Harrisburg Regional Chamber and CREDC CEO Ryan Unger presented to the ICA on Wednesday.
The downtown Harrisburg perception survey has received more than 4,000 responses, according to a key leader in revitalization plans for the city’s struggling downtown.
Ryan Unger, president and CEO of the Harrisburg Regional Chamber and the Capital Region Economic Development Corporation (CREDC), spoke about the responses at an Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority meeting Wednesday.
“There are concerns with cleanliness and safety,” Unger said. “That’s not different than we’ve seen in other towns.”
In February, the PA Downtown Center released the survey. It was shared by several entities backing the project, including CREDC, the city, and area legislators. It was also posted by the city, sent to school district parents, and sent to state employees by the commonwealth.
Unger said that one of the things the survey found is that people love Harrisburg’s concert series, Artsfest and Kipona, all of which bring people downtown. But the big events take a lot of time, effort and capital to pull off.
Unger said planners wonder if the downtown can develop more small-scale events and create more third spaces.
“Pop-up parks, pop-up beer gardens, for example,” Unger said. They’re also thinking on how to make Market Square a “hub” for the city.
Unger said engagement numbers with the survey far surpassed planners’ initial goal of 1,500 responses and that more than 800 survey-takers left their emails, so planners could tap them for further conversation as planning moves forward.
Unger said the responses will guide policy decisions, economic development priorities and public-private partnerships. They will also help planners identify early implementation wins—like office to residential conversions, streetscape improvements, or gateway projects—that could be quickly completed.
According to Unger, planners have been conducting one-on-one “stakeholder” interviews with key city and community leaders. And more conversations with community stakeholders are underway.
Ryan Unger (right) and the ICA board
In May, he said, they plan to hold focus groups with groups of office workers, residents, state workers, small business owners, arts and entertainment leaders, and more.
In June and July, planners hope to hold public workshops “all over the city” that will allow them to have small group conversations with people about things like green spaces, walkability, programming and resident livability
Unger said that, at the end of the summer, planners hope to potentially enroll Harrisburg in a Main Street program that would allow Harrisburg to get priority funding from the state for the downtown plan.
“You need to have a five-year revitalization strategy as part of that, and also more formalized vision statements and mission statements for what our goals will be downtown,” Unger noted.
The ICA has contributed $50,000 to the planning efforts. In March, CREDC was awarded $350,000 to begin early implementation improvement projects, and the state gave $75,000 to the Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District (DID) to extend its safety measures during evenings and weekends downtown. Unger said that increased patrolling began immediately.
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