As Harrisburg University of Science and Technology continues to grow, it has been slowly acquiring housing for students to its downtown campus at 326 Market St., the latest is a 10-year lease on the Kunkel Building, just down the block.
The 98-year-old office building, nine-stories high with a terra cotta tile exterior, is undergoing renovations for 40 to 50 market-rate apartments by Dan Deitchman, president of Brickbox Development Ltd. Last year, he converted the old Governor’s Hotel at 4th and Market, renamed Residence on Market, into student housing for HU.
The university and Deitchman signed an agreement in March on leasing eight floors – the top six for housing 84 students and the second and third floors for the school’s business incubator.
Deitchman stressed that the students will not be housed in dormitory-style units, but full-fledged apartments complete with kitchens. “These are apartments,” he said.
The developer plans about $4 million in renovations that will include new heating, ventilation and air conditioning and plumbing systems. The 39,000-square-foot building, at 301 Market St., will be renamed Market View Place.
Deitchman, who also renovated Riverview Manor on Front Street and is in the process of restoring the Furlow Building in Midtown, intends to lease the 4,400-square-foot ground floor for commercial use such as a retail shop or restaurant.
University officials see this latest addition for student housing a plus for the city and the economy. The building will remain on the city’s tax rolls while bringing more than 80 students downtown to spend money at local venues.
With Residence on Market and Market View Place, the university this fall will have housing available for about 180 students, which Dr. Eric Darr, HU’s executive vice president and provost, said is needed.
“We’re well on track to seat over 200 freshman – just freshman – for the coming fall,” Darr said, noting 80 percent of the students are coming from more than 50 miles away. “We’re going to be close to capacity.”
Total enrollment this fall including graduate students is expected to be between 400 and 500 students, Darr said. As enrollment grows, the school is preparing for the likelihood of a third student-housing building sometime in 2014.
“If recruiting for the fall of 2013 is significantly more than we think, then we’re going to have a choice to make,” Darr said.
