Luzerne County Council set to discuss tax break requests

Luzerne County Council is set to discuss real estate tax break requests from two entities during its work session Tuesday, the agenda said.

NorthPoint Development is seeking breaks for one new building in Hanover Township and six in Hazleton and Hazle Township, according to the agenda and information that had been previously submitted to council.

In the second request, JVI LLC is asking for a break on four new manufacturing and distribution facilities it plans to build on a 550-acre parcel along Tomhicken Road that falls in Hazle and Sugarloaf Townships and West Hazleton, the agenda said.

Both breaks would be under the Local Economic Revitalization Tax Assistance (LERTA) program for blighted properties. As required under this type of break, the property owner must continue to pay taxes on the land throughout the break and receives a discount on taxes for the new development.

Municipalities and school districts already have approved these breaks for both entities in their jurisdictions, officials said.

A synopsis of the requests based on information in the agenda submission and provided to council:

NorthPoint

The development company is proposing a 90% reduction in real estate taxes on new construction the first seven years, an 80% reduction in the eighth year, 70% in the ninth year and 60% in the tenth.

The project in Hazleton and Hazle Township would add six properties along state Route 424, also known as the Arthur Gardner Highway, which has a direct connection to state Route 309 and Interstate 81 at the Greater Hazleton Chamber of Commerce Beltway exit.

This planned site is currently owned by Butler Enterprises Inc., county maps show.

The six buildings would collectively total 5.37 million square feet and create a projected 1,419 indirect construction jobs and 1,750 direct jobs.

Buildings would be completed in phases, and the 10-year LERTA for each structure would start upon construction.

A chart indicates $135,901 in county real estate taxes would be paid in the first year.

By year 18, the tax payments would be an estimated $1.65 million, it said.

In Hanover Township, a 1 million-square-foot structure is planned on the former Bliss Colliery coal mining site currently owned by the nonprofit Earth Conservancy. The site was heavily stripped by mining and will require reclamation, officials said.

County real estate tax payments would be $38,444 in the first year of the break and rise to an anticipated $396,341 when the abatement expires, a chart shows.

JVI

The company said $200 million would be invested over five years on the four buildings totalling 4.1 million square feet.

It projects the development will create more than 7,500 full-time jobs, not including those associated with construction.

A portion of the site was formerly a landfill, and the rest is mine-scarred. Tomhicken Road is off State Route 93 and near the Interstate 81 West Hazleton exit.

Mirroring the other request, JVI is seeking a 90% reduction in county taxes on new development the first seven years, 80% in the eighth year, 70% in the ninth year and 60% in the tenth.

When completed, the project is estimated to increase the assessed value of the site from $1.1 million to $266.5 million, a chart shows.

In its current condition, the entire swath generates $23,543 in real estate taxes, including $7,236 for the county.

After the LERTA expires, taxing bodies — the county, municipalities and Hazleton Area School District — would collect an estimated total $3.4 million in tax revenue, including $682,500 for the county, the chart indicates.

County property maps indicate two different property owners currently own portions of this site — Sugarloaf Sanitary Landfill and the late Pasco Schiavo.

The land is zoned industrial and has rail service.

JVI said the project also would address stormwater entering Black Creek.

The presentation said a LERTA is required to keep mine-scarred and landfill sites competitive.

Under the plans, the first 1.4 million-square-foot building would be constructed in 2024, followed by two buildings measuring 250,500 square feet and 1.06 million square feet in 2025. The final 1.27-million-square-foot structure would be built in 2026.

No tenants have been identified

Tax break impact

The county’s newly released 2022 audit provides a snapshot reading of the impact of tax breaks.

It attributes a $911,000 increase in county real estate tax collections last year to expiring LERTA and Keystone Opportunity Zone (KOZ) breaks.

The audit indicates $2.6 million in county taxes were abated for LERTAs in 2022 in addition to $768,166 for lingering properties in KOZ zones.

Council’s work session follows a 6 p.m. voting meeting Tuesday at the county courthouse on River Street in Wilkes-Barre. If council opts to proceed with the breaks, a majority vote would be scheduled at a future meeting.