The Federal Building in downtown Harrisburg
Harrisburg’s Federal Building has sold to an out-of-state buyer, though it’s unclear what plan the purchaser has for the downtown structure.
On Feb. 8, an entity called 1422 Route 179 Florida Realty LLC, bought the boxy, 11-story building for $13.13 million from Delaware-based RRF Building LLC, according to Dauphin County property records.
RRF is owned by Global Ocean Investments, a company based in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Africa.
Global Ocean had purchased the building a year ago from the federal government at auction for $10 million. Following the purchase, company CEO Justin Etzin unveiled an ambitious plan to convert the building into a 200-unit luxury apartment building, along with a high-end, rooftop restaurant, a fitness center, movie theater and salon.
However, in November, Etzin put the 251,000-square-foot, 57-year-old building back up for auction. He previously had listed the property twice for sale, once for $22 million and again for $18 million, though he insisted, as of last June, that he still planned to complete the building’s redevelopment.
A contact for Global Ocean could not be reached immediately for comment, nor could TheBurg reach the purchaser.
According to Florida corporation records, the contact for 1422 Route 179 Florida Realty LLC is Yasser Halal of Old Bridge, N.J., though the company’s “principal address” is listed as being on Bay Ridge Avenue in Brooklyn, N.Y.
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is putting the finishing touches on a new federal courthouse at N. 6th and Reily streets in Harrisburg, eliminating the need for its downtown building. It also plans to move employees from other federal agencies who currently work in the building to other locations.
In December, federal, state and local officials ceremonially cut the ribbon on the new Sylvia H. Rambo U.S. Courthouse, though it was not yet occupied.
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