Developer John Basalyga noticed more than just a bunch of mostly vacant buildings along the 100 block of Wyoming Avenue in downtown Scranton — he also saw opportunity.
Basalyga announced in June that Building Blocks Learning Center plans to occupy the entire first floor and half of the second floor of the former Wells Fargo bank building at 130 Wyoming Ave., which he purchased in June 2024 for $1.3 million.
Building Blocks — which has locations in the areas of Wilkes-Barre, Kingston, the Back Mountain, Mountain Top, Hazleton and the Lehigh Valley — will offer a guided preview of the new Scranton space to community leaders on Jan. 8, Medina Delgado, the organization’s chief of staff, said in an email.
In addition to the learning center, the building will have 13 apartments — three on the second floor and 10 on the third floor which are currently under construction, Basalyga said.
“It’s progressing and we should be done in the next couple months,” Basalyga added. “We’ll be putting a new roof on it in the next couple weeks. Building Blocks is framed out and we put the ceilings in. When I turn the building over to them around February, they’re going to have a fixturing period where they’ll move all their stuff in.”
Ongoing construction work 107-109 Wyoming Ave. and 111 Wyoming Ave. in downtown Scranton on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
The five-story former Dime Bank and Mellon Bank building at 134 Wyoming Ave. in downtown Scranton on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. Developer John Basalyga purchased the property in June 2024 for $1.7 million. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
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Ongoing construction work 107-109 Wyoming Ave. and 111 Wyoming Ave. in downtown Scranton on Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2025. (ROBERT TOMKAVAGE/STAFF PHOTO)
Among the other properties on the street, Basalyga noted he’s working to finalize a deal with a potential commercial tenant for 109 Wyoming Ave., which he purchased in March 2023 for $210,000.
In June, Friendly Alien Books opened on the first floor of 111 Wyoming Ave., which Basalyga purchased in January 2023 for $250,000.
Ongoing work at 109-111 Wyoming Ave. includes the construction of four apartments — one each on the second and third floors of each building — which Basalyga expects to be completed in the next 30 to 40 days, and a facade project featuring stone and a canopy roof, which he said will start to take shape in the next week or two.
Basalyga purchased the five-story former Dime Bank and later Mellon Bank building at 134 Wyoming Ave., which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in June 2024 for $1.7 million and continues to market the property.
“We’ve brought a couple people through and we have some interest for the first floor, which is commercial,” he said. “We’re not sure what we’re going to do with the rest yet, but we’re working on it.”
Basalyga purchased property at 115-117 Wyoming Ave. in September 2022 for $760,000. He intends to reconfigure the property at 115 Wyoming Ave. starting next year.
“I’m probably going to add a couple floors onto that, so it’s back to its original height — that will be a 2026 project,” Basalyga said. “Years ago, it was a three- or four-story building and our plan is to build it back up.”
Basalyga envisions a strip mall setup with several commercial tenants on the bottom floor and likely residential units above.
In January, Dolly’s Boutique moved into the bottom floor of 117 Wyoming Ave. and The Llenaj Space — an event venue — occupies the second floor, Basalyga said. The third and fourth floors have remnants of a former gym.
“Wyoming Avenue is coming alive,” Basalyga said. “Years ago, when those buildings became available, they sat empty. I just figured I’d take a shot at them. They’re smaller projects than I usually do (109-111 and 115 Wyoming) but they’re important for the overall business community.
“When you’re driving down our streets, you don’t see many vacant buildings anymore, so that’s a really, really good thing. Anytime I see an empty building, I say there’s an opportunity. I think it’s so important to increase our business network downtown and then add in the residential element above it.”
Monday Update
THEN: Developer John Basalyga purchased multiple properties on the 100 block of Wyoming Avenue over the past several years with plans to transform the street.
NOW: Work continues on several of the buildings, including 130 Wyoming Ave., which will include a Building Blocks Learning Center and 13 apartments.