Scranton City Council unanimously voted Tuesday to allow Fidelity Bank to demolish a condemned building downtown at 324 N. Washington Ave. for parking for the bank’s new headquarters nearby.
In doing so, council overturned the city Historical Architecture Review Board’s rejection of Fidelity’s request to raze the former Mattes & Mattes attorneys’ building. Council members said an engineer’s report on the condition of the building convinced them it was beyond repair and demolition is warranted.
Fidelity Bank is renovating the iconic Scranton Electric Building at 507 Linden St. into a headquarters, completion of which is expected in April. That will result in the Fidelity branch at 334-336 N. Washington Ave. being vacated and sold to the city, which intends to use it as an annex to City Hall at 340 N. Washington Ave. The bank branch will remain open until Fidelity completes its headquarters at the eight-story landmark topped with the iconic “Scranton, The Electric City” sign.
As part of the Scranton Electric Building renovation project and move, Fidelity bought the Mattes & Mattes building at 324 N. Washington Ave. to raze it to make way for parking there for bank employees relocating to the Scranton Electric Building. Fidelity already owns the parking lot off North Washington Avenue between the Mattes building and the building at 312 N. Washington Ave., as well as the parking area behind Abe’s Deli at 326 N. Washington Ave. Fidelity also owns the parking area behind the Scranton Electric Building. Those parking lots are accessed via Dix Court.
But in rejecting the demolition of 324 N. Washington Ave., HARB members said they were learning for the first time the Mattes building had been condemned by the city and Fidelity did not demonstrate it was beyond repair. They also don’t want a larger gap in the streetscape of North Washington Avenue that would result from the razing of the Mattes building, and there also is ample parking available in the Linden parking garage across the street from the Mattes building.
HARB’s advisory recommendation issued Feb. 12 against demolition went before council Tuesday in the form of a resolution to uphold HARB.
First, council held a hearing Tuesday on the HARB resolution. Those who spoke in favor of demolition included: Fidelity Bank President and CEO Dan Santaniello; city resident Joan Hodowanitz; Alex Hazzouri, president of the nonprofit Friendship House, 415 Biden St.; Abe’s Deli owner Renato Luongo; and Lackawanna County Commissioner Thom Welby, who is a city resident, according to an Electric City Television simulcast and video of that meeting posted on YouTube.
Demolition will provide eight parking spaces for the bank but the main reason to remove the building is to clean up that property, Santaniello said. He noted the Fidelity’s renovation of the Scranton Electric Building is a significant investment downtown.
“We, speaking on behalf of (Fidelity) management and the board of directors, believe investing in the city of Scranton is very important because it is the lifeline of this region,” Santaniello said. “Trust me, we’re going to do what’s right for the city of Scranton at the end of the day, as we have all along. All we’re asking is to let us demolish that building.”
Hodowanitz said, “The HARB board is being penny-wise and pound-foolish.”
The vacant Mattes building adjoins Abe’s deli. Luongo told how he has improved Abe’s exterior and has had to maintain the sidewalk next door to keep it free of snow for his customers. He said trespassers get into the back of the vacant Mattes building through holes and they get into a dumpster out back and leave garbage strewn about that he has clean up daily.
“This building that’s next to me is literally falling apart,” Luongo said, noting he believes it also poses a fire risk.
Criticizing HARB for creating unnecessary roadblocks for developers downtown, Welby said, “With all due respect, I don’t know if council needs to have a discussion with HARB or what it is.”
No one from HARB attended the hearing.
After the council hearing, during the regular council meeting, resident Tom Coyne urged council to uphold HARB. But council members said safety is paramount and demolition is unavoidable.
Council President Tom Schuster and council members Patrick Flynn, Mark McAndrew, Sean McAndrew and Jessica Rothchild first unanimously amended the resolution’s wording to make it clear they were denying HARB’s recommendation and allowing a certificate of appropriateness for demolition. Council then voted 5-0 to adopt that resolution, reversing HARB’s recommendation.
“Because it’s an immense safety issue, my decision as a safety issue outweighs HARB’s desire for preservation,” Mark McAndrew said.
Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Fidelity Bank wants to demolish the building and use the property for parking for the bank’s new headquarters going into the Scranton Electric Building, visible in background. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Scranton has the sidewalk closed in front of the condemned building at 324 N. Washington Ave. downtown, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)