This former hardware store will be renovated to accommodate a high-end rug business, while the blighted buildings on the right are slated to become shops.
A company from the Washington, D.C., area plans to relocate their custom and designer area rug business to Harrisburg, setting up the transformation of a key commercial block in Midtown.
The principals of the company, Zachary Nitzan and Tahirih Alia, will move their headquarters to a building on the 1400-block of N. 3rd St., formerly the home of Midtown Paint & Hardware, across from the Susquehanna Art Museum.
The company plans to renovate the historic, 9,000-square-foot space to accommodate a showroom on the first floor and office and modern-industrial workspace on the second floor. The third floor will be gallery and event space, hosting local art events and showcases regularly, said Alia.
The building at 1408 N. 3rd St. was built in 1905 as the West End Republican Club. In the 1970s, it became a hardware store, Mary Carter Paint Center, followed, in 1988, by Midtown Paint & Hardware. In 2014, GreenWorks Development bought the building, proposing to turn it into a U-GRO Learning Center, part an initiative called “Education Row,” an idea now abandoned by GreenWorks CEO Doug Neidich.
As part of their deal with Neidich, Nitzan and Alia also bought two small storefronts adjacent to the building, which they plan to restore as boutique shops. In addition, they purchased two empty lots on Susquehanna Street directly in back of the main building.
Nitzan and Alia operate two distinct businesses, ModernRugs.com and Christopher Fareed Design Studios. ModernRugs.com retails modern area rugs, curating thousands of upscale, modern furniture and area rugs, while Christopher Fareed is an exclusive design label that serves a modern boutique/luxury hospitality clientele, said Nitzan.
The principals plan to move their headquarters permanently to Harrisburg in several months, when renovations are complete.
Principals Tahirih Alia and Zachary Nitzan with sales director Tara Clugston of ModernRugs.com.
Change is coming quickly to the 1400-block of N. 3rd. Two months ago, a long-time bar, the Taproom, closed after the city denied it a 2016 business license. At the other end of the block, MX Cocina, a small Tex-Mex eatery, opened yesterday in the Campus Square building, adjacent to Brother’s Pizzeria. And, just around the corner at 263 Reily St., a new Indian restaurant received approval on Monday from the city’s Zoning Hearing Board to open in the location once occupied by the restaurants Nonna’s and Cribari’s.
Nitzan and Alia said they’ve been enamored with Harrisburg for years, ever since they came through the city after a drive through Amish country.
“We were driving through and saw the bridges and said to each other, ‘Let’s go visit,’” said Nitzan. “We came into this city, and I said, ‘I can move here. I can live here.’”
Since then, company staff has visited Harrisburg many times, eventually looking into property. They said they were “shocked” at how cheap real estate was compared to the Washington, D.C., area.
Visiting Midtown, they spied the former hardware store, which wasn’t even on the market. Their realtor, Cathy Bonitz-Eakin, contacted Neidich, and they reached a deal quickly, said Nitzan.
The multiple sales closed last week, and the team expects to begin the renovation shortly, hoping to move their business to Harrisburg in the summer. The first floor requires complete rehabilitation, as does the exterior, which years ago, was marred when a modern “skin” was bolted on to the historic brick front.
The second and third floors, however, are in relatively good shape, the lucky victim of benign neglect, as they’ve been basically untouched since the Republican Club moved up the street decades ago.
“Midtown is amazing; it’s gorgeous,” said Nitzan. “It’s like Georgetown at clearance prices.”
That description may surprise some in Harrisburg, but Nitzan points to a myriad of urban amenities to make his point, including the Millworks, Midtown Scholar Bookstore, Little Amps Coffee Roasters and the Broad Street Market—things as good as you’ll find in any city, he said.
“It’s been a long love affair with this city,” added Alia. “It’s such a beautiful place.”
Nitzan and Alia said they are eager to hire staff for their new Harrisburg headquarters. The staff will consist of a core team of Harrisburg-based employees—a mix of graphic designers, local artists and sales staff who will manage the showroom and online presence, brand promotion, product selection and customer relations. Their company culture is one that promotes collaboration, creativity and community engagement, they said.
Learn more about these businesses by visiting https://new.modernrugs.com and www.christopherfareed.com.
