The site of the proposed federal courthouse in Harrisburg (file photo)
Pre-construction activity should begin in months on the site of the new U.S. courthouse in Harrisburg, according to a federal government spokesman.
Nick Smith, spokesman for the General Services Administration (GSA), District 3, said today that his agency anticipates “some site work preparation starting this summer.”
Site preparation typically involves the demolition and clearing of existing structures, as well as ground leveling and drainage work.
A GSA document obtained by TheBurg states that the agency anticipates actual construction of the building to begin next year, during fiscal year 2019. Smith, however, said that GSA isn’t able to set a firm start date until Congress appropriates the money for construction.
GSA needs about $137.2 million for the project’s construction and post-construction phases. That money is contained in the proposed 2018 federal budget. However, Congress has yet to pass a final spending bill for the fiscal year, which began last Oct. 1.
Smith added that GSA expects to conclude the project’s multi-year design phase, which precedes construction, in December. Once construction starts, the project should take about three years to complete, according to GSA.
The federal government began searching for a new home for the courthouse in Harrisburg some 15 years ago, after deeming that the current structure downtown, built in 1966, did not meet design and security standards.
In 2010, the government finally settled on a 4-acre site at N. 6th and Reily streets. However, the project has moved along slowly, given a boost only in the last two years after the area’s congressional delegation made it a priority.
The 243,000-square-foot courthouse will provide eight courtrooms, 11 chambers and 42 interior parking spaces. Congress has appropriated about $55.5 million for the project so far, bringing its total expected cost to $194.1 million.
Notably, GSA plans to dispose of the current, 12-story federal building at N. 3rd and Walnut streets once the new courthouse is in use. It expects to move remaining workers from other federal agencies into leased space, according to the document obtained by TheBurg.
“The existing Ronald Reagan Federal Building will be transferred out of the federally owned inventory upon occupancy of the new courthouse,” states the GSA document titled, “Fact Sheet—Construction of New U.S. Courthouse, Harrisburg, Pa.” “GSA intends to proceed with established disposal processes to transfer the property after the remaining federal tenants are relocated from the building into leased space.”
That building also houses a U.S. post office.
Once built, the new federal courthouse would join a new Pennsylvania State Archives building along the 6th Street corridor.
In November, the state completed the demolition and clearing phase for the Archives project at N. 6th, Harris and Hamilton streets, said Howard Pollman, director of external affairs for the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
The $24 million project’s next phase, installation of the utility infrastructure, is set to begin in July, with the building phase following in February or March 2019, Pollman said. A two-year construction phase is expected, he said.
The state Archives needs a new home after running out of space in its iconic, mid-1960s-era tower at Forster and Capital streets, Pollman has said.
