When South Scranton resident Steve Wallis looks at an empty plot of land in the 600 block of Cedar Avenue, he no longer sees a dumping ground.
He sees a future townhouse complex.
"Do you see a dumping ground?" Mr. Wallis, also a South Side Neighborhood Watch Commander, asked. "It used to be a blighted lot."
A handful of community leaders gathered in that block Friday morning and officially broke ground on Phase II of United Neighborhood Center's Cedar Avenue Revitalization project.
"It's bringing life back to the area," Allison Woody, communications coordinator for UNC, said.
This phase will develop six new three-bedroom townhouses, community development director Marty Fotta said. Four of the townhouses will have 1,000-square-foot retail shops on the ground floor. Rather than renting, the townhouses will be available for purchase.
The development shows "real investment" in the area, Scranton Mayor Chris Doherty said. "Families are going to live there."
Phase I of the project developed an apartment building in the 600 block of Cedar with commercial spaces on the ground. Phase III will center around another large apartment complex in the 500 block of Cedar Avenue, Ms. Woody said.
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