When the store opens this fall, it will replace the non-profit organization's 15,000 square foot location on business Route 309, Wilkes-Barre Township, said Jerry Balara, general manager of Salvation Army's adult rehabilitation center.

"We expect to get to the point where we can double our sales at that location," Balara said. "Once the store becomes established, given the fact it is twice the size, we expect the customer base to increase. It will serve the northern half of Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley."

Balara anticipates adding to the Wilkes-Barre Township store's compliment of 12 employees to cover the larger sales floor. The store also will serve as a distribution center that can accept large deliveries, Balara said.
The entire building is 65,000 square feet, including 32,500 feet of storage space in the basement.

Salvation Army's corporate office in New York is overseeing the purchase. Balara declined to disclose the purchase price.
The property was listed for $2.75 million by Legend Properties Inc., but that will not be the purchase price, said James Balliet, commercial broker for the firm's Allentown office. The purchase price will become public after the closing, expected in the first week of July, Balliet said.

A new tenant in the city's East End will also be good news for South Wilkes-Barre.
Furniture Factory Outlet, which had been renting the former Service Merchandise building, is relocating to South Main Street. It will lease 26,000 square feet in Penn Plaza once home to the Bi-Lo grocery store.

The store and its 8,000 square foot showroom will open Friday at its new location under a new name - Surplus Freight. The store will continue to employ eight people, said Tim Armstrong, president and CEO.

The company decided to commit long-term to the Wilkes-Barre market after spending 13 successful months at the Service Merchandise location and after learning of upcoming downtown revitalization.

"We heard about it as we were looking for buildings," Armstrong said of planned city development. "I felt comfortable with the upgrades coming to the area. If they weren't going to be doing these upgrades, we probably wouldn't have moved here."
Surplus Freight features discount prices on brands like Ashley, Crownmark and United Furniture. It has 13 other locations, including Harrisburg.

As for the new Salvation Army location, the non-profit organization may seek tax-exempt status, Balara said. It will pay taxes on the pending sale, he said.
The property's current owner, SM Newco LP, Beechwood, Ohio, paid the city $21,685 in 2005, said Wilkes-Barre Finance Officer John Koval.

Salvation Army did pay $216 in 2005 city taxes for land it owns on Hazle Street, Koval said.