Rendering of “Harrisburg Plaza” (credit: McKissick Associates Architects)
Three Harrisburg projects have been selected to receive redevelopment grants, in the latest round of funding by the commonwealth.
On Friday, state Rep. Patty Kim (D-103) announced recipients of Redevelopment Capital Assistance Program (RACP) grants, an annual funding program run by the state Office of the Budget and targeted to acquiring and redeveloping “significant” projects.
According to Kim, the 2024 recipients include:
The Bridge HBG, $3 million: This project proposes redeveloping the former Bishop McDevitt High School on Market Street into a mixed-use eco-village. The grant is for infrastructure work, including demolition, waterproofing and restoration. The project, first announced in 2019, also received a $4 million RACP grant in 2022. The fate of the project, though, is uncertain as the property owner, Harrisburg-based William Penn Holdings, earlier this year stated that it’s trying to sell the 115,000-square-foot building. The Bridge had been leasing the property from William Penn.
Harrisburg Plaza, $1 million: This project proposes to redevelop the former Federal Building in downtown Harrisburg into a 162-unit apartment building with commercial retail spaces. The New Jersey-based owner, Yasser Hellel, has said he hoped to begin the project last summer, though no visible work has taken place.
Jewish Federation of Greater Harrisburg, $500,000. This project includes new construction of the “gymnatorium” at the Alexander Grass Campus for Jewish Life on N. Front Street. The two-story expansion of an existing building will include a pool, locker rooms, basketball court and kosher kitchen.
Kim also announced a $1 million grant for the Northeast Fire & Rescue Co.’s new fire station in Summerdale. The project is currently underway.
“These transformative projects will greatly enhance the quality of services available in our community,” said Kim, in a statement. “I’m proud to have assisted the recipients in securing this competitive funding and eagerly anticipate seeing these initiatives come to fruition.”
State RACP grants are reimbursement grants, meaning that recipients must first perform the work before being reimbursed for it, assuming the work meets the grant requirements.
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