EXETER — After years of sitting vacant and becoming a source of frustration for Exeter Borough officials and residents, a large tract of property along Wyoming Avenue is finally beginning a new chapter.
Principal owner Atty. Ray Hassey, along with partners Pat Hadley and Tino Ferretti, officially broke ground on Exeter Commons, a development that will bring a new Wawa to the property while creating opportunities for additional commercial development in the future.
Hassey said the initial investment for the property, highway project, and utilities have topped the $4 million mark to get the project underway. He went on to say the project has received a grant from PennDOT for $1.7 million and a grand from DCED for $1.5 million.
For Ferretti and Hadley, the Exeter project represents another investment in the Wyoming Valley. The two have previously partnered on local redevelopment projects, including the transformation of the former Cooper’s Seafood property in Pittston into The Banks, a Waterfront Venue.
For Hassey, the project is personal.
A longtime Exeter resident, Hassey has served as solicitor for Exeter Borough for nearly four decades. During those years, he said, police reports routinely included incidents occurring on the property.
“Whether it’s illegal dumping, fires, drugs, fights,” Hassey said. “There was a homeless camp of, like, 40-some people and, you know, the place was just deteriorating.”
Hassey eventually decided he could no longer simply watch the property deteriorate.
“So at some point, I had the idea of, like, all right, well, what can we do?” he said. “Maybe I could step in and try to do something with this site.”
After contacting broker Larry Lebinson, Hassey made an offer on the property and eventually obtained the contract.
But he knew the project would require partners and knowing of the renaissance the City of Pittston has been going through over the last decade, he knew who to call, two contractors deeply involved in the big changes in the city.
“I reached out to Pat Hadley and Tino Ferretti, both of whom are very experienced in revitalization projects,” Hassey said.
Hadley Construction and N&B Enterprises have played significant roles in the revitalization of downtown Pittston, and Hassey said he wanted to bring that same spirit of redevelopment to Exeter.
The project also required cooperation among local, county, state and federal officials, as well as the Wyoming Area School District.
“Everybody, everyone, to the T, were very supportive in getting us those incentives,” Hassey said.
Mayor Denise Adams called the groundbreaking a major day for Exeter and thanked the developers and Wawa for choosing the borough.
“It’s a great day for Exeter, and I know all of our residents are really happy about this,” Adams said. “Every place I go, people say, ‘When is it going be here?’ So now I can go and say when it’s going to be here.”
Exeter Borough Manager Amy Huntington credited Hassey for having the vision to transform the property.
“What a partnership,” Huntington said. “But I got to say, a special thank you to Ray Hassey, who had the vision, who knew that we needed something here.”
Huntington recalled that only three years ago a homeless encampment occupied the property.
“Well, guess what? We’re going have a hoagie fest here in just a couple months,” she said, referring to Wawa hoagies.
State Rep. Brenda Pugh, who represents the 120th Legislative District, said the development demonstrates what can happen when government and private developers work together.
“It is so exciting to see Exeter Borough on the rise,” Pugh said. “They’ve got foresight. They’ve got people in town willing to invest in their borough and inside of their communities.”
Pugh said the project would strengthen the local tax base while bringing jobs to the community.
“These are the kind of projects that are going to help get those taxes under control,” she added. “They are building your tax base. They are bringing jobs into your communities.”
Congressman Rob Bresnahan said the project represents the culmination of years of discussion about how to invest in Exeter.
“For decades, we’ve been talking about the Walmart project,” Bresnahan said. “We’ve been talking about various different initiatives and how to invest into Exeter and today is a very exciting day, and it truly took a village and a community for years to make this a reality.”
Bresnahan was referring to Walmart’s interest in purchasing the same property Hassey acquired and residents were not pleased with Walmart moving to the borough in 2015.
Bresnahan pointed to the economic impact, tax revenue and future jobs expected from Hassey’s development.
For Hassey, however, the groundbreaking is only the beginning.
He said work on the property would begin immediately, with the first priority being preparation of the Wawa site and installation of infrastructure, including stormwater, sewer and utility improvements.
The Wawa pad encompasses approximately two acres, while additional two-acre parcels and a seven-acre parcel at the rear portion of the property would be available for development.
Hassey said the larger rear parcel could eventually accommodate a grocery store or larger retail operation. Discussions have already taken place with several grocery store chains, although no agreements have been signed.
Also in consideration is constructing a strip mall with smaller businesses if a larger retailer is not secured.
The Wawa pad is expected to be ready within approximately 45 to 60 days, Hassey said, with the store potentially completed by April, May or June of 2027.
The development will also bring changes to traffic patterns in the area. The existing traffic signal will be relocated to align with Sullivan Street, which will become a two-way roadway, while the road through the development will be widened.
For Hassey, the transformation represents exactly what he envisioned when he first decided to take a chance on the property and thanked his wife Donna, along with former State Rep. Aaron Kaufer and Ryan Pippen for their efforts in guidance and getting the project off the ground.
“This project, for me, I’ve been a resident of Exeter for 30-some years,” he said. “So I knew they (Ferretti and Hadley) would be good partners in trying to help to get this site the same type of revitalization they needed.”