BLOOMSBURG — A developer who’s been sparring with the town over the location of a proposed drug and alcohol rehab said a nursing home company plans to use part of his land to develop a large new facility to care for seniors.

Good Shepherd Home, based in Allentown, signed an agreement on Monday to buy land at the corner of West and Fifth Streets to build a five-story, 100,000 square-foot nursing home, according to developer Matt Zoppetti.

It’s the same property on which Zoppetti had proposed building a drug-and-alcohol rehab, after the current zoning board agreed a treatment center fit the town’s definition of a “nursing home.”

That decision was appealed by Town Council and had not ultimately been decided, records show.

Zoppetti says plans for a rehab are still in the works.

“I still have my goals: a top quality nursing home and a top quality rehab,” Zoppetti explained. “My goals have not changed. I still am pursuing the rehab in this town because it’s desperately needed.”

‘Exciting’ jobs
The skilled nursing facility at 302-304 W. Fifth St., a section of the old Bloomsburg Mills complex, will create 100 jobs that pay an average salary of $20 per hour, he added.

“It’s taken a very, very long to come to fruition,” Zoppetti said. “And it’s nice to have those leaders from the county have confidence in that vision.”

Zoppetti credits the county commissioners and state Rep. David Millard for supporting the project, but Millard says the credit belongs entirely to the developer.

“Matt’s a very forward-thinking individual,” Millard said. “He identified a need in our community, and it’s certainly exciting the jobs it will create.”

Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network, which is non-profit, operates in-patient facilities in Allentown, Bethlehem, Stroudsburg and Honesdale, as well as 60 outpatient facilities throughout eastern Pennsylvania, according to its website.

Company president John Kristel says Good Shepherd is “actively exploring options to bring our brand of world-class rehabilitative care to the Bloomsburg region through the development of a premier post-acute care facility.”

‘Naysayers and jokers’
Speaking about the project from his office in Husky Korners across from Town Hall, Zoppetti spotted councilman Toni Bell crossing the street before Monday night’s meeting.

He rushed to the door and flagged her down.

“I’m trying to bring jobs to the town,” he yelled.

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Bell responded.

“No thanks to anybody over there,” he added, pointing to Town Hall. “Not you — I’m speaking about all the naysayers and jokers.”

The “naysayers” are some former and current town officials who Zoppetti says have stalled many of his projects, including the proposed drug and alcohol rehab at several locations in town.

“Those local leaders don’t know what the hell they’re doing,” he lamented. “And they’ve always jerked me” around.

Zoppetti says the project is “full-speed ahead” and should up and running within the next two years.

Site history
The section of land where the nursing home will be built was long a part of the Bloomsburg Mills property, which began as a silk mill in the 19th century. The Mill, which was actually located across Sixth Street from the land where the nursing home will be built, put 134 people out of work when it closed in 2009.

That same year, the property was under contract by Reading-based development company, GMI Investments, which originally planned to construct student housing, an office complex, and two retail-strip buildings.

But after town officials balked at the prospect of student rentals so close to the elementary school, GMI backed out of the deal.

Zoppetti and former business partner Sante D’Ambrosio purchased the land the following year after officials voted to overlay the industrial zoning with a business campus district, allowing for multiple uses, including residential housing, retail stores and nursing homes.

Julye Wemple can be reached at julye.wemple@pressenterprise.net, or at 570-387-1234, ext. 1323.