Dog Park Proposed
Terriers and hounds soon may displace groundhogs and squirrels from a block of long-empty land in Midtown, as plans are afoot for Harrisburg’s first public dog park.
The community group Friends of Midtown is raising about $18,000 to cover two years of expenses for the off-leash park, which would be created on a grassy, three-quarter-acre expanse at N. 7th and Granite streets.
“We have the enthusiastic support of the city, the planning bureau,” said Annie Hughes, who is spearheading the effort for Friends of Midtown with her husband Andy. “Everybody’s all in, essentially.”
The Vartan Group owns the lot and has agreed to a two-year commitment, Hughes said. Friends of Midtown should hear soon on the fate of a grant application from PPL Electric and also is soliciting funds from individuals. It hopes to have the park, which would be free and open to the public, ready by spring 2018.
Plans call for a fence to ring the lot, which would be divided into two areas—one for large dogs and the other for small dogs. Dog waste bags would be available on site, and signs would be posted with the rules of the park.
The desire for a dog park in Harrisburg has come up repeatedly in recent years. Two years ago, it was the fifth most-popular suggestion among 1,200 ideas for inclusion in the city’s comprehensive plan, Hughes said.
She added that the dog park would be temporary, serving as a pilot for the city, which may use data collected from this effort to build a permanent park.
Jackson Hotel Mural
A new mural will celebrate Harrisburg’s African-American history, adorning the side of a building that once hosted such luminaries as Louis Armstrong and Pearl Bailey.
Sprocket Mural Works announced the project last month for the former Jackson Hotel and Rooming House on the 1000-block of N. 6th Street, a building that, decades ago, catered primarily to a black clientele refused service in the city’s major, segregated hotels.
“It will be an African-American historic mural, playing off the history itself,” said Sprocket co-founder Jeff Copus.
The Jackson Hotel painting is one of 10 murals that will be created during the Harrisburg Mural Festival, which Sprocket is organizing for the first 10 days of September.
Copus last month told the Harrisburg Architectural Review Board (HARB) that the mural will feature people who stayed at the hotel, possibly including entertainers like Armstrong, Bailey, Cab Callaway and Ella Fitzgerald. It may also incorporate images of important Harrisburg figures such as Ephraim Slaughter, an escaped slave who fought in the Civil War and later settled in the city.
In August, Sprocket will seek public input for the mural design, Copus said.
Sprocket is commissioning artist Cesar Viveros to paint the mural. Locally, Viveros is best known as the artist-in-residence who helped design and lead the creation of the Mulberry Street Bridge murals.
Stop the Drop
A small change to trashcan lids may cut the amount of litter on Harrisburg streets.
That’s the idea behind “Stop the Drop,” a campaign to turn home trashcans into, essentially, public trashcans.
The new lids are bright orange with a hole in the center that residents can attach to their trashcans, replacing their existing, solid lids. Pedestrians then can put litter into the can through the hole, rather than toss it in the street, said Julie Walter, neighborhood revitalization manager at Tri County Community Action, a part of the grassroots coalition Clean and Green Harrisburg.
A successful, three-month pilot run on 6th and Market streets convinced the coalition to roll out the lids citywide, Walter said.
“[We were] excited that people were actually using the lids,” she said about the trial run. “When we would go check them out, there would be coffee cups and chip bags in the cans. You can tell that there was actually a need.”
Later this month, residents citywide will be able to volunteer to swap their lids out with the new lids. These new lids work well with rowhome residents who place their trashcans at the front of their houses, she said.
King Mansion Sells
Harrisburg’s iconic Horace King Mansion sold last month, purchased by an engineering firm that plans to relocate there.
K & W Engineers, under the holding company name 2201 NFS LLC, purchased the building at 2201 N. Front St., along with several adjacent parcels, for $1.8 million from a group called 2201 Partnership, which had owned it since 2003.
The 10-person engineering and consulting firm expects to leave its current offices in Swatara Township and move into the building once renovations are completed this fall. To that end, CREDC provided a $325,000 Enterprise Zone Loan for improvements to the second floor.
The building also houses the marketing firm Sacunas, which moved into the first floor late last year.
