Bikes stand ready for riders at the Broad Street Market
Once upon a time, we featured a column called “Burg Bits,” which were nuggets of information that we unearthed from our wanderings about town. We thought it might be time to resurrect that feature, at least on an occasional basis.
Bike Share Back
A few months ago, we broke the story that Harrisburg again would have a bike share, now called the SusqueCycle Regional Bikeshare program. The first bikes were just deployed, with a soft launch over this weekend and a press conference slated for Monday. The city has been without a bike share since the previously provider, Zagster, went out of business after the pandemic hit in 2020. The new program, organized by the Tri-County Regional Planning Commission, is launching with six locations in Harrisburg, with suburban locations expected to be announced later.
New Market Manager
For months, the Broad Street Market board has been searching for a new executive director, as this top post has been vacant since early 2022. We’ve now been told that a new manager has been hired and will begin next week. Look for more details as the appointment is officially announced. Meanwhile, the former market executive director, Josh Heilman, hasn’t traveled far, just across 3rd Street. He’s joined the team at Radish & Rye, a grocery that itself started within the confines of the market.
Welcome the Moose
Last week, we broke the story that the Midtown Tavern would close following a sale of the popular 2nd Street eatery to Adam Sturges, the owner of both the Sturges Speakeasy and McGrath’s Irish Pub. At the time, Adam confirmed to us that he had bought the burger/wings/beer joint and would reopen with a few (but not too many) changes, pending the transfer of the liquor license and some building updates. At the time, though, he declined to reveal the name of his latest acquisition. The liquor license placard, however, reveals the new name to be The Mad Moose, a moniker confirmed by a recent Pennlive story.
Apartments for Capital Joe?
“Micro-apartments” may be in store for the former location of Capital Joe coffeehouse on the 400-block of Forster Street. A company called Zomelle Properties is requesting zoning relief to carve eight small apartments out of the 3,728-square-foot double building, situated just across the street from the Capitol complex. The project may face an uphill battle, as the city’s Planning Bureau has recommended denial of the variance, which is needed because unit sizes do not conform to the city’s zoning regulations. According to Zomelle’s website, the company specializes in short-term, furnished rental units, as well as shared apartments.
Land of Learning
We’re a little late on this one, but, back in August, the Pennsylvania STEAM Academy Charter School purchased the storied Evangelical Press Building for $8 million from GreenWorks Development. The PA STEAM Academy has occupied the former HACC Midtown 2 building since the charter school opened last year, with plans to expand grades and student enrollment eventually to occupy the entire century-old, 80,000-square-foot building. We reported the sale in this month’s magazine, but felt it needed a bit more ink (or pixels). Speaking of schools and land, the Catherine Hershey School for Early Learning also made a big purchase in August, buying a large chunk of property for its future school for $3 million from the Buonarroti Trust. They plan to build a day care and early learning center at N. 6th and Muench streets.
Web Apologies
Lastly, we’d like to express our apologies to our online readers who may have had trouble accessing our website late last week and early this week. A server crash disabled, and then limited, our online presence for a few days. However, repairs and upgrades have been made, so we’re confident in our ability to keeping serving you the news on a daily basis. Thanks for your understanding!
If you like what we do, please support our work. Become a Friend of TheBurg!
