Another downtown Carbondale demolition coming

CARBONDALE Another downtown demolition project could create space for a new waterfront recreation spot and ease Lackawanna River flooding problems.

The state Department of Transportation scheduled a project to both raze the former Hotel Chellino and replace the Sixth Avenue Bridge; it will go out to bid in June or October, depending on how long the agency takes to vet engineering plans.

Mayor Justin Taylor said he hopes the joint city and PennDOT project will begin in spring 2016. It will be the first step toward eventually giving the public access to the Lackawanna River in Carbondale part of a 6.7-mile stretch of Class A wild trout waters.

The state Fish and Boat Commission classified the stretch of brown trout waters as being 0 percent open to the public now.

We want to give people as many amenities as possible, Mr. Taylor said. Because the city is built out and somewhat urbanized in the downtown area where the river is, there is no real river access because the river sits in a stone channel. Its not like you can just walk right down to get there, and you certainly cant jump down from the walls because theyre high.

Bernie McGurl, executive director of the Lackawanna River Corridor Association, could picture a setup with steps leading down to the river. Charlie Charlesworth, president of the regional Trout Unlimited branch, thought the feature would bring anglers to Carbondale.

People all the way up and down the stream to Old Forge are fishing that river every day, Mr. Charlesworth said.

Mr. Taylor and the Carbondale Historical Society are also interested in displaying a piece of the citys history on the old Chellino lot.

Architect Thomas Horlacher created a rendering to show what an early 20th century D&H Railroad caboose, which the society bought in 2010, would look like.

S. Robert Powell, Ph.D., historical society executive director, said the effort would require hundreds of thousands of dollars of grants and private donations, but it would also put a piece of Carbondales legacy front and center.

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Another downtown Carbondale demolition coming