SMITHFIELD TOWNSHIP, Pa. -- The first of several buildings was demolished Thursday to make way for a multimillion-dollar project in the Poconos.
That project known as the Smithfield Gateway will be a mixed-use development near East Stroudsburg.
A vacant house on Route 209 near East Stroudsburg is the first to come down.
Smithfield Gateway will take over more than 120 acres of land in Smithfield Township. More than 30 buildings, including parts of the old Mosier's Dairy Farm, will be demolished. Apartments, and retail and office space will go up in their place.
"We are going to have here, restaurant pads, a specialty supermarket, medical buildings, and also over 200 upscale apartments," said Jim DePetris of DEPG Development.
One of the last buildings set to be demolished is the Dunkin' on Route 209. The business plans to move inside Smithfield Gateway.
"It's going to be amazing. We love our building, we've been there for over 10 years now. We are excited to have a brand-new fresh building bringing the newest Dunkin' look to the area," said Amir Mohamed.
The project also includes road improvements. Route 209 will be converted from two lanes to five. A loop road will be built that goes through the farm property to Route 447.
"This is important to Smithfield and those who travel here in this part of the county because this traffic is just terrible. Sometimes you can't make a left-hand turn. We are spending $14 million to fix these roads," DePetris said.
The Smithfield Gateway project is expected to create 1,000 jobs. It will be done in phases over the next five years.