Sunday, September 6, 2015

Andy's Angles: Speaking of Vacant...

Yesterday, a vacant train station.  Today, a vacant block-- the 500 of Lackawanna in downtown Scranton.

They did a spectacular job of restoring the old buildings here.  If the money to do the 200, 300, and 400 blocks was around 25 years ago, perhaps we wouldn't be in the current Mall at Steamtown mess.

That was then.  This is now.

This is one of the prettier blocks downtown, and the apartments on the upper floors have been rented.  Retail and office space down below is lacking.  The old Molly Brannigan's space, in the new parking garage across the street has been empty for years.

There is so much potential here.  It would be great to see a turnaround.  Maybe they should take one of the Courthouse Square festivals and move it down here for a weekend.  It's worth a try, and it could spur interest in the neighborhood.