UNCDC to Break Ground on Community, Education, Development and Revitalization Center

United Neighborhood Community Development Corporation (UNCDC), the nonprofit housing and economic development subsidiary of United Neighborhood Centers of Northeastern Pennsylvania (UNC), will break ground on the new Community, Education, Development, And Revitalization (CEDAR) Center at 530 Cedar Avenue in South Scranton on Friday, April 19, 2024, at 3pm.

CEDAR Center will rehabilitate and repurpose the historic Peoples Security Bank building into vibrant center for the community. CEDAR Center will offer UNC’s expanding services in job readiness and workforce development, small business, and entrepreneurship services, and a welcome center for new immigrants. Penn State’s LaunchBox will operate a business accelerator and manage a student-run café/retail area. It will also serve as a venue to expand UNC’s regional year-round South Side Farmers Market.

Remarks will be made by Jude McDonough, UNC Board Chair; Senator Marty Flynn, 22nd Senatorial District; Representative Kyle T. Donahue, District 113; Commissioner Bill Gaughan, Lackawanna County; Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti, City of Scranton; and Lisa Durkin, UNC President & Chief Executive Officer. 

In addition to the UNCDC, the development team consists of Ralph J. Melone, AIA, Project Architect, and Robert Bamford, General Contractor, Mar-Paul Construction Co., Inc.

The CEDAR Center project is made possible through funding from Senator Robert P. Casey Jr., Peoples Security Bank, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program; PA Department of Community and Economic Development, Keystone Communities; Lackawanna County; City of Scranton; Oppenheim Foundation; PNC Bank; and PPL Electric Utilities.