Home Sales Up Again
Area home sales continued a years-long climb, as unit sales rose 4.4 percent in May, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors.
GHAR said that May sales totaled 948 units versus 908 houses in the year-ago period. The median price dipped to $170,000 compared to $174,900 in May 2016.
Dauphin County sales were strong, with 355 units sold versus 297 in the year prior, with the median price unchanged at $155,000. In Cumberland County, 310 houses sold compared to 326 in May 2016, with the median price falling to $190,125 versus $193,950, said GHAR.
In Perry County, 43 houses sold versus 30 in the year prior, and the median price fell to $127,000 against $151,500 in May 2016, said GHAR.
GHAR covers Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.
So Noted
Andrew Guth of Harrisburg took first place in the category of “Work on Paper” at the 2017 “Art of the State,” a juried exhibit held each year at the State Museum of PA to honor the commonwealth’s best artwork. Guth is a Millworks and Burg artist, contributing the cover art for our May issue. You can see his winning entry, “Where We Used to Go When Everything Was Wrong (I Watched the Lilies Grow Until They Got Old),” with the rest of the exhibit, which runs through Sept. 10 at the State Museum.
Anna Rose Bakery & Coffee Shop opened last month at Walnut and N. 2nd streets in Harrisburg, featuring doughnuts, cupcakes, cookies and espresso drinks. The business, owned by Ron Kamionka, is located in the rear portion of the former Molly Brannigans Irish Pub, which closed almost three years ago.
Excelon Corp. is making plans to shutter Three Mile Island in 2019 absent policy reforms by the state legislature to make nuclear power more competitive. TMI employs 675 workers, most of whom would lose their jobs if the facility closed.
Freshido, a fast-casual restaurant specializing in Asian cuisine, is expected to land this fall in Strawberry Square, at the corner of N. 3rd and Market streets. The 50-seat eatery will occupy the 2,200-square-foot storefront long vacated by Plum Sport.
Harrisburg Downtown Improvement District launched “Discover the Ducks Downtown,” an outdoor art and beautification exhibit for the summer. Along with HDID, Harrisburg-based Sprocket Mural Works commissioned artists to paint 15 fiberglass ducks, which now can be seen throughout the downtown.
Harrisburg Hoopla, a field day of track-and-field activities, raised $5,500 last month for local nonprofits. Fourteen groups with 101 participants competed for select organizations in this first-ever charitable event, sponsored by Emerging Philanthropists Program, a partnership of TFEC and HYP.
Hershey Harrisburg Regional Visitor’s Bureau last month received a Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America. The award was for “Tourism in Your Town,” a series of advertorials that appeared in TheBurg throughout 2016.
PFM Asset Management signed a lease last month for 63,133 square feet of space in an office building at 213 Market St. in Harrisburg. By year-end, the firm plans to relocate its 150 employees from 100 Market St., where it has been for the past 20 years, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE Group, which represented the company.
Rite Aid has opened in Strawberry Square in downtown Harrisburg. The new, 14,000-square-foot store moved from cramped quarters across Market Street after a yearlong build-out.
