SCRANTON — A plan to build a Dunkin’ at 1200 N. Keyser Ave., which has been in the works for about five years, has had some recent advancements, according to the project engineer.
The owner of the 2-acre property, May Associates LLC of Dallas, recently demolished an older commercial building on the site to make way for a Dunkin’ to be constructed there, project engineer Brent Berger of Quad3 Group of Wilkes-Barre told the Scranton Planning Commission on Jan. 28, according to an Electric City Television video of the commission meeting posted on YouTube.
The property sits between North Keyser Avenue and North South Road, between Loop Street and the Black Tie Auto Group business.
North South Road is a one-way street heading north and intersects at a sharp angle with North Keyser Avenue.
The commission heard a request from Berger to convert from one-way to two-way a 425-foot stretch of North South Road, from North Keyser Avenue to a driveway of the proposed Dunkin’ site on North South Road. A two-way section here would better accommodate delivery trucks and vehicles accessing a drive-through Dunkin’ at 1200 N. Keyser Ave., Berger told the commission.
The land development review of the project remains ongoing, city Planner Don King said.
“We’re going through the approval process on the project plans, but they’ve made a request that would ultimately end up before city council as an ordinance to change this portion of the street from one-way to two-way,” King said.
After some discussion of various details, the commission voted 5-0 — with Chairman Todd Pousley, Gus Fahey, Jennifer Davis, Joseph Murphy and Ryan Flanagan all in favor — to make the recommendation to Scranton City Council.
In 2021, the Dunkin’ project initially also called for a convenience store and five fuel pumps on the property, but those latter two aspects have since been eliminated, leaving only the Dunkin’ to be constructed, Berger told the planning commission.
He also spoke of a driveway permit for the project having gone through much review and revision by the state Department of Transportation. The property has ample room to accommodate interior traffic, such that vehicles would not back up onto North Keyser Avenue, he said.
If the 425-foot stretch of North South Road becomes two-way, southbound traffic on North Keyser Avenue would be able to access the Dunkin’ via North South Road, he said.
The commission expects its recommendation to go before council soon. After the recommendation vote, Berger said of the project’s progress, “We’re getting there.”
Meanwhile, in 2012, the former commercial building at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. contained a Best Beverage Center selling beer and soda, a ballroom-dance-lessons studio, a Northeast School of Music location and a North East Motor Sports shop, according to a Google street view image. By 2019, the building appeared to be vacant.
Plans to construct a Dunkin at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. in Scranton at the intersection of Loop Street are advancing. The site is a vacant lot in the background, shown here on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The developer of a Dunkin to be constructed at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. in Scranton recently demolished the building at left, shown here in a Google street view in 2023, to make way for a Dunkin to go there. (IMAGE COPIED FROM GOOGLE)
Plans to construct a Dunkin at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. in Scranton are advancing. The site is a vacant lot between North Keyser Avenue and North South Road, as seen here from North South Road on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
The fork of North Keyser Avenue, at right, and North South Road, at left, in Scranton, on Feb. 4, 2026. The Scranton Planning Commission on Jan. 28, 2026 voted to recommend to City Council that the one-way North South Road be converted to two-way for 425 feet from the fork to Loop Street, to accommodate a Dunkin to be constructed at 1200 N. Keyser Ave., which is a vacant lot between the fork and Loop Street. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Plans to construct a Dunkin at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. in Scranton at the intersection of Loop Street are advancing. The site is a vacant lot in shown here on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
A section of the one-way North South Road in Scranton, a few hundred feet south of the road’s forked intersection with North Keyser Avenue, on Feb. 4, 2026. The Scranton Planning Commission on Jan. 28, 2026 voted to recommend to City Council that the one-way North South Road be converted to two-way for 425 feet from the fork to Loop Street, to accommodate a Dunkin to be constructed at 1200 N. Keyser Ave., which is a vacant lot between the fork and Loop Street. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
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Plans to construct a Dunkin at 1200 N. Keyser Ave. in Scranton at the intersection of Loop Street are advancing. The site is a vacant lot in the background, shown here on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2026. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)