State Sen. Patty Kim, along with city, state and local officials, shared updates on downtown revitalization efforts on Tuesday.
Plans to revitalize downtown Harrisburg got a boost of funding from the state on Tuesday.
Pennsylvania lawmakers announced two state grants to support downtown safety and improvement planning, at a press conference in Strawberry Square.
The Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC) was awarded $350,000 to begin early implementation improvement projects, one of the first steps in its planning process. Additionally, the state gave $75,000 to the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (DID) to extend its safety measures during evenings and weekends downtown.
“This type of investment, this type of planning is really, really important,” said Deputy Secretary of the state Department of Community and Economic Development Rick Vilello. “The governor isn’t the most patient person. So, we have to start delivering quickly and get stuff done.”
Currently, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC, along with other stakeholders and the city, are working with Pennsylvania Downtown Center (PDC) to develop a plan to address downtown, which has struggled post-COVID.
Ryan Unger, president of the chamber, said that the chamber is currently finishing up a public survey process, interviewing stakeholders, conducting focus groups and will soon be hosting community forums. All of the data collected will inform PDC’s plan for downtown, he said.
The $350,000 from the state will help kickstart initial projects, like surveying N. 2nd Street for eventual streetscape upgrades or paying for estimates for office-to-residential conversions.
The money will serve as an “accelerant,” Unger said, that will help planning get done quicker and more efficiently.
The chamber also previously received $50,000 from the Harrisburg Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (ICA) for bringing the PDC on board.
“These investments build on the collective momentum and consensus we have been building over the last few months,” said state Sen. Patty Kim.
(From left) Rep. Dave Madsen (D-104), DID Director Todd Vander Woude and Sen. Patty Kim.
Additionally, the $75,000 given to the DID will help cover the costs for police presence downtown, allowing them to extend from four hours of evening coverage to five, said DID Executive Director Todd Vander Woude. DID pays off-duty police for a walking detail downtown to focus on a “community policing effort,” he said.
“The purpose of this is really a police presence and visibility for downtown Harrisburg,” he said. “These officers will walk around, do business checks, answer any questions from customers, visitors, residents.”
Unger said that he believes there will be opportunities to partner with the state in future planning phases, as the governor has expressed support for revitalization.
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