Pocono News Section

Vacant Housing Units to be Rehabilitated

Vacant Housing Units to be Rehabilitated - Thursday, November 13, 2008 at 12:09PM EST

Reported by: David DeCosmo WYOU TV News
Thursday, Nov 13, 2008 @ 12:09pm EST
SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY- The Scranton Housing Authority says its moving ahead with plans to rehabilitate a low income housing complex that was closed two years ago over fire safety concerns.

Residents of the Washington Plaza housing development were forced to move out of their homes in 2006 after City Fire officials discovered there were no fire walls between the housing units. 60 families were affected. Some moved to other public housing units while others found accomodations elsewhere.

The Housing Authority in in the process of selecting an architect to renovate the housing complex. Those renovations are likely to include fire walls and or sprinkler systems to address the fire safety concerns. The renovations could be started as soon as next spring and could be completed by Christmas of 2009.

Tenants displace by the move two years ago would, in most cases, be eligible to return to Washington Plaza. Ruth McDonald heads the Resident's Association. She says most former tenants will likely want to return. Ms. McDonald said "Some of them lived there for more than 20 years so that's their homes. That's their community. That's their family."

There have also been discussions about returning an agency called "Friends of the Poor" to space in the Washington Plaza development. That agency provides services to people on limited incomes. It was forced to move to another section of the city when the Washington Plaza Complex was closed in 2006.