This is dedicated to J.D. Salinger. Rest in peace, old man.
Snazzy and sleek, the Elevations Lofts condos got some foot traffic over the weekend, according to a story in today’s Times Leader.
Hundreds of people had the opportunity to think about life in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Yes, that downtown Wilkes-Barre, which has been in the throes of a rebirth for so long that the midwife occasionally sighs, “Don’t forget to breathe” as she patiently thumbs through her dog-eared copy of The Weekender.
Over stores of days gone by like John B. Stetz, people got a taste of what it would be like to stare out of a soundproof fortress above South Main Street. The realtor on the scene noted buyers seemed wowed by the “metropolitan lifestyle” they would enjoy in the opulent new digs. Teak wood, no slam cabinets and stainless steel appliances are part of the package.
Not part of the package are those pesky little things called taxes. They would be a real bug in the rum.
If I’m turning green while I’m typing, I guess you can say I’m more than a little annoyed, perturbed and downright frustrated that those who sign on the dotted line (probably with a fancy plumed pen and golden well of ink) will not have to be subject to something the great unwashed masses have to endure: Property taxes. You heard right. No need to escrow money away like the others. No need to toss and turn at night, wondering what the school board has up its sleeve besides its big hairy arm. No millage, no matter. Why? BeKOZ.
The Keystone Opportunity Zone program allows businesses the chance to plop down their warehouses and factories for 10 years with giant tax incentives. In the case of massive job creation, I really can’t complain. Employees of these entities still do things like eat lunch, buy gasoline and pay wage taxes to the municipality where they toil. Job creation supposed to be the underpinning of this program.
However, shrewd developers in NEPA have been able to circumvent the system and pervert this program to the nth degree. A housing development in West Scranton gained KOZ status years ago. Now, it’s time to pay the piper. Wonder how many people will stick around now that they’re on the hook like the rest of us. A former staffer for an area congressman had his business, which existed for decades, grandfathered into this program in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Wonder how the other downtown businesses in the same boat thought about this stroke of good fortune. They probably mused, “Lucky fellow.”
If people have to be bribed to live in downtown Wilkes-Barre by the promise of tax forgiveness for a decade, how great of a deal is this? Some may say that’s the price of revitalization, but I see it differently. We recently bought a property near downtown Wilkes-Barre and jumped through their fiery hoops of hell to get the old gal back on her feet. No one even gave us a fruit basket, let alone tax forgiveness. We used our own money, paid our own people and wrote out checks to settle the taxes!
I recently talked to an out of town jasper who has invested close to two million in the city. The first instinct of the powers that be was to try to chase him back down the turnpike. After they understood his heart was pure, they backed off a bit.
Explain to me how property owners in the lofts of luxury are any different than the rest of the residents of our fair city and maybe I’ll join the zombie cheerleading squad that thinks this is fabulous. Until then, I’m going to have to view this as another insider hustle deal, the kind of scheme that smacks of cronyism, favoritism and cheaterism. Yes, I made up that last word. But, didn’t I read J.D. Salinger brought the phrase “screwed up” into our culture?
Sleep well in your tax free beds, chums, but know your day of reckoning will come. Then, you’ll know how it feels to be screwed up, minus the up.
Corbett
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