North Scranton Riverfront Project launches ambitious 15-year improvement plan

Apr. 30—Bernie McGurl will soon retire from the helm of the Lackawanna River Conservation Association, leaving big waders to fill and launching an ambitious 15-year plan for river revival in North Scranton.

The nonprofit LRCA's "North Scranton Riverfront Project" proposes numerous improvements for blight removal, environmental restoration, river access and greenway and trail development for a 1-mile stretch of the western side of the waterway between the Bulls Head section and Parker's Landing.

The overall project — estimated to cost $12 million to $15 million, and with projects tackled separately as funding for each is obtained — is the largest endeavor pursued by the LRCA since it began in 1987.

But the concepts in the plan go back 10 to 15 years, McGurl said, noting his upcoming retirement gave a strong impetus to put them all together and start pursuing them in earnest.

'Last hurrah'

The LRCA is searching for a successor to McGurl, 73, who plans to retire by the end of this year. He would stay on temporarily after retiring, as a senior project manager to assist with a transition and help see through some ongoing projects and get new ones started.

"I think it's my last hurrah. I wanted to get it out there," McGurl said of the river revitalization plan. "It's an aspect of generational change. I'm going to be retiring and I just wanted to say, 'Hey, here's what we've been working on, and it's up to the next generation to help make it happen.'"

LRCA consultant Thomas J. McLane & Associates put together the North Scranton Riverfront Project plan and cost analysis. Funding for the study primarily came from a $15,000 Robert H. Spitz Environmental Grant administered by the Scranton Area Foundation, as well as financial support from LRCA members, McGurl said.

The Lackawanna Valley Heritage Authority, overseer of the Lackawanna River Heritage Trail, also had input into the LRCA river plan for North Scranton because it also involves parts of the trail.

"This is a big picture," McGurl said. "We've got the river cleaned up mostly. There are still problems here and there, but they're incidental. But generally, by and large, the river is in pretty good shape and there are more people caring about the river now. So it's time to look at the banks alongside the river and what's going on along the river."

More parcels needed

The LRCA's real estate arm, the Lackawanna Valley Conservancy, already owns most of the land that would be involved in the North Scranton plan and is working to acquire a few other parcels that are needed.

One of those parcels is called the Depot, a former Delaware & Hudson Canal Company office building in the Plot section. The LRCA wants to renovate this two-story landmark with distinctive architecture, arched windows, high ceilings and covered front porch into offices for the LRCA and other nonprofit organizations, and make the 1.5-acre property a hub for them and community activities. He envisions calling this building the Caswell House after the family that now owns it. A renovation could cost about $2 million, he said.

The plan also calls for creating a Depot Street trailhead, and realigning the heritage trail from Amelia Avenue to instead run behind the Depot building, between Depot and Dean streets.

Another bigger-ticket proposal estimated at $2 million to $3 million calls for putting a 10-foot-high and 12-foot-wide tunnel through the Market Street retaining-wall road bed, just west of the river, to carry the trail through the tunnel and avoid the sharp, sloping, blind curve of the road there.

A tunnel here would abut a new "boatyard" trailhead and river access of the Providence area riverfront. The plan calls for converting a former junkyard property into a centerpiece, akin to Sweeney's Beach in the Pine Brook or Parker's Landing upstream.

The boatyard "is a major project and we're hoping it becomes a catalyst for other economic development in the Providence Square area," McGurl said.

In referencing such new amenities, the plan says, "The project aims to reconnect neighborhoods, residents and tourists to the Lackawanna River and the Heritage Trail, which will facilitate economic, wellness, alternative transportation and recreational growth in the Lackawanna valley."

'All workable'

The river and trail are more relevant than ever in the city and valley, said LRCA President Joe Wechsler. The river's environmental rebound in recent decades has made it a prized resource for fishing, canoeing and kayaking. The trail, which is mostly complete throughout the county to Susquehanna County, saw usage boom during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said. The North Scranton riverfront plan represents next steps for improvements.

"It's a culmination of all of Bernie's work all of these years in improving the Lackawanna River," Wechsler said. "It's a very visionary plan, but it's not complex. The plans presented are all workable. It's a project everybody should be committed to, because it takes advantage of our natural resources and can become part of our economic recovery."

McGurl said conceptualization of plan aspects started years ago but only gelled recently.

"If I have any regrets, we had started looking at this project about 10 or 15 years ago, and it scared me, or it was just too big and I didn't have — even for myself — I didn't have the whole vision," McGurl said. "But in the last four years, I said, 'We've got to do something over here.'"

emailto:Contact the writer: jlockwood@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100 x5185; @jlockwoodTT on Twitter.