PLAINS TWP., PA – Keystone Commons should be more than an idea by next February.
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.
SCRANTON, PA – Keystone Community Resources, Inc. leased 13,000 s/f of space at 215 Hickory St. from DDRC Realty Company. The space consists of 8,000 s/f of showroom and workshop space, 3,000 s/f of warehouse space and 2,000 s/f of unfinished space.
John Cognetti, SIOR, CCIM, who represented DDRC in the lease negotiations, said that the space was a perfect fit for this particular tenant. Their need was for space for an adult day activities center for persons with mild and severe disabilities, a storage facility for equipment and supplies that would serve all their facilities and office space plus adequate parking and space for client transport. The space at one time was home to a Harley Davidson franchise and recently was a showroom and production space for vinyl products contractor.
“Seeing beyond what was there took the creative efforts fo the Keystone staff, their architect and the owners who are general contractors,” said Cognetti. The location within two blocks of an entrance/exit ramp to the Central Scranton Expressway provides convenient access to all of Lackawanna County. Also it is near Downtown Scranton and accessible to all parts of the City.
-Courtesy of Mid Atlantic Real Estate Journal
A one-time downtown Scranton firehouse and long-time home of an engraving facility has been sold, and its fate is uncertain.
Scranton Engraving, 233 Franklin Ave., was sold last week for $138,500 to Bill Rosado, owner of the Rosado Group and the Ford Dealership that flanks building.
The seller was Scranton Engraving owner Thomas G. McCormack, 82, who continued to run the business until a just few weeks ago.
Mr. McCormack purchased the business from Times-Shamrock Communications (which publishes BusinessWeekly) almost three decades ago. Scranton Engraving had been a wholly owned subsidiary whose largest customer was The Scranton Times, although the business did outside commercial jobs as well.
Because of technological upgrades, The Scranton Times production moved from hot-type to cold-type printing. Engraving was no longer needed, and the company sold the business to Mr. McCormack in June 1979.
With its handful of clients and six employees, the company moved to Franklin Avenue and continued to produce half tones, line negatives and other prepress services.
He was able to expanded the business. But the digital age soon caught up with company, as more printed material moved from a computer directly to a printer or offset plate. Prepress services became more obsolete.
In more recent years, Mr. McCormack kept the company going thanks plaque etching and boutique work. Shrinking volume and taxes took too great a toll.
“Business was good for a long time. We expanded, got more work and changed with what was happening, but we never got into computers,” Mr. McCormack said. “We did a good job, and we had loyal clients. But this sort of work isn’t needed as much, and we didn’t have the volume to continue.”
The property was listed by John Cognetti and Harry Rothstein, of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate, in Scranton. The building was initially listed at $190,000, Mr. Cognetti said, but its marketability was limited by its “as-is” status, equipment included in the sale and limited parking.
Mr. Cognetti said Mr. Rosado wasn’t sure if he had a use for the building or would demolish it.
Property facts
Location: 233 Franklin Ave., Scranton.
Sale price: $138,500.
Land: 3,600 square feet.
Building: 4,900 square feet.
Old use: Home of Scranton Engraving.
New use: To be used or demolished by the surrounding car dealership.
- Courtesy of The Times-Tribune Business Weekly
Recent Sale:
562 N. Main St., Pittston
$230,000
The former Keen Floral retail outlet and warehouse was recently sold by Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate of Scranton. The approximate 9,000-square-foot building has an 1,800-square-foot enclosed shipping dock.
- Courtesy of The Times Leader
The founder and president of the vacation dealer, John Dowd, purchased the former state Department of Labor & Industry building from the Girard Estate for $3.25 million and plans $1 million in renovations to the 47,000-square-foot building. Sundance will move from its current home on Kidder Street and occupy about one-third of the renovated building, which it will use as corporate headquarters and a local marketing and sales office. The rest of the building, to be dubbed the Arena Commons, will be leased.
Despite the building’s desirable location at one of the busiest crossroads in Wilkes-Barre Township, it was on the market for about 18 months. Listing agent Mike Detter, of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate, said the seller was holding out for a buyer who saw value in the building. Land in the area has been selling for between $400,000 and $500,000 per acre, and the building lot was just over four acres.
“Developers would have liked to buy it for $2 million and tear down the building, but we wanted to wait for someone who both liked the location and saw value in the building,” Mr. Detter said.
While the Internet has nearly eliminated walk-in travel agencies, Sundance has been able to survive because of its unique approach. Its customers buy several weeks of vacations in advance, and then select their destinations from Sundance’s inventory of condominiums in vacation destinations.
“We are in a different niche, and we are growing,” said Kathy O’Mara, communication director for Sundance.
The building has more than 200 parking spaces and is off Interstate 81, across the street from the Wachovia Arena.
Property facts
Location: 264 Highland Park Blvd., Wilkes-Barre Township
Sale price: $3.25 million
Land: 4 acres
Building: 47,000 square feet
Old use: Former state Department of Labor and Industry building.
New use: Headquarters of Sundance Vacations and leased office space.
- Courtesy of The Times-Tribune Business Weekly
If the building at 350 Second St. was a house the ad copy might read, “move-in condition.” That’s because the carpets are pristine and the paint is fresh.
“The inside is really nice for an industrial building,” said listing agent Mike Detter of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate.
