Lackawanna College on Tuesday announced a partnership with John Basalyga for a major redevelopment of the college’s large, underutilized building at 401 Adams Ave. in downtown Scranton into instructional, mixed-use and residential spaces.
The project would dramatically transform the six-story building at the corner of Adams Avenue and Mulberry Street and create a campus “gateway,” expand the college’s health sciences footprint and revitalize a key intersection downtown.
The college has had the building up for sale for about a year-and-a-half, because renovating it had become prohibitively expensive, officials had said.
According to the announcement, the college now has sold the building for an undisclosed amount to a Basalyga firm called 401 Adams LLC, a sister company of JBAS Realty and its parent, The Basalyga Group.
A lease agreement as part of the transaction will redesign and convert 34,000 square feet of space on the second and third floors into modern instructional space for Lackawanna College’s growing health science programs, including nursing, sonography, surgical technology, certified medical assistant and physical therapist assistant programs.
“We are excited to partner with Lackawanna College to breathe new life into 401 Adams,” Basalyga, who is president and CEO of JBAS Realty, said in the announcement. “This project represents more than redevelopment — it represents opportunity. By creating a modern academic environment and opening the door for future commercial and residential uses, we’re investing in the future of Scranton and supporting the college’s mission to educate the next generation of healthcare professionals. We look forward to delivering a building the community can be proud of.”
Real estate developer John Basalyga poses for a photograph at the site of the Coney Island Lunch building on Lackawanna Avenue in downtown Scranton Friday, April 10, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The other floors of the building will undergo a larger, mixed-use redevelopment with potential uses including retail, apartments, dorms, office and professional space.
“The redevelopment of 401 Adams marks a transformative moment for Lackawanna College and for the City of Scranton,” college President and Chief Innovation Officer Jill Murray, Ph.D, said in the announcement. “For years, we’ve envisioned creating a modern, purpose-built home for our growing health science programs, and this partnership now makes that vision a reality. John Basalyga’s investment ensures our students will learn in state of the art spaces that match the caliber of their aspirations and the region’s workforce needs. We are incredibly proud of this milestone and grateful for the collaboration that brought us here.”
Lackawanna College President Jill Murray speaks during the press conference in the Lackawanna College Student Union in downtown Scranton Thursday, June 26, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
They expect the project to be completed in late 2026, allowing for the relocation and expansion of multiple health science programs.
In 2014, Lackawanna College purchased the “Scranton Center” property at 401-409 Adams Ave. that comprised two buildings and a courtyard between them. The college paid $1.2 million for the Scranton Center property. The buildings flanking the courtyard include the six-story structure at 401 Adams Ave. and a two-story building at 409 Adams Ave.
Since purchasing the property in 2014, the college later renovated the two-story building for culinary/hospitality education, and also pursued plans to renovate the six-story building for mostly classroom space and other uses. But those renovation plans never panned out.
According to archives of The Times-Tribune, the boxy six-story building was constructed in 1973 in a “modernist” style of architecture. The two-building complex at 401-409 Adams Ave., had been known as Adams Plaza and was one of the city’s largest office complexes. It later became known as the Scranton Center.
In 2005, the big property sold for $6.8 million.
Nearly a decade later, in 2014, it went on the market for $2.45 million by a firm that acquired it from a bank through a default. At that time, 2014, the college bought the Scranton Center property for $1.2 million.
In 2015, Lackawanna College was planning a $14.3 million, multiphase renovation of the six-story building that was mainly vacant, as well as a renovation of the smaller, two-story building and courtyard under a concept called “Cornerstone Commons;” and with a total estimate of $20 million. As cost estimates continued to rise, plans for the six-story building got shelved.