PITTSTON — City council members approved an application for the Redevelopment Authority to acquire a property located at Church and Carroll streets.
The property, which is the old St. Mary’s Assumption Elementary School, will come down and make way for the construction of a 35-unit senior housing development.
The school was closed in 2011 by the Diocese of Scranton.
Joe Chacke, Executive Director of the Redevelopment Authority, said the project will cost around $11 million, with $50,000 coming from a City Community Development Block Grant and $60,000 from the county’s home and trust fund money.
The Redevelopment Authority also submitted an application to the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for tax-credited funding.
Chacke, however, did not have a timeline for when the project would begin.
“It’s all up to funding,” he said. “The PHFA is scheduled to make decisions in July, so we won’t find out until July if we can fund it this year. If we can’t fund it this year, we’ll re-apply next year.”
In other business, council members approved:
• The closing of Anderson Street between Broad and William streets between 10 a.m. and 11 p.m. on May 27 and 28 for the annual St. Joseph Marello Parish Picnic.
• The re-appointment of Frank Serino to the Pittston City Housing Authority effective retroactively from October 2014 to a five-year term expiring October 2019.
• The re-appointment of Charles Dominick to the Pittston City Housing Authority retroactively from October 2015 to a five-year term expiring October 2020.
• An ordinance to prohibit parking on a portion of Fear Street between Broad Street and Rear Broad Street, as well as Gazette Place, citing safety concerns on the narrow streets.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 20 at city hall, 35 Broad St.
