Harrisburg City Council
At a Tuesday council meeting, a development project got the green light and officials with a senior center continued to ask council for funding.
City Council approved a plan to renovate a vacant office building at 315 N. Front St. and turn it into apartments, called Front Street Lofts. Developer Vernon Jones plans to convert the building into an eight-unit apartment building with six one-bedroom units and two two-bedroom units. Of the units, two will be designated as affordable housing. There will be 10 parking spaces provided for the building, four on-site and six off-site.
Les Ford
Additionally, prior to the council meeting, Les Ford, executive director of the Heinz-Menaker Senior Center in Harrisburg, held a press conference in city hall to urge council to give the center funding. Ford also addressed council on the matter during the public comment period and has done so several times before.
Harrisburg’s administration previously proposed giving the center $250,000 of its federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money, an allotment that was designated for senior programming. However, council has expressed concern with the proposal to give all of the funds for senior programs to one organization, and questioned why the city didn’t open an application process for the money.
Ford had previously said that without the city funds, the senior center would likely run out of money to operate by the beginning of 2025. However, at his press conference on Tuesday evening, he said that without the funds, the center could keep its doors open until June, but would have to cut several of its services.
“I don’t understand the reluctance to move forward,” Ford said. “It did not have to come to this.”
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
