Northwest Area School District Superintendent Jason Rushmer, standing, urges the Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board Tuesday to approve a zoning variance for apartments in a closed Hunlock Township school the district has agreed to sell to a developer. The board members, facing him, from left: Chairman William C. Harris, Dave Williams, and Attorney Rodney Kaiser.
Jennifer Learn-Andes | Times Leader
A developer obtained Luzerne County Zoning Hearing Board approval Tuesday to convert the vacant former Northwest Intermediate School in Hunlock Township into a 25-unit apartment building.
Three residents presented questions and concerns, while another expressed support during the hearing at the county courthouse in Wilkes-Barre requested by developer J. Naparlo, of Yalick CCJ LLC.
The Northwest Area School Board announced earlier this year the Sunset Lake Road school would close at the end of the 2025-26 school year due to declining revenue and population decline. The school board unanimously voted in June to sell the property to Yalick for $700,000.
Naparlo said his purchase is under contract but was dependent on his success obtaining zoning approval.
Hunlock is among 19 municipalities that rely on county zoning instead of handling it on their own.
The county had denied Yalick’s proposal on July 30 because the former school is in an agricultural zone, where apartments are not a permitted use. As a result, the developer requested the variance approved Tuesday.
According to the variance request Yalick submitted through Attorney Angelo C. Terrana Jr., of Terrana Law in Kingston:
The structure historically operated as a school and is a “substantial institutional building that no longer serves an educational purpose.”
“A building of this scale, configuration, and institutional character cannot practicably be used for agriculture or for the other uses permitted as a right in the agricultural district. Absent the relief requested, the building will remain vacant and will continue to deteriorate, to the detriment of the district, the township, and the surrounding community.”
Yalick plans 22 one-bedroom units averaging 850 square feet and three two-bedroom apartments ranging from 1,023- to 2,060 square feet. The gymnasium and interior common space will be retained for residential use.
All work will fall within the existing structure footprint, with no expansion.
Property access will continue from Sunset Lake Road, and the developer said existing parking areas will more than accommodate the needs of 25 units.
“The proposed use is a classic adaptive reuse: it preserves a prominent existing community building, returns it to productive service, adds needed housing stock to the region, and restores the property to the tax rolls.”
The submission argued the project is worthy of a variance under state law, providing reasons that include:
• The large institutional school building is “wholly unsuited to agriculture use or to any other use permitted as of right” in an agricultural district.
• Demolition of the structure to permit agricultural use of the land “would be economically prohibitive and wasteful.”
• The project would not “alter the essential character of the neighborhood, impair the use or development of adjacent property, or harm the public welfare.”
Residential use is “quieter and less intensive” than its historical use as a school with traffic, athletic events and public gatherings, it asserted.
Naparlo has several other residential projects completed or pending in multiple county municipalities and said there is a continued demand for apartments and townhomes, particularly to accommodate senior citizens seeking energy-efficient units without stairs.
He estimated the project will total at least $2.5 million. Northwest Area School District Superintendent Jason Rushmer attended Tuesday’s hearing in support of the project.
One resident said she worries about traffic and noise disrupting the rural environment that drew her and other property owners to that location. Naparlo said tenants choosing to move there also “want the quiet.”
Another neighbor said he supports Naparlo’s project because he toured his other area rental properties and found them to be “well taken care of.”
All three board members approved the variance: Chairman William C. Harris, Dave Williams, and Attorney Rodney Kaiser.
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Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.