1511 N. Front St.
A proposal to demolish a building on N. Front Street in Harrisburg has been denied.
Harrisburg City Council voted 4-2 on Tuesday to reject a proposed demo for 1511 N. Front Street, expressing concerns about taking down a building in the city’s historic district and replacing it with parking.
Council members Crystal Davis and Ausha Green voted in favor of approving a certificate of appropriateness to demo the building.
Currently, 1511 N. Front St. consists of a 5,144-square-foot, two-story building. Owner Guy Cipriano of New Jersey-based EI Realty proposed demolishing the building and expanding the current parking lot.
“Just knocking down a building and not putting anything back is something I don’t think our city needs at this time,” said council member Lamont Jones. “We really need business and living space.”
The proposal for a certificate of appropriateness to demo the building, built in 1957, was denied by the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board in April. The applicant filed an appeal to have the application reviewed by council, according to City Solicitor Neil Grover.
At a previous council meeting, attorney Esch McCombie, representing the applicant, noted that the property, as well as the owner’s adjacent building at 1515, have both been vacant for over 20 months. The owners believe that the building at 1511 is “not leasable” as it is outdated and has an undesirable second floor with low ceilings, McCombie said. Renovating the building would be too costly, he said.
While the building is in the historic district, McCombie argued that the structure’s architecture was a “knock off” of another style that didn’t match with many of the district’s other buildings that dated to the 1920s.
However, City Planner Geoffrey Knight argued at a previous meeting that tearing down the building would negatively impact the city.
“In my opinion, driving down Front Street […] the worst parts of these historic districts are the ones where structures have been demolished for surface parking,” he said. “When you demolish a structure and put down parking it’s very rare that that ever gets redeveloped here in the city. Tearing down a building is really a last resort.”
Council also voted on Tuesday to recognize Reservoir Drive as Destry E. Mangus Way, which will serve as a secondary, ceremonial street name. Mangus, affectionately known as “Des,” worked for the State House of Representatives as the chief sergeant of arms and in the Harrisburg School District as a special education paraprofessional and coach. Mangus has also served as a volunteer in the community for over 40 years, spearheading local sports and youth development programs.
City Council members and Destry Mangus (third from left)
City Council will host an unveiling of the secondary street sign on Aug. 10. Also that day, council will unveil Mangus’ portrait and name being installed on the basketball court in Reservoir Park. Council will also kick off the Des Mangus Classic, which runs from Aug. 10 to 11 and includes a basketball tournament, food trucks and entertainment.
Also on Tuesday, council appointed Joel Seiders, city engineer, to the Coordinating Committee and the Technical Committee of the Harrisburg Area Transportation Study (HATS). Additionally, they appointed Todd Webb to the Coordinating Committee and as an alternate to the Technical Committee.
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