Several Plymouth Township commercial properties are slated for demolition in a flood buyout program, including the fire-damaged former Flamingo Diner and now closed Elite Club 4 Play Gentlemen’s Club on Route 11, officials said Tuesday.
The buyouts are part of an ongoing, federally-funded flood mitigation program managed by the Luzerne County Flood Authority that is linked to the Wyoming Valley Levee-raising project completed in the early 2000s, said authority Mitigation and Outreach Specialist Laura Holbrook.
Government entities must agree to own and maintain buyout properties and keep them undeveloped. Buyout offers are based on appraised, pre-flood property values, and owners are free to accept or reject offers.
Factoring in other non-authority programs, hundreds of flood-prone properties have been acquired and demolished since the Susquehanna River reached a record high 42.66 feet in September 2011, officials have said. Buyouts are intended to reduce future flooding damage and risk.
The budget for the current buyout round was $1.5 million, largely due to the required purchase of several commercial properties, Holbrook said.
This budget covers the purchases, asbestos and hazardous material abatement and demolition, she said.
The flood authority board voted Tuesday to award a $16,160, low-bid contract to Dunmore-based Datom Products Inc. to abate hazardous material at three buyout parcels containing buildings — 175 Route 11 and 94 W. Poplar St. in the West Nanticoke section of Plymouth Township and 95-97 Italy St. in the Mocanaqua section of Conyngham Township.
According to Holbrook and a review of county property records:
• The parcel at 175 Route 11 contains three structures — the former Flamingo Diner, which was significantly damaged by fire in January 2020, the Riverview Inn and a multi-unit residential building.
Poplar Street Inc. received $865,000 for the entire parcel, according to the deed.
• The adjacent parcel at 94 W. Poplar St., which also has an address of 165 Route 11, houses the former strip club.
The property was purchased from Jay-Lee Inc. for $35,000 and includes a separate parcel containing a parking lot, the deed said.
The business was previously identified as the Tilbury Inn and later the Carousel Club, according to prior published reports.
• In Mocanaqua, the Italy Street parcel contains a residential structure and was purchased from an estate for $80,000.
Demolition of the structures will be completed in 2024, Holbrook said.
All properties sustained significant flood damage in 2011, Holbrook said. For example, the Riverview Inn and Elite Club 4 Play property were completely underwater, she said.
Flood Authority Executive Director Christopher Belleman said each buyout reduces the impact when flooding hits, reiterating the sites will can never be developed.
“We want to eliminate or mitigate the cycle of rebuilding in the flood plain,” Belleman said.
After the 2011 flood, there were waiting lists of property owners seeking buyouts. Due to subsequent programs largely covered by federal funding, the demand has diminished, Holbrook said.
“I think a lot of people who wanted to be bought out, were bought out,” she said. “We haven’t had a ton of interest. We get a few every year.”
The authority is currently accepting applications for the next round of mitigation program projects.
Applications must be submitted through municipalities.
Projects must be in the Agnes flood plain, which refers to the prior record Susquehanna flood in 1972, and respond to flooding or its back-water effects, the authority said. In addition to buyouts, past projects have included small-scale public works projects and hazard mitigation planning.
Twenty county municipalities along the Susquehanna are eligible to apply: West Pittston, Pittston, Duryea, Wyoming, Exeter, Wilkes-Barre, Larksville, Nanticoke, Shickshinny, Nescopeck and the townships of Nescopeck, Exeter, Jenkins, Plains, Hanover, Plymouth, Hunlock, Union, Conyngham and Salem.
Interested municipalities should submit their projects to the authority by mail to P.O. Box 1909, Kingston, PA, 18704 or by email to lholbrook@lcfpa.org. The deadline for applications is Dec. 30. Those with questions about the mitigation program should contact (570) 714-4310, extension 2.