SCRANTON, Pa. — It's been almost a decade since the Avanti Cigar Company pulled out of the old Parodi building on North Main Avenue in Scranton.
As the years went on and the building got worse, neighbors worried that plans to turn the place into an apartment building had gone up in smoke.
"I've been here 14 years, and it's been an eyesore," Dottie Gervasi said.
Gervasi lives across the street; she started to feel hopeful again this summer when developer John Basalyga bought the building for his latest restoration project.
"We've seen what he's done around town, I'm going to go take a ride over to south side and check that out. I've seen it online. I'm trying to keep posted on it and see some action going on over there," Gervasi added.
When a notice of zoning hearing was posted in the neighborhood, Gervasi became even more hopeful.
Basalyga plans to put 41 apartments in the former factory.
The Scranton Zoning Board approved that plan this week, pushing the long-awaited apartment project closer to reality than it has ever been before.
The staff at McCarthy Remick Floral two doors away says the project will help preserve a piece of Scranton history.
"I love seeing the old buildings in Scranton get redone and repurposed, give new life to the old stuff, the old architecture. I think it's a great new fit for the area," said employee Kate Miller.
The developer told Newswatch 16 work will start soon with the goal of having tenants move in by the end of next year, ushering this cigar factory into its next era.
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