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a great community newspaper

TheBurg is a free monthly newspaper that begins to tell the stories that, put together, describe the community of greater Harrisburg: the people who live, work and travel here; the families that make their home here; the businesses that sell here.

Current Issue

August 2010

Beer, for Chocolate City

Leave the Car at Home

Designing Duo

Summertime Treats

Bike Race, Years to the Finish

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Past Issues

TheBurg began covering the Harrisburg area in January 2009. All of our past issues are available to read as PDF files.

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Harrisburg Area News

Midtown Arts Center Gets Approval for Bond Offering

July 30 -- The Harrisburg Midtown Arts Center is another step closer to completing work on its sprawling facility at N. 3rd and Herr streets, as it has secured final county approval to offer $3.2 million in tax-exempt bonds.

Dauphin County is not lending HMAC the money, but has endorsed the project as worthwhile, enabling HMAC to float bonds on the open market that carry tax-exempt status. This incentive significantly increases investor interest in the bonds. In addition, HMAC will sell another $1.1 million in taxable bonds, said HMAC co-owner John Traynor.

“We’re moving forward,” Traynor said. “We have an underwriter for our bonds, and we’re starting the application process.”

Traynor believes that HMAC will successfully sell out the offering, enabling it to resume work on the center sometime this fall.

With the county’s imprimatur, HMAC can access the bond market like a municipality would, offering tax-exempt bonds to investors, confirmed August Memmi, executive director of the county’s economic development office. No tax dollars are being used, he said.

Under the agreement, HMAC’s owners must use part of the bond money for reserves equaling two years of bond payments. The bonds are for 30 years, but the owners can buy them back after five years.

Once the bonds are sold on the market, Wohlsen Construction, which has an office in Midtown, will finish the uncompleted center, which will have a restaurant, pool, classrooms and a large auditorium with capacity for about 800 people, Traynor said.

New Condo Building about to Rise in Midtown

July 26 -- Midtown is set to get its second major condominium building, as the Vartan Group will break ground in months on The 1500 Project, a five-story building at N. 6th and Reily streets, across from the federal courthouse site.

On July 20, the Vartan Group filed condominium papers with Dauphin County and immediately began taking pre-sales reservations for the 43 studio, one-bedroom, two-bedroom and loft units. A restaurant and/or retailer will occupy the ground floor, and 47 parking spaces will be below ground, said H. Ralph Vartan, company chairman.

The project has been on the drawing board for years, but the time seemed right to proceed, Vartan said, adding that demand for condo space in Harrisburg was a far more important factor in the decision to build now than the pending courthouse.

“There is latent demand for this type of living in the city,” he said.

Construction is expected to begin in late autumn and should take 10 to 14 months, said Vartan.

The building’s architecture will be somewhat different for Harrisburg—a modern take on art deco design, with sleek lines, lots of glass, a rooftop garden, private terraces, loft spaces and green-friendly features. Owners will qualify for a 10-year property tax abatement.

“We wanted to provide something a little edgy,” Vartan said. “Architecturally, it’s very stunning.”

The 1500 Project follows the success of Riverview Manor, a 76-unit condominium conversion on N. Front and Harris streets that has largely sold out.

Visit 1500project.com for more information.

New Intercity Bus Service Rolls into Harrisburg

July 21 -- Megabus.com has added Harrisburg to the cities it serves with its nonstop, inexpensive bus service.

Leaving from the southeast corner of the Harrisburg Mall parking lot, buses serve State College, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh daily for as little as $1 per trip. There are four departures a day to Philadelphia and two each to Pittsburgh and State College.

Prices depend upon seat availability and change often. A recent search of fares to Philadelphia showed one-way prices that ranged from $1 to $10, depending upon time of departure. Fares ranged from $8 to $12 to Pittsburgh and were $3 to State College.

Megabus.com, based in the United Kingdom, is part of a growing trend of comfortable, inexpensive bus service in the congested northeast and mid-Atlantic. Go to us.megabus.com for details.

CAT Part of 9-County Transit Study

July 20 -- Six transit agencies and three regional planning organizations from nine counties in central Pennsylvania are participating in a Regional Transit Coordination Study to determine region-wide transit service and other options.

Capital Area Transit, serving Harrisburg, Dauphin and Cumberland counties, is among the agencies involved. “This type of regional cooperation will pave the way for better transportation options for all the citizens of the region,” said Jim Hoffer, CAT’s executive director.

The benefits anticipated from a regional system include reduced congestion, air quality improvement, greater transit access for area residents, increased ridership and an increase in mobility options that could provide quality-of-life benefits for all who live and work in the region.

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