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<\/p>\nSCRANTON \u2014 The city might rent out the third floor of a three-story annex next to City Hall to raise revenue, city officials said.<\/p>\n
The city expects to close Aug. 2 on its $1.88 million purchase of the 32,802-square-foot former Fidelity Bank branch at at 334-346 N. Washington Ave., which is next door to the historic 1888 Municipal Building at 340 N. Washington Ave.<\/p>\n
The city plans to move into the first floor some departments in City Hall that regularly interact with the public, including treasury and inspections\/code enforcement; and to put a \u201cReal Time Crime Center\u201d of the Police Department on the second floor.<\/p>\n
A prior council authorized the purchase of the bank branch in December in a 3-2 vote, and the city executed a contract and put down a 10% deposit. Now, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti and her administration are in the final stages of completing the acquisition and have presented to Scranton City Council an ordinance to assemble $1 million in funds to carry out the purchase.<\/p>\n
Council introduced the ordinance last Tuesday but then tabled it to get information on total costs of having an annex, including annual maintenance and insurance, and the long-term plan for city use of the addition. Administration members will attend a council caucus Tuesday, July 7, at 5:45 p.m. at City Hall to explain the annex plan to council. The caucus will precede council\u2019s regular weekly meeting that starts at 6:30.<\/p>\n
Cognetti reiterated Tuesday reasons for why the annex would improve municipal functions and benefit residents and employees, including that the former bank building is in turn-key condition and more-readily disabled accessible. Certain departments could better interface and serve the public in that space. A Real Time Crime Center would improve Police Department operations and increase public safety.<\/p>\n
The idea for moving city offices into more modern, functional space also predated Cognetti\u2019s administration, she said. The last major renovation of City Hall had taken place in 1980 and it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1981.<\/p>\n
In 2019, the Courtright administration and council debated the merits and costs of renovating City Hall versus relocating offices to the former Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed) building at 315-331 Franklin Ave., which at the time was for sale for $5 million. The city did not pursue the PenFed building, which Lackawanna County bought in 2022 for $5 million.<\/p>\n
The city instead pursued renovating the 57,850-square-foot City Hall in stages in recent years and completed work last year. Exterior facade, roof, steeple and other towers work was done first, followed by interior and stained-glass renovations.<\/p>\n
When City Hall renovations were underway, Fidelity Bank pursued its plan to buy and renovate the Scranton Electric Building at 507 Linden St. for a bank headquarters. The Cognetti administration began around 2022 planning for a potential purchase of the Fidelity branch next to City Hall for an annex, once the branch would be vacated by Fidelity. The bank recently vacated the branch and has been moving into the newly renovated Fidelity headquarters at the Scranton Electric Building.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis was not something we were looking for,\u201d Cognetti said of the annex situation. But it arose and the move focuses on the \u201cbigger picture\u201d of better positioning city operations for the future, and doing so in a building with a purchase price below market value, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a generational opportunity to expand the City Hall footprint right next door,\u201d Cognetti said.<\/p>\n
City Information Technology Director Jack Reager gave a tour of the annex Tuesday and said Fidelity will leave behind office furniture, including workstations, chairs and tables, which will save the city several thousands of dollars.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s basically turnkey for us,\u201d Reager said of the annex building.<\/p>\n
The annex also comes equipped with surveillance-camera, door-swipe entry and fire-suppression sprinkler systems, and 34 parking spaces in a parking garage accessible from Dix Court, he said. The three stories do not extend to Dix Court, as additions in the rear step down in height from two stories to one story. The annex also will only need one fiber optic cable strung overhead from City Hall, he said, adding, \u201cEverything else is done, wired.\u201d<\/p>\n
Space at the current police headquarters on South Washington Avenue that will be freed up by having some officers and administrative staff relocate to the annex would get reallocated inside the police station, Reager said. Spaces at City Hall that would be vacated by functions moving into the annex also would be repurposed for possible use by various city boards and commissions, he said.<\/p>\n
At last Tuesday\u2019s council meeting, Councilman Mark McAndrew said council members were told by the administration that the annex might generate revenue by the city renting out the third floor. Reager said Tuesday that renting out the third floor of the annex is under consideration but not yet solidified.<\/p>\n
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Director of Information Technology for the city of Scranton Jack Reager gives a tour of the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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Office space is seen in the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/STT-L-FIDELITYBANK-0708-03.jpg?w=620\")
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The first floor hallway in the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
![\"Director](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/STT-L-FIDELITYBANK-0708-01.jpg?w=620\")
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Director of Information Technology for the city of Scranton Jack Reager gives a tour of the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/STT-L-FIDELITYBANK-0708-04.jpg?w=620\")
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The first floor lobby in the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.thetimes-tribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/STT-L-FIDELITYBANK-0708-07-1.jpg?w=620\")
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The outside of the Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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Office space is seen in the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n
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Director of Information Technology for the city of Scranton Jack Reager gives a tour of the former Fidelity Bank building on N. Washington Ave. in downtown Scranton Tuesday, July 7, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG \/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)\n<\/p>\n