The North East Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority recently demolished two eyesore properties, bringing the total to 11 torn down since the blight-targeting entity was created in 2014, authority Executive Director Joe Chacke said Thursday.
Authorized by 2012 state legislation, land banks take possession of rundown parcels and attempt to get them back into productive hands. Five municipalities signed up for the North East authority — Pittston, West Pittston, Avoca, Duryea and Jenkins Township.
The newly demolished structures are at 117-121 Pine St. in Pittston and 425 Liberty St. in West Pittston.
Chacke said the Pittston property has been entangled in code enforcement issues since the late 1970s and was a magnet for vandalism and vermin. Neighbors consistently complained about the property, he said.
“It has been a nuisance in the neighborhood for decades, and it’s finally gone,” said Chacke, who also serves as executive director for Pittston’s community development office and redevelopment authority.
Both demolition projects were funded by state gambling revenue and proceeds the authority generated from property sales, he said.
To date, the authority has acquired 38 properties and sold seven, he said.
Five of the sold parcels were part of a Main Street tract in Pittston that now houses a new Luzerne Bank and Dollar General, he said. These five parcels had contained tax-delinquent, deteriorated residential structures when the authority acquired them, with only one of the units occupied by a renter, he said.
“These properties were all blighted, and that’s the entrance to the city of Pittston,” Chacke said. “This just shows the benefit of the land bank. The new commercial properties will generate revenue for the three taxing bodies.”
Eleven of the properties now owned by the land bank were purchased from Luzerne County’s free-and-clear delinquent tax sale in October using a “trump bid” for the first time, he said.
The authority has the power to block out competition at tax auctions if it pays the minimum bid plus $500 and submits a list of properties it wants to acquire in advance in case the county wants to reject a planned land bank purchase, records show.
Chacke said the authority ended up purchasing the 11 free-and-clear properties for a combined total $23,176.
The authority publicly posts properties available for purchase at nepalandbank.com and requires prospective buyers to complete a prequalification application. Vetting is necessary to ensure buyers have no delinquent taxes or code violations, Chacke said.
Individuals involved in a proposed transaction must be identified and checked, including those in purchases made through limited liability corporations, he said.
Properties are available in all five land bank municipalities, the site says.
“We’re looking for reputable buyers and developers who are compliant with maintaining properties they currently own,” Chacke said.
Many of the properties in the land bank inventory are lots that were vacant when the authority acquired them but still a nuisance due to high grass and debris, he said.
“The municipalities are just happy to finally have some control over those properties,” Chacke said.
