3rd Street Repaving Set
The repaving of 3rd Street in Harrisburg should begin in July, with disruptions expected along the major corridor, the city said last month.
“Bear with us,” City Engineer Wayne Martin said. “I think everyone is so excited that we are paving roads. However, we are going to try to minimize the inconvenience.”
Construction crews will repave 3rd Street in chunks. Work will take place in these three sections: Chestnut Street to Forster Street, Forster Street to Muench Street and Maclay Street to Seneca Street.
The project will skip the recently repaved strip of 3rd Street in front of the Capitol complex. However, most of the street has not been repaved in 20 years.
Crews will pave at night to minimize road closures that could disrupt commuters, Martin said, adding that loud work, such as jackhammering, will occur during daytime hours to minimize disturbances for residents.
“[It’s] a balancing act,” he said.
Curb extensions called bump outs will include green infrastructure elements designed to filter storm water. More than 120 trees placed in specially designed planters will naturally filter contaminants before entering the city’s water infrastructure. In addition, crews will install more than 150 ramps that comply with accessibility standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act, Martin said.
Updates to six traffic signals will ease crossings for pedestrians, Martin said. The updates will include chirping noises to indicate safe crossing times. Traffic signals will be retimed in a way that’s designed to allow pedestrians to cross safer, he said.
Bus stops will be moved to safer locations and, in some instances, consolidated for efficiency, Martin said.
For the project, the city obtained more than $3 million in grants from PennDOT and Impact Harrisburg, a nonprofit set up as part of the Harrisburg Strong Plan. Impact Harrisburg awarded Capitol Region Water $500,000 for the project’s storm water management aspects.
Comp Plan Back on Track
After a thrown-out consultant contract and more than a year of delay, city officials have laid out a timeline to get Harrisburg’s comprehensive plan to the finish line.
Last month, city officials said a draft of the document would be released for public comment in June. They expect the final version to be ready in November.
City Council members last month spent much of a three-hour meeting teasing out how a $200,000 consultant’s contract, which still has not yielded a draft document, became so behind schedule.
After the city did not receive a final comprehensive plan draft by a March 2016 deadline, communication between city officials and urban design consultant Bret Peters slowly broke down, ending with the city terminating Peters’ contract, said city officials.
After a negotiation process, the city made a final offer for Peters to complete the project, said City Solicitor Neil Grover. With no response, the city terminated the contract, he said.
For his part, Peters outlined numerous reasons for the delay, giving council a stapled document explaining why his team’s work was not complete by last year’s deadline.
Paint, Repairs for Bandshell
Reservoir Park’s bandshell will receive a fresh coat of paint and general repairs this month as City Council unanimously approved a resolution to move forward with the $50,000 project.
The city hired Steelton-based Kemar, Inc. to repair wood, paint, fix the flooring and perform other general maintenance and repairs. These updates will make the bandshell more appealing to performance groups looking to rent the space, said city Purchasing Manger Hillary Greene.
“[After these updates], we feel better about renting it out,” she said.
Gamut Theatre’s annual Shakespeare in the Park is slated to be the first to use the refurbished venue in June. The contractor aims to finish repairs before the performance, said Parks and Recreation Director Kevin Sanders.
The bandshell also needs updates to light and sound systems, which may be in the cards for this year, Sanders said. His department plans to install a video security system at the bandshell in the hope of protecting the area from vandalism.
Fire Protection Funds Nixed
The state House last month passed a budget that did not include any payment to Harrisburg for fire protection services.
For the past four years, the state has paid the city $5 million annually as compensation for fire and emergency services to protect about 50 tax-exempt state buildings within the city.
Harrisburg Mayor Eric Papenfuse said that, if the city does not receive the funds, which comprises about 8 percent of its general fund, it will need to lay off public safety workers.
The payment was included in Gov. Tom Wolf’s draft budget, but was taken out by the House, as it tries to close a $3 billion budget deficit.
At press time, the state Senate still needed to pass a budget bill.
Home Sales Climb
Home sales in the Harrisburg area continued their years-long upward trend, rising 18.3 percent in March.
Sales totaled 766 units versus 647 in March 2016, according to the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors (GHAR). The median price rose to $160,000 from $155,000 in the year-ago period.
In Dauphin County, 265 homes sold for a median price of $140,000 compared to 233 sales for $136,000 in March 2016. In Cumberland County, 246 homes sold at a median price of $190,150, versus 214 units at $179,950 the previous March.
In Perry County, 23 houses sold for a median price of $132,900. In March 2016, 26 homes sold at a median price of $139,950.
GHAR covers all of Dauphin, Cumberland and Perry counties and parts of York, Lebanon and Juniata counties.
So Noted
Alison Hays was named last month as the new executive director of Theatre Harrisburg. She replaces Brett Bernardini who resigned last month after serving 20 months on the job.
Harrisburg last month unveiled a new “Welcome to Harrisburg” sign at N. 2nd and Paxton streets near the ramps for I-83. PinnacleHealth paid for the $60,000 sign, which includes a digital LED screen that the city and Pinnacle are sharing.
