Gov. Tom Wolf (right) today announced a state redevelopment grant for a major project on a key block of Midtown Harrisburg, joined by state Sen. Rob Teplitz, Adam Porter of st@rtup Harrisburg, Alex Hartzler of WCI Partners and Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse.
A key renovation project in Midtown Harrisburg is expected to move rapidly to completion, as the state announced today that it will release funding to help finish the block-long historic rehabilitation at N. 3rd and Boas streets.
In a press conference, Gov. Tom Wolf announced that the developer, WCI Partners, will receive $3.5 million from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program, a state initiative that focuses on culturally and historically significant projects.
“We’re going to make sure that this project works, that courageous, hard-working people succeed,” said Wolf, who praised WCI for taking a risk to restore the long-vacant properties along the 900-block of N. 3rd Street. “We’re not going to let you down.”
The $8 million project consists of four buildings—the historic Harrisburg Moose Lodge Temple and three smaller townhouses, as well as a large parking lot.
WCI acquired the properties last year for $900,000 from Atlanta-based Mosaica Education, which had operated the Ron Brown Charter School there for five years. After its charter was not renewed in 2005, the school shut down, and the buildings have sat empty since then, boarded up and increasingly dilapidated.
WCI expects the 92-year-old, 38,000-square-foot Moose Lodge to open later this fall as a fully renovated, mixed-use building consisting of 33 one-bedroom apartments and commercial space. The 6,500-square-foot ground floor will be occupied solely by st@rtup Harrisburg, the city’s first co-working space, which is relocating from the 1500-block of N. 3rd Street.
WCI Principal Alex Hartzler said that much of the RACP money will go towards finishing the project, especially the renovation and expansion of the three townhouses.
The back portions of the townhouses were chopped off years ago to expand the Ron Brown School’s parking lot and provide a children’s play area. However, the buildings were not properly sealed, Hartzler said. In addition, they’ve sat empty for a dozen years, resulting in extensive water and infrastructure damage, he said.
“This has been a vacant spot in Midtown Harrisburg for over a decade,” Hartzler said. “With our team, we’re bringing it back to life.”
More than 100 years ago, the townhouses were constructed with commercial space on the ground floors and apartments upstairs. WCI will return them to this mixed-use format, and TheBurg plans to occupy the ground floor space of two of the townhouses, which should be ready for occupation early next year.
Hartzler said that the project appeals especially to the “creative class,” creative professionals like graphic designers, illustrators and content providers who might want to work in st@rtup’s space downstairs and live in the apartments upstairs.
“If you’re a part of the rapidly expanding freelance workforce, if you’re a budding entrepreneur thinking, ‘I have an idea, now what?’ we’re here to help,” said Adam Porter, st@tup Harrisburg co-founder, who stressed the area’s walkability and proximity to the Capitol complex as key assets.
The state had not released RACP money since 2014, even though it’s intended as an annual awards program. Several other Harrisburg-area groups, include Gamut Theatre Group and the Harrisburg City Islanders, have applied for RACP funds. Wolf said that funding for other projects will be announced soon.
The Harrisburg Moose Temple lodge was built in 1924, designed in the Beaux Arts style by renowned Harrisburg architect Clayton J. Lappley.
Disclosure: Alex Hartzler is publisher of TheBurg.
Author: Lawrance Binda
