Representatives from LIFE/SLIBCO, The City of Scranton, Lackawanna County and Beacon Summit at Scranton, LLC gathered to break ground on the Mount Pleasant Medical & Professional Building. Beacon Summit at Scranton, LLC purchased the 3,26

acre lot from Scranton Lackawanna lndustrial Building Company (SLIBCO) in October with plans to build a professional office building.

Beacon is an elite real estate development partnership that has been established since 1990. The principals of Beacon have designed, developed and managed over 1.5 million square feet throughout New Jersey, New York and are now making their mark in Pennsylvania with the first purchase at Mount Pleasant Corporate Center was on Friday, October 9, 2009.

Mayor Christopher Doherty, Lackawanna County commissioners Corey D. O’Brien and Michael J. Washo, Austin J. Burke of The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce and Vincent Visceglia of Beacon Summit at Scranton, LLC all gave remarks celebrating the commencement of construction on the 30,000 square foot, two story medical/professional services building. Space in the building will be divisible from 1,200 square feet to 30,000 square feet; the project has an expected completion date of fall2010.

“We are extremely pleased with our local team, architect Michelle Dempsey, engineer Tom Skibinski and real estate broker Mike Detter,” Vincent Visceglia, partner, Beacon Summit at Scranton, LLC commented during the morning’s ceremony. “The approved 30,000 square foot building we break ground on today is one of many new developments

in this city and county and we appreciate the opportunity to contribute to such a meaningful revitalization.”

Beacon Summit at Scranton is the first development within the Mount Pleasant Corporate Center, a 23 acre tract of land that SLIBCO purchased in March 2008 from Keystone Concrete Block Supply. The Corporate Center is a $7 million dollar project that SLIBCO expects will result in the development of over 210,000 square feet of buildings and the creation of 1,000 jobs. The park will consist of five lots ranging from 1.7 to 9.5 acres available for commercial and office development.

“SLIBCO’s investment in the future of Scranton provides the quality office setting that leading firms demand for their clients and their employees. This gateway to our city is being transformed into a beautiful, productive setting of which we can all be proud” stated Austin Burke, executive vice president, SLIBCO.

The 30,800 square-foot state-of-the-art medical and professional office building features great accessibility with abundant free on-site parking. It’s located less than five minutes from local hospitals and equity partnerships are available.

Right now, Hinerfeld can offer:

• Aggressive rents;
• Landlord to provide turn-key build-out of space;
• Space planning to custom design your suite;
• We’ll pay half of your Mercantile Tax for the original lease term; and
• One month of free rent for each year of the original lease term.

The Scranton-Lackawanna Industrial Building Co., which is the development arm of the Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, sold the lot to the Linden, N.J.-based Beacon for $792,000.

The chamber argued unsuccessfully before the Scranton School Board during the summer to garner Keystone Opportunity Zone status for the business park, which would have given developers a 10-year real estate and state tax forbearance. The park is on Linden Street, the former site of the Keystone Block Co.

In the end, the draw of the Commonwealth Medical College outweighed the economic hit from losing the tax incentive, said Beacon partner Daniel Siegel.

“We had this property under contract, and we were extremely disappointed,” Mr. Siegel said. “But we think there is a need for a facility like this in Scranton. So we have to work harder.”

The medical school will prompt an expansion in the medical sector and demand for high-quality office space, Mr. Siegel said. The building will be all-steel construction, brick clad, with a porte-cochere, gurney-sized elevators, energy-efficient windows and mechanicals, and about 130 parking spaces. The groundbreaking will be in November, and the building will be ready for occupancy by the spring of 2011, Mr. Siegel said.

Beacon has been involved with the development of 1.5 million square feet of space in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Tenants can receive a share of equity in the property, becoming partial owners of the building.

Chamber President Austin Burke said he’s grateful Beacon stuck with the project, but said the lack of economic incentives to offer prospective employers will mean that it will take longer to fill the other four or five lots at the business park.

“We will be successful in bringing in new employers, but it will take longer,” he said.

The former BAE Systems Specialty Defense System of PA Inc. building in Dunmore recently sold for $235,000 to 530 Sherwood Development LLC.

“Our plan is to develop residential townhouses for sale at the location,” said Jerry Ferrario, who is developing the property with brother Joe Ferrario and Mike Vacendak.

The developers are seeking borough approval to construct 16 units on the one-acre-plus property located at 530 Sherwood Ave.

Dunmore Borough Code Enforcement Officer Gene Walsh said the land development plans for the project are currently under review.

“Based on what I what I saw, it looks like a really nice-looking development,” he said.

John Cognetti, president of Hinerfeld Commercial Realty, was involved in the property transaction and said the developers’ plans “would be providing a type of housing that’s not (currently) available.”

If the land development plans are approved, the brothers say they will demolish any existing buildings on the property. Joe Ferrario said demolition would start soon “with approval and no unforeseen issues.”

Despite a rough economy, Mr. Cognetti said it wasn’t hard selling the property “because of the uniqueness of the product. Dunmore is a desirable place (to live) and there’s not a lot of land available to purchase.”

The brothers are also keeping the economy in mind when talking about the potential project’s timeline.

“We’re cognizant of the recent economy and based on that, we’re cognizant of the potential timing change that may be involved,” said Joe Ferrario.

-Courtesy of The Times-Tribune

Construction of the twin office buildings planned for high ground in the East Mountain Corporate Center is expected to begin by the end of this year, or sooner, said Chris Siegel, chief executive office of Ruckno Construction Co.

“That will be the tentative goal,” Siegel said Monday after he and Ernie McCabe, president of Ruckno’s commercial division, visited the site along Baltimore Drive.

The Luzerne builder is the construction manager of the estimated $12 million to $13 million project for owner Paul Francis Realty. The Commons sits on 8.3 acres and is comprised of two, 45,000-square-foot buildings, parking lots and a roadway system.

It’s taking multiple professionals to see the multi-component project through from concept to completion.

Siegel is responsible for marketing. McCabe has been doing the behind-the-scenes work of securing permits and guiding along the Commons. Kyle Kinsman of William Kinsman Lewis Architecture, Wilkes-Barre, designed the project. Mike Detter of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate, Scranton, is leasing space.

“They’ve got a lot of interest already,” Siegel said. The project has caught the attention of businesses looking to sign on as anchor tenants, he said.

The Commons has some very unique attributes, McCabe added. There are two opposing structures of very similar design linked by a pedestrian courtyard and the location literally elevates the project above other office buildings.

“A three-story building: you’re about 75 feet high. You could imagine the view,” McCabe said.

-Courtesy of The Times Leader

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