Hearing set in Plymouth on request to convert rectory to halfway house

William O'Boyle, The Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre, Pa.
·2 min read

Sep. 30—PLYMOUTH — The Plymouth Zoning Hearing Board will meet next week to consider a change in zoning that would allow the former St. Vincent's Church rectory to be transformed into a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility.

Borough Zoning Officer John Kovach posted a notice of the zoning hearing board meeting on the request for a zoning special exception. The building, located at at 101 Church St., is in an R-2 (residential) zone.

The meeting will be held Wednesday, Oct. 6, at 6 p.m. in the Plymouth Borough Building, 162 West Shawnee Ave. Public input will be allowed.

The request for the change comes from Riverside Realty WB, LLC, which is owned by Joseph Usefara and the address is listed as 68 Pettebone St., Forty Fort.

Usefara, a native of Plymouth, said he grew up on Nottingham Street and attended Holy Child School, formerly St. Vincent's.

"I have many friends in Plymouth," Usefara said. "They are good people and families. I know their kids too.'

Usefara said the proposed facility would be primarily for women with addiction issues to opioids, alcohol and other substances.

"Many have become addicted to opioids through sports injuries," he said. "These are good kids who got into a difficult situation and they need help."

Usefara said the proposed facility will offer housing for up to 24 clients. They would receive counseling and also assistance in job-seeking and help with preparing for job interviews.

"The goal is to get them back into the community," Usefara said. "We want to get them through their struggle and prepare them for re-entering the workforce."

Usefara said the program's goal is to reintegrate clients back into the community.

Usefara said he has three partners — one a physician — who are working on the project with him. He said the facility would have on-site management 24 hours a day, seven days a week. He said a management company would be retained to run the facility. Usefara said the length of stay would vary from client to client.

Usefara said his company operates the Rose Tucker Senior Center in Nanticoke.

"This will be a fully supervised facility," he said. "It will be an asset to the community."

Usefara said the opioid issue has become rampant in the region, state and country.

"We feel we can make a difference," he said.

Usefara said it will take an estimated $250,000 to renovate the building and bring it up to current codes.

Kovach said he denied the initial application because of the zoning restrictions, necessitating the hearing to decide whether the special exception should be granted.