Local officials and project partners ceremonially broke ground on Bethel Village on Tuesday.
Some Harrisburg seniors in need of housing should soon have another option.
Local and state officials on Tuesday ceremonially broke ground on Bethel Village, an affordable housing development for seniors planned for the 1000-block of N. 6th Street.
“This feels great,” said Ryan Sanders, co-founder of Harrisburg-based RB Development, the developer of the project. “This project is not just an affordable housing project, but a beacon of hope for the Black community that looks to be a catalyst to provide jobs and economic opportunity for developers that look just like them.”
Construction began two weeks ago for Bethel Village, which will be built on the corner of N. 6th and Herr streets at the former site of the Bethel AME church that burned down in 1995. The 46,000-square-foot building will include 49 one- and two-bedroom affordable units, as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Senior citizens, 62 years old and above, will be able to apply for housing likely by the spring of 2024, Sanders said.
Harrisburg City Council approved the $19 million project in September 2021. Since then, the pandemic, among other challenges pushed back the groundbreaking date, Sanders said.
According to Sanders, the project will likely be completed in September 2024.
Partners on the project include the nonprofit arm of the Harrisburg Housing Authority, Paladin Development, Gardner Capital and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), among others.
“This is something that’s needed in the community,” said Ryan Unger, CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber & CREDC. “This project adds inventory to the market and that’s critical.”
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