LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — Trash is scattered through the 16 acres of property along Wyoming Avenue in Exeter, but business owners in the borough say this is a step up from what it used to look like.
"They took dumpsters upon dumpsters and trash out of here already, even though it still looks the way it does. There was a lot of effort into getting the property to this point," said Lindo Sabatini.
Lindo Sabatini owns Sabatini's Pizza and Bottle Shop. He says there's been issues here for years.
"It's turned into a blighted nothing for, you know, at least a decade. There's been a lot of problems as far as people living on the property and tents, and you don't really realize it unless you live next to it."
Now, Exeter Borough officials say the site is under contract for developers to build businesses there, something they say would be a complete 180 compared to what it is now.
"As you know, homelessness does lead to other criminal activity, and again, our Wyoming Area Regional Police has had way more than their share of calls, you know, to get in there and to clean some of this trouble up," said Amy Huntington, Borough Manager.
To incentivize closing the deal, the borough and the Wyoming Area school district have already approved a Tax Abatement program for the developer. Giving them a discounted tax rate for the property for the first 10 years.
"There's no downside to this, so we're not losing any tax money. We're only seeing the increases at a lower rate," added Huntington.
The Borough says it's now up to Luzerne County Council to approve the abatement so the projects can move forward. Leaders and business owners hope the council agrees with their perspective.
"To make this property a positive asset in our community not just for the tax base but for our community to make it more walkable, more livable jobs for our kids that are living on both sides of Wyoming Avenue, I really think it would be a nice opportunity and an extension of assistance for our borough to see that kind of growth here," said Huntington.