News

By Jennifer Learn-Andes jandes@timesleader.com
Luzerne County Reporter
Jennifer Learn-Andes on Facebook   |   @TLJenLearnAndes on Twitter

Wilkes-Barre recently agreed to sell the Old River Road Bakery site to Leo A. Glodzik III for $38,000 to house a storage facility for his towing business, L.A.G. Transport Inc.

click image to enlarge

The Old River Road Bakery property is the future home to a storage facility for a towing business, L.A.G. Transport Inc.

Pete g. wilcox/the times leader

click image to enlarge

Related headlines

• Ex-bakery sale draws criticism

Select images available for purchase in the
Times Leader Photo Store

The arrangement isn’t sitting well with Luzerne County minority Commissioner Stephen A. Urban.

County commissioners forgave $42,349 in county back taxes on the property in February 2005 with the understanding that the city would acquire the property and sell it to a developer for town homes, Urban said.

“I wouldn’t have forgiven the taxes if I had known they were going to use it for a place to store disabled vehicles in a residential section of the city,” Urban said.

City Mayor Tom Leighton said Tuesday that town homes were never intended for that parcel because it’s a viable commercial site, but Urban’s statement is backed up by county commissioner meeting minutes that say the city indicated the parcel would house “townhomes within character of the neighborhood.”

Urban also questions why the city didn’t establish a minimum bid based on fair market value and publicly advertise the property for sale. The county has assessed the 1.14-acre property at $478,300.

Glodzik, who has donated $10,300 to Leighton’s election campaign committee since 2005, could not be reached for comment.

Leighton said it was common knowledge that the property was up for grabs, and he said he almost fell off his chair when Glodzik offered $38,000 because he thought the offer was generous.

He said the campaign donations had no bearing on the agreement.

Two other parties had expressed interest in the property, but Leighton said they backed away when they obtained estimates on the cost to rehabilitate the structure. He said Glodzik will invest an estimated $200,000 rehabbing the property.

“Structurally, the building is sound, but it’s completely stripped to the shell. The plumbing and electrical systems are gone because people stole stuff out of there. It needs extensive repairs and renovations, and $38,000 is a lot of money for that,” Leighton said.

Urban also questions why the city intervened in the property in the first place because records show First National Community Bank in Dunmore obtained title to the property after a 1999 court judgment against Old River Road Bakery Inc. over a bankruptcy-related mortgage default.

Urban said he learned the bank had title in documents in which the bank conveyed the property to the city for $1 in April 2008.

“Why did FNCB not prepare a deed, file it in the Recorder of Deeds, become the owner of record and start paying taxes?” Urban said.

Leighton said Tuesday that the city has been forced to serve as an intermediary to eliminate eyesores because the properties would likely continue to deteriorate without back-tax forgiveness and assistance cleaning up titles.

“It’s more work for us. I’d rather the city not get in the middle, but I emphasize that the properties we get involved in have been blighted for years,” he said.

Leighton and other city officials have publicly praised L.A.G. for rehabilitating its current building on Carey Avenue, though that building is actually owned by Louis and Dominick DeNaples.

305 Carey Development Corp. bought the Carey Avenue building in 2002. Corporation records show Louis DeNaples is president, and Dominick DeNaples is vice president.

Leighton said he received positive feedback from neighbors about the Old River Road sale, which was approved by City Council.

Urban said he has received complaints from constituents about the sale, including a concern that the city convinced the county to remove part of the property from a recent back tax sale. The parcel that was listed in the sale is sandwiched between the former bakery and neighboring homes, and Urban said one of the homeowners had been prepared to pay the $7,700 in back taxes to acquire the sliver.

City Solicitor Bill Vinsko said the city believes that parcel was part of the land conveyed from the bank to the city for $1, and the city is preparing paperwork to document it.

The city also acquired a 0.22-acre lot near the former bakery as part of the bank conveyance. Leighton said that lot will eventually be sold.

The Old River Road Bakery became a local landmark after its opening in 1950 but closed in January 1999 after a steady loss of customers to supermarket rivals.

Jennifer Learn-Andes, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 831-7333.