HAZLETON, PA – On Friday, August 13, 2010, Hazleton Creek Properties, LLC (HCP) officials led a contingent of Northeastern Pennsylvania print and electronic reporters on a guided tour of its mine reclamation site in downtown Hazleton and discussed the entire scope of this major economic development project. Representing HCP were company co-founder William F. Rinaldi, Evergreen Environmental consultant Mark McClellan, and Dr. Barry Scheetz, a Professor of Civil Engineering at Penn State University and a consultant to HCP.
The Hazleton Reclamation site is an abandoned mine site located directly off Interstate 81 and bounded by Routes 924, 309 and Broad Street. The site has been severely impacted by past deep and surface mining practices and encompasses more than 277 acres of un-reclaimed, abandoned mine pits and spoil piles. Portions of the site (approximately 50 acres) were previously used for disposal of municipal and industrial waste in several mine pits. The area is a Brownfield site and has been certified as a Designated Special Industrial Area (SIA) by the Governor of Pennsylvania, giving the site priority attention for remediation. The site has the capacity to accept over 10 million cubic yards of residual materials to complete the site reclamation. HCP is authorized to conduct the site reclamation/remediation using DEP-approved residual materials, including regulated fill, clean-fill from construction activities, and river dredge materials.
Once the primary site is reclaimed, HCP will engage in a larger effort to reclaim 250 acres of abandoned mine land adjacent to the city of Hazleton upon which the company plans to build the Hazleton Performing Arts Center. The Center will occupy approximately 80 acres in the middle of this site with other commercial development to the north and south. The Performing Arts Center will be a 20,000 seat facility (16,000 fixed, 4,000 lawn) with state-of-the-art offices, crew and dressing/lounge space for artists and their staff. Additionally, the Center will include 50,000 square feet of vendor/commercial space that is under roof in order to be convertible to convention space. This new venue will serve as a catalyst for the city of Hazleton for new economic development and generate increased tourism to Hazleton. For more information, visit www.hazletoncreekproperties.com.