Carbondale, PA- one of the first American towns created to exploit anthracite coal

Carbondale was founded in the early 19th century as part of the first regions in the US to exploit  anthracite coal deposits. The discovery of coal in the region in the early 1820s marked the beginning of the town’s rapid growth. Carbondale was established as a city in 1851, and its economy continued to thrive until the early 20th century. Carbondale’s population maxed out in 1930 at around 20K. But as coal demand dwindled Carbondale’s industrial importance and population declined. Carbondale has lost over half of its peaked population and currently has 8,800 residents. Surprisingly Carbondale has limited vacancy and has maintained most of its historic business district footprint without widespread abandonment. The town has a wonderful array of historic commercial structures and decent number of restaurants and retail businesses. Downtown also hosts an attractive historic plaza creating a great center point for Carbondale.

But the town is a 25 minute drive and feels far removed from downtown Scranton. Unless the City sees a major influx of immigrants Carbondale seems destined to continue its slow decline and won’t be able to capitalize on its dense, walkable existing urban fabric.

Click here to view my Carbondale album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

• Great historic stock especially in the commercial district.
• Decent generational diversity.
• So so parks in central Carbondale including a medium sized recreational park, a cemetery, and skate park.
• Overall a pretty safe community and limited vacancy too.
• Good number of restaurants, bars, and cafes but not much else culturally other than the Carbondale Historic Society and a historic house hosting classical concerts.
• Decent retail amenities including a supermarket, several drug stores & banks, several boutiques & gift shops, a five below store, a couple antiques stores, a dwtn public library & post office, a couple dessert joints, a YMCA, several doctor offices, and plenty of churches.
• Good main street and several secondary business districts (Church & Salem). Also a good downtown plaza creating a Civic Heart for Carbondale.
• Pretty good urban fabric with limited surface parking lots and autocentric uses. Decent streetscaping too.

URBAN WEAKNESS:

• Sidewalks are pretty consistent in the Carbondale but ADA curb cuts are mainly restricted to just the commercial areas.
• Density is pretty poor for an urban area.
• Pretty poor public transit access.
• Not a terrible drive to Dwtn Scranton (25 mins) but a bus ride is over 1 hr.
• Bike infrastructure is limited but there is at least a recreational trail on the northern edge of town.
• A couple schools in quasi walking distance they have medium ratings.
• A handful of rental options but all very affordable.
• For sale housing is very affordable topping out at 250K for a large 4 bedroom.
• Modern in-fill is pretty much non-existent.”