A team of 13 movers from Berger Allied Moving Co. of Fort Worth, Texas, loaded more than 21,000 pounds of office equipment and furniture from the Southern Union Corp. building Monday.

When the movers had finished, they had emptied two of the three floors occupied by the company once expected to bring more than 100 high-paying, corporate-level jobs to Scranton.

Although a company spokesman said a dozen employees will remain indefinitely in offices on the fifth floor of the $16 million Lackawanna Avenue building, the scene of movers hauling out furniture and office equipment was a stark contrast to the image of a vibrant corporate headquarters in the heart of the downtown.

While the mayor said taxpayers should focus on the new building’s potential, critics called the news evidence of a flawed deal with little visible upside.

“We need to be careful in the future on whom we can award a KOZ,” said Councilwoman Janet Evans, an outspoken critic of Mayor Chris Doherty’s administration and the Keystone Opportunity Zone program, which, when it was expanded, included Southern Union.

“The Southern Union situation is an example of why we should support existing businesses and not carpetbaggers,” Ms. Evans said.

The parent company of PG Energy, Southern Union announced to much fanfare in August 2003 that it was constructing a new building and moving its headquarters to Scranton. Occupying a key spot on Lackawanna Avenue, the new building was heralded by the company, Mr. Doherty and others as a powerful selling point for the city. Back then the project was viewed as leverage for other development despite its controversial tax-free KOZ status.

The state created the Keystone Opportunity Zone pro-

gram in 1999, giving business and residential properties in designated areas tax-free status. The commonwealth added the Keystone Opportunity Expansion Zone in 2001, extending the tax free status through 2013.

Southern Union initially projected more than 100 employees would occupy the building, but that number topped out at about 30. Earlier this year, no more than 25 mid-level managers occupied the space.

Construction of the building has been slow going. Large cranes have blocked portions of Lackawanna Avenue and the sidewalk for over two years. In fact, work continued Monday.

“Our focus has been on other aspects of our business,” said Southern Union spokesman John P. Barnett from Houston. “We’ve been busy and haven’t had time to look into that type of thing.”

Mr. Barnett wouldn’t say whether the company is actively marketing the building. However, in the past the company said it was looking to lease unused floors.

“If we get an offer to lease, we will consider it,” Mr. Barnett said. He would not speculate whether Southern Union would sell the building, but officials at one local company, Compression Polymers Holdings Inc., said they were shown the property last year.

Today, however, the building doesn’t appear to be in “show condition.” Although Mr. Barnett claimed the interior work is completed, the first floor is covered in construction dust, wires hang out of walls, and a water fountain splashes onto the floor when used.

One room is filled with construction debris and windows are coated with dust. As for the unfinished facade, Mr. Barnett said about “one month” of work remains.

“That doesn’t mean it will be done in a month,” he said. “That depends on the weather.”

Of the dozen Southern Union employees who continue to work there, Mr. Barnett said they are in government relations, investor relations, legal and treasury and that they take up one floor.

This was the second time Southern Union has had moving vans parked in front of the building this summer. Filing cabinets were shipped to Houston last month. Furniture that was moved out this week is headed to Southern Union Gas Services in Fort Worth, Texas.

Despite this most recent development, Mayor Doherty remains optimistic.

“With Southern Union moving out, it’s not necessarily a bad thing,” the vacationing mayor said in a telephone interview. “It’s an attractive building that didn’t cost the city one cent to build.

“The next logical step is for Southern Union to sell the building because it is still a KOEZ.”

Contact the writer: sbrown@timesshamrock.com