The site of a former downtown Scranton topless bar will soon be covered in pavement.
A real-estate company controlled by members of a city law firm will construct a parking lot at the location of the former Pub Charles tavern, at 246 Penn Ave.
"Obviously, it will be a big improvement from what was there," said Gregory Pascale, a partner in the law firm of Needle, Goldenziel, Pascale & Consagra.
The firm's property corporation, NGP Enterprises, bought the lot at Linden Street and Penn Avenue in November for $100,000 from a company headed by Dalton businessman Jerry Joyce.
Mr. Joyce bought the 40-foot-by-80-foot Pub Charles property in 2004 for $415,000 from three Dupont residents and demolished the building in the spring of 2008.
NGP owns the adjoining office building at 240 Penn Ave., which houses the law firm's offices, and the parking lot will accommodate about 12 vehicles for the firm and other tenants in the building, Mr. Pascale said.
A decorative brick facade is being constructed along the north wall of the three-story office building, and new sidewalks will be installed, Mr. Pascale said.
"It improves the whole neighborhood, which we are proud of," he said. "Downtown Scranton has come a long way."
The construction continues a transition in an area once known for it seedy character.
The Pub Charles, which closed in 2004, was the scene of an eight-hour armed standoff in 2002 that ended when city police shot and killed a murder suspect. A rooming house around the corner, along the 300 block of Linden Street, produced a steady stream of transients in the neighborhood before it was destroyed by fire in 2003.
Mr. Joyce's company acquired both properties when he made $890,000 in downtown land acquisitions during his unsuccessful effort to develop St. Peter's Square, a $50 million condominium and retail complex planned for the 300 block of Linden Street and the 200 block of Wyoming Avenue. The plans were unveiled in 2003, but foundered and Mr. Joyce sold all the land in 2010 except for the Pub Charles property.
"I am glad now that at least my front-end work got site control so others could do good things in the neighborhood," Mr. Joyce said. "I'm delighted by what's going on there. The city will benefit from that."
The law firm's parking lot development and building improvement adds to a turnaround taking many years, Mr. Pascale said.
"This neighborhood has undergone quite a transformation," he said. "It's really become a nice area."
Contact the writer: jhaggerty@timesshamrock.com