Moosic abuzz with new development

May 21--MOOSIC -- Montage Mountain is bustling with two major projects in various stages of development while a third is planned.

Construction crews are laying the foundation for Glenmaura Senior Living, a 130-unit luxury retirement community on the hillside between the Lackawanna County Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Shoppes at Montage.

Farther up the mountain, as part of a separate project, construction nears completion for 12 new townhouses, the first phase of five sections at Glenmaura Commons.

To align with shifting market demand, architects employed more contemporary townhouse designs than earlier models at the Commons, for example two-car garages with each home because more families have two vehicles.

Townhouses will cost up to $350,000 each, officials said.

Borough zoning officials cleared the Hilton project last year, but there appears to have been little movement since then. In January, a Hilton spokeswoman said groundbreaking was slated for the spring. This week, a different spokesperson said Hilton wouldn't comment on any property groundbreaking timelines.

"Glenmaura Senior Living's moving. If we can get the Hilton moving, we'll be OK," Snyder said.

Richard Angelicola, who owns and operates Highland Park Senior Living in Wilkes-Barre Twp. and the Village At Greenbriar in the Back Mountain is developing the senior living center. His company, Glenmaura Senior Living LLC, bought the 5 3/4 -acre lot in October, for nearly $1.3 million, according to county records.

Contractor Joseph Rinkus said Angelicola and his wife and business partner, Kristen Angelicola, work hard to build relationships with residents and spend their days working alongside staff while avoiding the spotlight.

Rinkus declined to disclose the total investment for Glenmaura Senior Living and how much it will cost to live there.

His company, LHC Construction Management, built Greenbriar and recently wrapped up Highland Park, which is filling up fast, he said.

"This is the third facility I've built for them," he said of Glenmaura. "They just keep getting better."

The new living community will have more than 95 suites and 31 apartments. It will have a physician, an on-call nurse and staff with training to provide memory care for people with Alzheimer's disease.

Plans call for a library, a theater and a conservatory among more than a dozen other amenities. The community will have an indoor pool with retracting glass walls that give it an outdoor feel, a cocktail bar and a shuttle service to attractions in the area.

Rinkus expects to finish construction by May 2019.

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