DUPONT — A longtime blighted empty lot will soon return to the tax rolls in the form of a three-bedroom modular home that was built through the efforts of the Northeaster Pennsylvania Land Bank Authority.
Officials with the organization gathered at the property at 292 Coolidge St. on Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the completion of the property, which will be offered as a rent to own opportunity for a low to moderate income family.
“For the the last 100 hears in this country, homes and home ownership was a to pass down generational wealth,” Pittston Mayor Mike Lombardo said.
The Dupont home is one of two the land bank recently built with the other being on North Main Street in Pittston.
The land bank, which launched 11 years ago, is comprised of the municipalities of Avoca, Dupont, Duryea, Exeter, Jenkins Twp., Pittston City, Pittston Twp., Plains Twp., and West Pittston.
Primarily, the land bank has acquired properties through tax sales, foreclosures and unclaimed estates.
From left: Stanley Knick Jr., president of Dupont Council, Bob Linskey, Jenkins Twp. supervisor, and Pittston mayor Michael Lombardo tour a mod home during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The interior of a mod home on display during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The exterior of a mod home on display during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The exterior of a mod home on display during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The exterior of a mod home on display during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
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From left: Stanley Knick Jr., president of Dupont Council, Bob Linskey, Jenkins Twp. supervisor, and Pittston mayor Michael Lombardo tour a mod home during a groundbreaking ceremony celebrating the Northeast Pennsylvania Land Bank’s Mod-Home Initiative Project in Dupont on Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
This is the first time the organization has started building homes.
“The cool thing about these projects is it shows the value of municipalities coming together on projects that we couldn’t do solely by ourselves,” Lombardo said.
Joe Chacke, executive director of the land bank and city administrator for Pittston, said the land bank has begun to pivot its mission to try to assist in the nation’s homeownership affordability crisis.
“For 11 years, all we did was acquire properties and demo properties. In the last year of two we have taken the next step in our evolution to fill the gap in affordable housing,” Chacke said.
The latest projects were funded by a $750,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement (PHARE) Fund.
“I would love to have a house like this in Jenkins Twp.,” Jenkins Twp. Supervisor Robert Linskey said. “This is not something Jenkins Twp. could do on its own. I don’t think Dupont could do it either.”
Stanley Knick, president of Dupont Borough Council, said the property was a longtime community eyesore.
“It was vacant lot. Nobody was paying taxes on it. Neighbors were complaining there were rodents in here and wildlife. The borough had to clean it up,” Knick said. “This is a plus all the way around.”
The land banks’s mission is “to return vacant and blighted properties to productive use through a transparent, unified process revitalizing neighborhoods and strengthening local tax bases.”
Members of the land bank work with the Pittston Housing Authority to find the future tenants — and hopefully owners — of the properties.
“This is one of the projects I am most proud of,” said Shannon Bonacci, the land bank’s deputy director. “The land bank has proven that we can do more than just buy and sell properties. We can play a vital role in expanding affordable housing opportunities. It’s been incredibly rewarding to work with families on creating paths to homeownership, and we’re eager to continue these efforts in the years ahead.”