The historic Moose Lodge in Midtown Harrisburg
The landmark Moose Lodge Temple in Midtown Harrisburg took a step closer to revival and reoccupation tonight, as the city’s Zoning Hearing Board approved a plan to renovate it as mixed-use space.
The board unanimously granted a variance to WCI Partners LP for 33 apartments on three upper floors with commercial space on the ground floor. WCI needed the variance because the size of the apartment units, about 500 square feet apiece, is less than the 1,200-square-foot size permitted under the zoning code for the 900-block of N. 3rd Street.
WCI President David Butcher told the board that the apartment sizes needed to be small due to beams that run vertically through the building, limiting design options. He also said the project would not be economically feasible without the apartment density.
Board members seemed skeptical that WCI could not create a floor plan to accommodate larger units. However, they voted in favor of the variance largely because they want to see the building redeveloped, as it has sat empty and increasingly blighted for a decade.
“This case is a case that must recognize the reality of the facts in this neighborhood,” said board member Thomas Leonard. “The reality is that this property has been vacant for 10 years.”
Leonard also cited a lack of community opposition. Several community organizations in Midtown submitted letters supporting the project, and David Morrison, the interim executive director of Historic Harrisburg Association, spoke in favor of it before the board.
Butcher assured the board that the apartments, while small, would have high-end finishes that would appeal to young professionals. He estimated that the units would rent for around $1,000 per month.
WCI is purchasing the four-story building at the corner of N. 3rd and Boas streets for $900,000 from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education, a for-profit charter school company that is in receivership.
The purchase includes several adjacent parcels of land—three dilapidated townhouses and a 40-vehicle parking lot. Butcher said that WCI also plans to renovate the townhouses into apartments and retail space and would landscape the area around the parking lot to make it more attractive.
Harrisburg City Council now must approve WCI’s land use plan. If all goes smoothly, the project should start by the end of summer with completion expected in 12 to 18 months, said Butcher.
For five years, the former Moose Lodge housed the Ronald Brown Charter School. However, the building has been empty since 2005, when the school district’s board of control refused to reauthorize the school’s charter.
The Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple was built in 1924, designed in the Beaux Arts style by renowned Harrisburg architect Clayton J. Lappley.
Disclosure: Alex Hartzler, publisher of TheBurg, is a principal with WCI Partners.
