SCRANTON, Pa. -- Some neighbors living near the old Scranton School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing want the city to pump the brakes on plans to renovate the buildings in Scranton and Dunmore.
They're concerned about both the plans and the man who wants to develop the property.
California-based developer Lance Robbins has an option to buy the property from Marywood University, and his plans need zoning changes.
Robbins' record as a developer is checkered with unpaid bills, lawsuits, even jail time, and people who live near the former school for the deaf want the city to take more time before approving the plan.
"I don't think this developer is the guy," Samantha Maloney of Scranton said.
Members of the Green Ridge Neighborhood Association say the city needs to look into Lance Robbins and his Urban Smart Growth corporation with developments in five states.
"There are one or two successful developments. There are many, many more that are unsuccessful," said Mary Dempsey of Scranton.
The least successful was in California. The Los Angeles Times called him an "oft-convicted slumlord" in a 2001 article. The Times reports Robbins spent a month in jail after he had "one of the worst records of slum housing violations in Los Angeles." He was sentenced to jail twice.
Green Ridge homeowner Samantha Maloney talked with a lawyer who sued Robbins.
"She would never trust any public money to this man. This is the reputation that precedes him," said Maloney.
Robbins' plan to renovate the old school buildings and turn them into either a distillery, a restaurant, a bed and breakfast, or apartment buildings has backers who want to see the vacant building in Scranton and Dunmore developed.
But people living near the development say developers have not released any studies on how traffic or water runoff could affect their own neighborhood.
"None of these issues have been addressed," said Jim Mulligan of Scranton.
"Ten or 20 years down the road, we don't want it to be a slum," said Scranton City Council member Bill Gaughan.
Gaughan hopes the city's zoning board delays taking a vote on allowing this former school property to become a combination of restaurants and apartments.
"If his past is any indication of what the future might be with this guy, I think everybody in the city and in Dunmore should be concerned about this project," Gaughan added.
We called Robbins' business and emailed him seeking comment on the growing opposition to his plan, but he did not respond.