The Federal Building in downtown Harrisburg
An international investor who recently bought a landmark downtown Harrisburg building says he has plans to turn it into an apartment and nightlife complex.
In an email to TheBurg, Justin Etzin, principal of Global Ocean Investments Ltd., said that he plans to transform the Ronald Reagan Federal Building into “The Federal,” a 288-unit “luxury” apartment building.
“The ex-Federal building sits at the corner point of the Pennsylvania Capitol Complex in Harrisburg and offers spectacular views across the city,” said Etzin, founder and CEO of Global Ocean Investments, which is based in the Seychelles, an island nation in the Indian Ocean. “We aim to create the most desirable residential address in Harrisburg with cutting edge separate facilities you would normally see in an international five-star hotel.”
The company’s website lists several other projects, including one in the Bahamas.
In the email, Etzin said that he is a Seychelles diplomat currently serving as a special envoy, having previously carried out three terms as his country’s consul general/tourism ambassador in New York.
Under the name RRF Building LLC, Etzin bought the 56-year-old, 251,000-square-foot modernist structure for $10 million from the U.S. government in a sale that closed last week.
On Thursday, TheBurg reported that the building was immediately back on the sales market, at a price of $22 million.
Etzin confirmed that the building is listed for sale. However, he characterized the listing as “standard practice” while he brings investors on board and gets the project underway.
“It is a standard practice to list all buildings for sale whilst the project is in planning and development stage,” he stated. “Quite often, our projects attract other investors who partner with us or buy out the project. However, the project will continue in its current concept and continue to develop whilst planning and zoning permissions are achieved.”
Etzin said that he expects to begin the project once the federal government vacates the building.
Currently, the U.S. General Services Administration is putting the finishing touches on the new federal courthouse, which is expected to open later this year at N. 6th and Reily streets in Midtown Harrisburg. Other federal government agencies with workers based in Harrisburg also will need to move to new offices.
Etzin said that he plans a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom units for the building at 228 Walnut St. In addition, the building will feature two restaurants and two bars, he said.
“This development will be a first for Harrisburg with a concept for a rooftop with two restaurants and ‘The Sky Bar’ which can be accessed up via a panoramic elevator directly to the roof terrace or straight down to the former court rooms which will house an incredible restaurant and below a speakeasy bar ‘the boiler room,’ which is located deep in the caverns of this former Federal building,” he said.
The plan also includes a health club, co-working space and a rooftop pool, he said.
“The roof level will feature an outdoor negative edge rooftop heated pool with two very special restaurants—one with an internationally acclaimed Michelin Star chef to create a fine dining experience and one being an upmarket casual restaurant with one of Harrisburg’s top existing restaurants moving into the space,” he said.
The project, he said, should be completed in 2024 or 2025.
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