The Scranton community, friends, and partners came together on Thursday of last week to celebrate a project nearly 17 years in the making– Goodwill at North.
North Scranton Junior High School, a majestic building that sits atop a hill in Scranton, has laid dormant since 1989. Now, after years of battling legal obstacles, financial hurdles, and even a mine below the school, the building will provide 58 apartments to low-income seniors in the area in December of 2015.
In 2011, Goodwill of Northeastern PA acquired the building for $1 from Pennrose Development, subject to existing debt from the city of Scranton. Despite years of stalled development, the project received nearly 300 letters of support from the community when applying for tax credit programs with the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.
Dina Schlossberg, Deputy Director/Senior Attorney Multi-Family Housing at RHLS began working on the project in 2011, when she was still practicing at High Swartz LLP. She continued her work on the project when she rejoined the RHLS team in 2012. RHLS Staff Attorney Kim Dolan as well as former staff attorney, Randy Milgram additionally worked on the project.
Dina, Kim, and Randy clocked over 1,059 hours on the project, with services including drafting loan documents, corporate resolutions, construction agreements, and architectural agreements; preparing applications for the various tax credit and grant funding opportunities; and working closely with the staff of all of the project partners involved to plan strategically and stay apprised on progress.
One of the most significant aspects of Goodwill at North remains its diversified funding portfolio. The $24 million project includes funding from Low-Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Preservation Tax Credits, a Community Development Block Grant, and funds from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The success of this project was due in no small part to various community players coming together for the good of the community. In addition to providing the 58 units of housing, Goodwill will preserve the original auditorium, which seats 700, to act as a space for community gatherings and events.
Senators Bob Casey and John Blake, as well as Congressman Matt Cartwright, were among the attendees on Thursday at the celebration.
RHLS is thrilled to have been apart of making this project a reality!
