Franklin Township is working to hammer out an agreement to take back land where a proposed 60-unit luxury apartment complex had been planned at Fairyland Road and Wagner Street.

Resident Jill Renfrew asked at Tuesday’s board of supervisors meeting what’s the latest on the eminent domain situation.

Township solicitor Tom Nanovic offered a brief response.

“Still trying to negotiate a settlement,” he said.

In August, supervisors tabled carrying out a settlement of condemnation agreement for property owned by Phifer Rentals LLC.

Supervisors also tabled the agreement in July after Nanovic noted it wasn’t ready.

Board Chairman Nick Storm said it’s all with the eminent domain.

Nanovic said at that time the township is negotiating a purchase and had filed the eminent domain paperwork.

Resident Terry Shaner questioned the township about eminent domain.

Nanovic said if they’re not able to negotiate a price, it would go to a board that would determine a price, then it could be appealed to the trial court to determine a value.

He said they were hoping to avoid that because the parties are negotiating for the township to buy it to avoid the litigation.

Shaner then asked if the township has decided what it plans to do with that land.

Storm noted at that time that it’s contiguous onto the township’s current park system, so he would hope the township could expand that.

Supervisors have been moving forward since May with taking back land where the proposed luxury apartment complex had been planned at Fairyland Road and Wagner Street.

The development, proposed by Phifer Rentals, called for three apartment buildings on a 5.39-acre property.

Developer Jay Cooperman previously said the complex could generate between $125,000 and $150,000 annually in tax revenue and noted the project had originally received zoning approval for 48 units in November 2024.

The proposal had faced months of review and resident opposition over traffic, water and sewer capacity, and recreation plans.

Among the unresolved issues were required approvals from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Carbon County Conservation District, along with a requested waiver from township regulations limiting development to 12 dwelling units per single access point.

Residents had also raised concerns about the need for secondary access off Fairyland Road and the developer’s proposal to contribute money in lieu of building recreation amenities.