Luzerne County Council approves homeless family apartment plan

Keystone Mission obtained Luzerne County Council approval this week to use $312,400 of its American Rescue Plan Act allocation to lease and remodel space to create apartments for four homeless families.

The apartments will be in a building at 64 E. Union Street in the Thomas C. Thomas complex in Wilkes-Barre. Keystone Mission already leases space in an adjacent structure at the complex for its Innovation Center for Homeless and Poverty at 90 E. Union St.

County council authorization was necessary because the faith-based nonprofit originally planned to use the American Rescue funds to purchase and remodel a blighted property/properties to house the four apartments.

Danielle O. Keith-Alexandre, Keystone Mission CEO/executive director, told council Tuesday the nonprofit had been searching for blighted properties to purchase since last October but could not find any sites that could be acquired and converted within the American Rescue allotment.

Keith-Alexandre said the owner of 64 E. Union St. is amenable to the apartment proposal, but she could not proceed with an agreement until council determined if the modified plan is acceptable. She said the nonprofit will share details about the lease with the county, including the amount.

County Controller Walter Griffith said the lease terms and conditions will be important because he has concerns about the risk of investing public funds remodeling a structure not owned by the nonprofit. Griffith said he does not want to see the property owner ejecting the nonprofit and taking possession of the apartments so they can be rented out for a profit.

Council Vice Chairman Brian Thornton said he had previously inquired about the lease term because he did not want the landlord to have a termination option within a few years of the renovation completion. Thornton said he was informed the lease would be for 29 years and found that length satisfactory.

Councilman Jimmy Sabatino asked if the landlord is the same for both properties in the complex, and Keith-Alexandre said yes.

Both structures are owned by JG Realty PA LLC, which collectively purchased the six parcels containing the two buildings and parking lots in June for $4.5 million from 90 Union Street LLC and 64 Union Street LLC, according to deeds.

Keystone Mission will have until the end of the year to complete the apartment project under an extension previously granted by council.

The lease and renovations are projected to start in November, when the county’s Children, Youth and Families agency would help identify four families to move into the apartments, the nonprofit’s submission said. The fully furnished apartments are expected to be ready for occupancy by January, it said.

Council voted 10-1 to approve the modification to lease the building, with the lone no vote from Harry Haas.

The county has its own past link to the 64 E. Union St. structure because it leased the building to store county records when the property was owned by the Thomas C. Thomas Co. A state archive expert advised county officials in June 2010 to move the records to a climate-controlled building, saying temperature extremes in the Wilkes-Barre property were damaging to records. Council agreed to buy a Hanover Township property in 2015 and opened the new record storage facility in 2018.

Thomas C. Thomas Co. sold the six-parcel complex to 64 Union Street LLC and 90 Union Street LLC for a total $1.33 million in October 2019, deeds show.

The Keystone Mission used the remaining portion of its total $500,000 county American Rescue earmark toward the Innovation Center, which opened in October 2023.

From 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the center provides homeless men and women with a daytime place to shower and wash clothes, receive breakfast and access community resources and services that may help them get off the streets. It has computers and a phone and donated clothing and supplies.

In April, Wilkes-Barre City Council approved a $109,500 grant from its American Rescue funds to add an overnight shelter at the Innovation Center, which opened in June from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. The grant will cover the cost of staffing for an entire year, after which the Keystone Mission will add that cost into its yearly budget to keep the shelter in operation, officials have said.

Thornton said Tuesday he was impressed with the operation when he and several other county council members visited the center in March as part of an ongoing American Rescue public awareness tour.

He said he has visited since then to make donations and urged residents to round up excess towels, soap, clothing and toiletry items for the center.

Thornton recalled meeting 27-year-old Josh McGrath at the center. McGrath had been homeless due to family circumstances and credited the center for helping him get on track. He signed up for the Marines and was preparing for basic training when council members were on the center tour.

Keith-Alexandre told Thornton he graduated in June.

Councilwoman Joanna Bryn Smith asked how many are serviced by the center.

Keith-Alexandre said approximately 50 to 60 people have been visiting the center during the day, although the number has increased to approximately 70 since the city cleared and cleaned homeless camps in the riverfront area of Kirby Park last month.

The highest count for the overnight shelter has been 68, she said.