Changing Hands
Adrian St., 2418: G. Brown to R. Ivey, $30,000
Balm St., 60: Kusic Financial Services LLC to OJK Enterprises, $32,000
Bellevue Rd., 1921: CNC Realty Group LLC to J. Romelfanger, $55,000
Berryhill St., 2202: PA Deals LLC to R. Narinesingh, $62,500
Berryhill St., 2316: D. & Y. Jiang to D. & L. Nguyen, $30,000
Boas St., 1925: P. Long to Resistance Properties LLC, $38,000
Camp St., 521: G. & S. Gallagher to K. Moralez, $30,000
Conoy St., 123: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Network Corp. to E. Fultz, $73,000
Elliot St., 1080, Lot 2: R. & C. Berger to A. Gerges, $250,000
Fox Ridge Ct., 307: B. Miler to C. Hoover, $121,500
Green St., 1007: R. Nicoli to J. & C. Nunley, $110,000
Green St., 1915: J. & K. Johnston to S. Williams, $207,900
Green St., 1930: A. Miller to I. Bailey, $205,000
Green St., 2013: L. Binda to M. Didone, $214,000
Green St., 2137: Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. Trustee to N. Morrison, $32,694
Green St., 2321: J. Yoder to Willowscott Investment LLC, $37,500
Hale Ave., 447: K. & L. Torres to D. Norris, $62,000
Hamilton St., 242: J. & J. Collins to P. Christensen, $150,309
Harris St., 207: MTGLQ Investors LP & Selene Finance LP to K. Clark, $117,900
Harris St., 344: MidAtlantic IRA LLC Phillip Sachs IRA to M. & A. Gilbert, $108,500
Herr St., 269: G. Thall to M. Berlin, $115,000
Hoffman St., 3221: W. Wood to N. Consagra & L. Umberger, $109,900
Holly St., 2006: W. Thompson III to SCC Ward Inc., 32,000
Kelker St., 427: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Networks Corp. to I. Jordan, $32,500
Kensington St., 2110 & 2116: Donald L. Pong Trust to M. & A. Robinson, $59,000
Lewis St., 237: J. Toro to M. Horgan & Innovative Devices Inc.., $43,500
Locust St., 202: AMTO LLC to Sturges Property Management LLC, $300,000
Luce St., 2320: EAD Associates LLC to S. Ginder, $38,000
Muench St., 278: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems & Network Corp. to H. & C. Foley, $44,06
N. 2nd St., 1522: J. Cantarell & A. Meck to K. Reiter, $164,000
N. 2nd St., 2323: LSFP Master Participation Trust to M. Horgan & CR Services Inc., 63,900
N. 2nd St., 2528: A. & C. Broadus to E. Pine & S. Ransome, $145,000
N. 4th St., 3119: R. & C. Steele to T. Gottshall, $123,500
N. 4th St., 3213: A. Semancik to G. Erdman & S. Ukodie, $120,000
N. 4th St., 3227: Central Penn Properties to T. Barnes, $142,000
N. 5th St., 2515: 2013 M&M Real Estate Fund LLC to T. & V. Williams, $129,900
N. 5th St., 2600: PA Deals LLC to S. & S. Aiken, $69,900
N. 7th St., 2714: M. Owens to L. Owens, $45,158
N. 14th St., 1206, 1314 N. 15th St. & 603 Benton St.: Kirsch & Burns LLC to Equity Trust Co. Custodian John Spencer IRA, $165,000
N. 15th St., 1340: MidAtlantic IRA LLC James Yeager IRA to Z. Yap, $39,000
N. 16th St., 1216: R. Urrutia to W. Jones, $110,000
N. 17th St., 1102: C. & N. Finnell to J. Martinez & T. Kobayashi, $33,500
N. Front St., 1525, Unit 605: A. Lenda to C. Carter, $173,500
Peffer St., 219: N. Braun to D. Wendt & S. Shultz, $122,000
Peffer St., 317: 1515 Associates to D. Berhe, $75,000
Penn St., 1605: R. Daniels to L, D. & R. Olenowski, $87,500
Reel St., 2416 & 2418: 24 Reel Street LLC to American Rental Home LLC, $52,000
Rudy Rd., 2454: J. & S. Merlina to J. Howard, $57,500
Sassafras St., 269 & 1112 Susquehanna St.: R. & J. Ruth to Major League Properties LLC, $60,000
Showers St., 605: H. Madsen to J. Moore, $163,900
South St., 122: Tang Liu Realty LLC to FA Realty LLC, $126,000
S. 2nd St., 316: WK Rentals to Diamond Real Estate Solutions LLC, $32,000
S. 13th St., 1456, 1460 & 1466: Davden Property Investments Inc. to 4880 East Prospect LLC, $66,000.
S. 16th St., 947: R. Splawn to L. Jackson, $30,000
S. 24th St., 623: K. & D. Brown to S. Jordan, $72,200
Swatara St., 2055: G. Barlow to S. Thomas, $34,500
Swatara St., 2413: J. Garisto to PI Capital LLC, $85,801
Verbeke St., 300: Kidder Wilkes LP to Silverstone Enterprises LLC, $215,000
Watson St., 2815: R. & A. Gates & C. Windham to LJ Realty Trust, $59,800
Harrisburg property sales for May 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.
Author: Lawrance Binda
