Commercial growth in Lehighton Area

Route 443 in Lehighton has long been the main commercial strip in the area. When I was growing up here Laneco grocery store and Bright's Department Store were the main draws and where most people did their shopping. I remember when McDonald's built, then Radio Shack, Burger King, The Lobster Shanty and a few more stores were built. But nothing compared to the project undertaken when WalMart came to town. That is until now. NOW, Super WalMart has started building and everything is going to change again. The terrain of the building site already looked like some place I don't recognize after just 2 weeks of moving dirt... When I see the equipment moving in the night with their high powered lights on it reminds me of the scene in Close Encounters of the Third Kind with all the lights of the aliens' ship.

With the building of Super WalMart just a bit farther west on route 443 (Blakeslee Blvd East) we expect more commercial development of the area. Many REALTORS and land owners in the area talk about it with a twinkle in their eye (or are those dollar signs I see)? And I'm not excluding mysef in that description. I have a 7 acre tract of land for sale immediately across the highway from the Super WalMart project and hope to see a sale soon.

Existing on the property, on the east side of the stream is a self storage facility with 8600 square feet of storage space. This piece can be sub-divided from the remaining 4 acres. The 4 acre piece is on the west side of the stream, accessible over a new 2 lane bridge built to PennDot specs. Since Mahoning Township is requiring a traffic light at the intersection of Blakeslee Boulevard and Frederick's Grove Road and no access will be granted to properties from Blakeslee Boulevard, the bridge is strategically located for ingress and egress off Frederick's Grove Road. The 4 acre, commercially zoned building lot is prime location for small box stores, a chain restaurant or convenience store among others. If you have any questions, you can contact Kim Rabenold at Gene Durigan Real Estate at 610-377-4488.

-Kim