, service building, cannery, education center, administrative buildings, warehouse, guard shacks, greenhouse, chapel and multiple cell blocks for inmates, it said.

The property has been suggested at times as a potential new location for a county prison complex, but the idea never took hold.

County Manager Romilda Crocamo provided this statement Tuesday:

“In 2021, a tour of Retreat was conducted to evaluate its potential as a relocation site for the prison. During this assessment, it became evident that Retreat was not a feasible option for such a purpose. Given the circumstances at that time, I find it highly unlikely that the feasibility of Retreat has improved since then.”

County officials also toured the complex in 2022 amid indications the state may transfer the property to the county for $1. No takeover plan was advanced after the tour.

Authority Board member Stephen Phillips said construction of an access road would increase the viability of the SCI Retreat property and other land that could attract residential, recreational and industrial development, particularly if the county proceeds with Nanticoke/West Nanticoke Bridge replacement plans.

Phillips said he does not know if the former state prison is beyond repair and was informed by others it is “in pretty rugged shape right now.”

Board Chairman Scott Linde said the limited access made the site suitable for a prison but difficult to develop for other uses, particularly one that generates revenue.

According to past reports, the Central Poor District of Luzerne County established an almshouse for the indigent there in 1878. A hospital for those with mental health conditions was added in 1900. The property was known as the Retreat Hospital for the Insane and Almshouse for 30 years and renamed the Retreat Mental Hospital in 1930. The county operated that facility until 1943, when it was transferred to state control.

The hospital formally closed in 1981, and it opened as a state prison in January 1988.

Regarding the White Haven Center, the redevelopment authority may show support by sending a representative to an April 10 community meeting scheduled by state officials to discuss the property’s future.

State Sen. Dave Argall (R-Pottsville) is hosting the meeting with state Rep. Jamie Walsh (R-Ross Township), according to a handout distributed at Tuesday’s authority meeting.

The community visioning session will start at 5:30 p.m. in the Saint Patrick’s Church Hall, 411 Allegheny St., White Haven, the handout said.

Session attendees will include representatives from the Center for Rural PA, White Haven Blueprint Community Team, the Department of General Services and the Department of Human Services, the handout said.

For the White Haven Center to be sold, the Department of General Services must transfer the property directly to a redevelopment authority or the state General Assembly must pass legislation authorizing a direct conveyance or competitive sale, the department said in a statement last fall.

A sale preparation process must include surveys, appraisals and environmental studies, it said.

Railroad

The authority also acknowledged receipt Tuesday of a cease and desist letter from the county to temporarily halt any further action related to selling, transferring or disposing of authority-owned railroad property.

While emphasizing there is no implication of wrongdoing, Crocamo has said the county administration is seeking a 60-day pause so it can conduct a comprehensive review of past agreements involving the rail. The county has an interest in the rail line because prior commissioners loaned the authority funds in 2001, so the authority would not default on its mortgage and risk losing infrastructure that serviced 25 businesses.

County Chief Solicitor Harry W. Skene, who attended Tuesday’s meeting remotely, told authority members the county’s review is still underway.

Linde said he looks forward to the review, noting the loan agreements predate all current board members.