A rendering of the proposed Tunnel to Towers project in south Harrisburg (credit: Tunnels to Towers Foundation)

A proposed veterans housing project in south Harrisburg has been given a key approval, though a disagreement over the future route of the Capital Area Greenbelt remains unresolved.

By a unanimous vote, the Harrisburg Planning Commission on Wednesday approved the land development plan by New York-based Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which proposes building a 64-unit building, along with 20 small, detached “comfort homes,” for homeless veterans and first responders along the Susquehanna River near the PennDOT building.

However, against the wishes of the foundation, the commission retained a city Planning Bureau condition that the project accommodate a “relocated footprint” for the Greenbelt along the southern boundary of the property.

“I am not hearing a solution or a resolution to address that condition otherwise,” said commissioner Anne Marek. “I’m also not hearing a solution to move forward with that condition. I understand there have been conversations, which is great, but I do not hear what we are requesting out of this evening.”

Last month, the foundation presented its land development plan to the commission. That meeting was continued to October so that the foundation could conduct “stakeholders” meetings both with residents of the nearby Shipoke neighborhood and members of Capital Area Greenbelt Association (CAGA).

Since then, both meetings have been held and, on Wednesday, CAGA’s board President Doug Hill told the commission that his group would abandon its effort to retain a path through the future Tunnel to Towers site. Instead, they would try to find an alternative route.

“We appear to be at a place where we cannot reach an accommodation on working the trail through the Tunnel to Towers property,” he said. “In a different place and time, we may have been able to work that out. Maybe sometime in the future that may be something that is workable, once they’re in and established and it becomes a neighborhood again instead of a construction site. But that does not seem to be something for the immediate future.”

Hill added that CAGA has retained an engineering firm to explore options for re-routing the trail. Currently, the trail is routed around the site, but that alternative traverses several heavily traveled city streets, so is not considered a viable long-term solution.

Hill told commission members that CAGA had “commitments” from Tunnel to Towers and the city for assistance in its relocation effort.

“Very candidly, some of the alternatives we’re looking at will be considerably more expensive than if we were able to use some of the existing trail system historically in south Harrisburg, but those are simply hurdles we will have to overcome in the short term,” said Hill, who added that CAGA is supportive of the Tunnel to Towers project.

City Solicitor Neil Grover affirmed that the city would help CAGA seek another route, but emphasized that it would not be done quickly, as alternatives traverse numerous different properties and owners, including land owned both by the commonwealth and Dauphin County.

“I would suggest there’s not just one path,” he said. “There are alternatives available. It’ll just take time.”

This response, though, did not satisfy commission members, who hoped to resolve the issue as part of the project approval process. Marek asked if a formal cooperation agreement had been signed, and Grover responded that there was no written agreement.

“If something is not put in writing, you’re forcing us to make a solution based on what’s being told,” Marek said.

In the end, the commission approved the land development plan but retained the condition that the Greenbelt be re-routed through the Tunnel to Towers site. The project, with that condition in place, now goes to Harrisburg City Council for another hearing and a final vote before it can break ground.

At the meeting, the planning commission considered two other projects.

The commission unanimously approved a zoning variance and special exception for Eden Village, a proposed, 32-unit tiny home village and community center designed to provide permanent housing and support services for homeless individuals. It would be located directly next to the proposed Tunnel to Towers project, just beyond the existing PennDOT building in south Harrisburg.

That project now goes to the city’s Zoning Hearing Board for zoning approval and then will need to return to the planning commission for consideration of the project’s land development plan.

In addition, the commission unanimously approved the land development plan for a mixed-used building consisting of nine affordable residential units and ground-floor commercial space at 1260-1270 Market St.

Harrisburg-based Wildheart Ministries is proposing to build The Gateway, two- and three-bedroom units on empty land now owned by the Harrisburg Redevelopment Authority. Most recently, that land housed a community garden but currently is vacant and overgrown. The project now goes before City Council for final approval.

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