Broad Street Market brick building
The Broad Street Market rebuild continues to slowly progress as Harrisburg stabilizes the shell of the fire-burned brick building.
Harrisburg this week shared an update on construction at the market, which began in September, saying that the project has taken “significant steps forward.”
The city noted that they have “engineer-stamped” grouting and shoring plans that will stabilize the soil and existing building walls to prep for pouring an interior footer and building new walls. Additionally, crews began building a new chiller structure yesterday that will contain the market’s cooling systems. The chiller will be located near the market, next to Millworks.
Rendering provided by the city of Harrisburg.
Also on site, masonry crews are repointing brick walls, electrical crews are installing electrical for lighting and the chiller, and carpenters are framing windows and reinforcing the roof overhang. Contractors are also removing concrete sidewalk on the south side of the market to replace dysfunctional infrastructure.
“These milestones represent meaningful progress and give us a clear and reliable roadmap for moving construction forward,” said Mayor Wanda Williams, in a statement. “We are committed to rebuilding the Broad Street Market with the strength, care, and longevity this historic space deserves.”
Also this week, the city announced that the courtyard between the two market buildings was closed and would remain fenced off for the rest of the project. The courtyard surface and stone benches had been demolished.
Rendering provided by the city of Harrisburg.
At a February Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) meeting, city Accounting Manager Brian McCutcheon shared that the estimated market rebuild cost totaled $20.8 million. He also provided updated financial information and projections.
As of that meeting, Harrisburg had received $4.9 million from insurance, with $1 million of that allocated to the temporary tent. Another $1.3 came from the Host Municipalities Fee fund and the Capital Projects fund. Another $1.3 in accumulated interest came from the State Grants fund. To fill the large funding gap, Harrisburg in September moved $14.4 million into its general fund, with the hope that not all of that would need to be used, as more insurance money is expected.
McCutcheon has estimated that Harrisburg will get closer to $11.7 million from insurance when it’s all said and done, and another several million from federal CDBG funds. That would bring the amount coming from the general fund closer to $4 million, he estimated.
Initially, the market rebuild was projected to take 18 to 20 months. The city said that it could not share any updates on the timeline as it is dependent on current work. Within the next month, they should have an update, the city said.
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