PinnacleHealth Auxiliary last month held a ribbon cutting for recent renovations to the Bailey House Annex, a facility on Washington Street in Harrisburg that offers free accommodations to families of hospital patients. Improvements include two additional bedrooms, central air conditioning and an entrance between the main house and the annex.
Changing Hands
Bellevue Rd., 1957: C. Chase & A. Baylor to M. Peters, $44,800
Brady St., 25: Habitat for Humanity Greater Harrisburg Area to Ma Ambashakti LLC, $33,500
Briarcliff Rd., 211: Donald L. Pong Trust to S. Ayala, K. Morrison & J. Stevens, $150,000
Brookwood St., 2449: Federal National Mortgage Assoc. to D. Tu, $32,015
Chestnut St., 2223: M. Bauer to S. Rock, $164,900
Emerald St., 220: Wells Fargo Bank NA to C. Shokes, $35,000
Emerald St., 232: T. Janz to D&F Realty Holdings LP, $116,000
Fulton St., 1707: C. Hutchinson to K. Herbe, $106,000
Green St., 2210: E. & T. Stelzer to T. Matthews, $41,000
Green St., 3121: 8219 Ventures LLC to G. Rosenberg, $100,000
Hamilton St., 501½: Dobson Family Partnership to Z. Yap, $34,900
Harris St., 244: Harris Street United to Trinity Church of God, $200,000
Herr St., 108: N. & A. Hays to L. Roper & E. Lupico, $164,000
Hudson St., 1116: E. Rider to E. Beachler, $92,000
Industrial Rd., 3700: KTR Harrisburg LLC to Supervalu Penn LLC, $37,054,000
Jefferson St., 2155: C. Torres to B. Torres, $50,000
Lenox St., 2003: D. & D. Koppenhaver to O. Ordaz, $55,500
Logan St., 1721: C. Johns & R. Miller to L. Castillo, $150,000
Logan St., 2421: K. Macrate to J. & C. Stowell, $74,900
Maclay St., 1001: M. Daley & B. Morris to 101 S. 17th Street LLC, $1,125,000
Market St., 1842: Centric Bank to Adonis Real Estate LLC, $30,000
Muench St., 200: D. Pennyweather et al to Penn Home LLC, $35,000
Naudain St., 1642: R. Page to L. Cooper, $53,700
2nd St., 2615: TBF Properties LLC to E. Smith & H. Williams, $173,000
2nd St., 2921: J. Hartzler & K. Werley to D. Skerpon, $360,000
3rd St., 1712: R. & J. Mensch to J. Yonker, $101,000
3rd St., 1935 & 1932 Logan St.: Monte Design Studio LLC to D. Goodwin, $230,000
3rd St., 3104: M. Horgan & R. Kushner to B. McClain, $104,000
4th St., 3013: Orrstown Bank to T. Wylie, $36,000
5th St., 2459: D. Floyd to D. Young, $65,000
16th St., 47: 3405 Associates LLC to B. Shephard, $41,000
16th St., 719 & 721: K. & R. Thames to J. Gulbin, $140,000
Front St., 407: Dobson Family Partnership to VMV Luxury Real Estate LLC, $800,000
Front St., 1525, Unit 503: R. Davis Jr. to Dowell Group Inc., $112,000
Front St., 2705: G. & P. Lightman to MBS Solutions Real Estate LLC $160,000
Oakwood Rd., 2301: K. Snow to PI Capitol LLC, $156,901
Peffer St., 211: M. Barrette to K. Scheib, $74,900
Peffer St., 230: J. Aiello to Keystone Brothers Investments LLC, $125,000
Penn St., 1210: J. & S. Bircher to Senior Parking LLC, $95,000
Penn St., 1521: M. Levy & A. Couloumbis to M. Lipke, $139,900
Penn St., 1601: N. Wyatt to P. & L. Wenrich, $137,000
Penn St., 1721: D. Myers to PA Deals LLC, $80,000
Penn St., 1818: W. & K. Van Jura to C. Schroll, $77,000
Pennwood Rd., 3160: Federal National Mortgage Assoc. to J. Bush, $62,000
Reily St., 211: Secretary of Housing & Urban Development & Information Systems Networks Corp. to K. Secrest, $35,300
3rd St., 13: G. & W. Kotsalos to Dewberry LLC, $140,000
13th St., 347: CNT Enterprises to Q. Phillips, $70,000
22nd St., 15: D. Giusti Jr. to B. & C. Zandieh, $119,000
24th St., 625: H. Dinh to J. Clancy, $69,900
Front St., 713: S. & C. Cherry to E. Kitzman, $155,000
Zarker St., 2046: C. & G. Gallagher to R. Pollard, $50,000
Harrisburg property sales for March 2017, greater than $30,000. Source: Dauphin County. Data is assumed to be accurate.
Author: Lawrance Binda