The simple exterior doesn’t provide much of a clue to what’s inside, so maybe the ad would also say, “not a drive by.”
The 5,000 square feet of office space is part of a larger building in which another tenant is occupying the warehouse area that is hidden from the street. While not on a main thoroughfare, the building is convenient to the Cross-Valley Expressway and Interstate 81.
“It’s ideal for a user that doesn’t need visibility,” Detter said. “You can get really great office space at a reasonable rate.”
Modern features, such as complete prewiring with cat-5 cabling, also make the offices attractive. There’s a dedicated computer/telecom room with auxiliary cooling and a large conference room with an electronically-controlled retractable screen.
In addition to those rooms there are seven private offices with windows, a large glass-walled entrance/reception area, a break room and storage rooms. The core of the space is an open area with multiple electrical and network outlets that could accommodate support staff.
Other amenities include recessed fluorescent lighting, two handicap-accessible bathrooms, a full coverage sprinkler system and gas heating with individual thermostats in each office. There’s even an available flag pole.
The exterior, while plain, is in good shape and there is dedicated parking out front.
“The parking’s a big advantage here,” Detter said. “The location’s great, too.”
While acknowledging that the office market is a little soft, Detter thinks that once the right prospective tenant sees the condition, features and location he’ll have a deal.
PLAIN AND FANCY
What: Modern 5,000 square foot office
Where: 350 Second St., Plains Twp.
How much: $9.50/sq. ft., triple net
Listed by: Mike Detter, Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate, 207-4100
- Courtesy of The Times Leader
It took 10 years for Anthony Quinn, D.D.S., to find the right place to relocate his Clarks Summit orthodontics office.
A growing practice and the demands of new technology convinced him to plan a relocation from rented space on Noble Road to 505-517 Northern Blvd. in South Abington Township, a property he recently purchased for $919,000.
The 3,000-square-foot building on 1 acre will more than double the practice’s existing space and put it on the main thoroughfare of the Abingtons and closer to the schools.
Dr. Quinn has a base of operations in Scranton and has rented space on Noble Road in Clarks Summit in practice with Dr. John Mariotti and Dr. Todd Angelo.
“We are a bit removed in our Noble Road location and limited in what we could do in the space,” Dr. Quinn said.
For certain procedures, patients in that area have to go to the Scranton location. The new office will have cutting edge x-ray equipment that further limits radiation exposure to patients, Dr. Quinn said. The office also will “go paperless.”
Renovations will take place over the winter and the Noble Road office will relocate in about nine months.
The site was owned by Community Medical Center, which operated it as the Chinchilla Care Center. The building was constructed in the mid-1980s.
Michael Detter, of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate, Scranton, listed the property. He said there has been renewed interest in Routes 6 and 11 property to the south of the Interstate 81 on-ramp as prices to the north of the on-ramp have gone well over $1 million per acre.
“That’s where people want to be, but prices are prohibitive and forcing people to look below,” he said.
Since it was listed for sale in May, the building had been looked at by several dentists, physicians and general office users. He said the location and the promise of appreciation for commercial land in the Abingtons were the property’s strongest selling points.
Property facts
Location: 505-517 Northern Blvd., South Abington Township.
Sale price: $919,000.
Building: 3,000 square feet.
Land: 1 acre.
Old use: Chinchilla Care Center medical office, operated by Community Medical Center.
New use: New location of dental office for Dr. Anthony Quinn and associates.
- Courtesy of The Times-Tribune
KCI USA Inc. will move its warehouse and distribution operations to the CenterPoint Commerce and Trade Park in Jenkins Township from Scranton.
The medical technology company, based in San Antonio, Texas, will expand its operations when it moves into 25,000 square feet of leased space within the trade park. The new location is more than four and half times larger than its 5,400 square foot facility on Stafford Avenue.
Lease negotiations were handled by John Cognetti of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate. “They chose Northeastern Pennsylvania because of its location providing access to their major clients on the East Coast,” Cognetti said.
- Courtesy of The Times Leader
John Cognetti of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate has negotiated the $2.4 million sale of a 223,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Scranton.
The one-story building with a two-story office addition is currently being used for the fabrication of laminated lockers and bathroom dividers by the Comtec division of CPG International.
The facility is located on 18.9 acres at 600 Sanders St., off Interstate 81 at Davis Street. Scranton Products Inc. sold the property to Hoffman and Kozlansky Realty Co. A majority of the space will be leased to Comtec and a portion to Olympia Chimney Supply.
- Courtesy of REBusinessOnline
Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate announced the sale of 600 Sanders Street in Scranton. The Comtec division of CPG International is currently using the 223,000-square-foot facility for the fabrication of laminated lockers and bathroom dividers.
The one-story building with a two-story office addition is on 18.9 acres off I-81 at Davis Street. It has had varied tenants in the past, including General Electric, American Can, and Haddon Craftsmen. The latest owners, Scranton Products, Inc., sold the property to Hoffman and Kozlansky Realty Co. LLC.
Immediate plans for the building include the leasing of a majority of the space to Comtec and a portion to Olympia Chimney Supply Inc. Real Estate negotiations for the $2.4 million sale were handled by John T. Cognetti, SIOR, CCIM of Hinerfeld Commercial Real Estate.
